2019 Score, Issue 2

THE

THE MAGAZINE OF FRANCHISE BUSINESS SERVICES | 2019 ISSUE 2

Rollout Best Practices: Creating a Game Plan That Works

page 18

From all of us at McLane Foodservice, Inc, to the BUFFALO WILD WINGS franchisees,

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP!

You manage your business.

We’ll manage your risk. From every angle.

As a Buffalo Wild Wings® franchise owner, you think about service, productivity, laws and regulations, time management and the everyday challenges of running a business.

Insurance for your franchise doesn’t have to be one of those concerns. Elevanta Property & Casualty, with its partner McGriff Insurance Services, is proud to be Franchise Business Services’ (FBS)* exclusive property and casualty insurance provider. Our agents are licensed in all 50 states and work with franchise owners throughout the nation.

Your business will be supported by a dedicated team of franchise insurance specialists who are knowledgeable about your industry and will develop a plan specifically for you.

Advantages of our program for FBS members: ■ Competitive pricing on all lines of coverage ■ Certificates of insurance within 24 hours

■ Proactive renewal planning conducted 60 days prior to the plan expiration date ■ Claims assistance and loss control services

We are excited to work with you and encourage you to take the time to learn about Elevanta P&C Services. Call or email for more information or to get your quote started today!

ServiceNow: 888-399-2040  ServiceNow@McGriffInsurance.com Elevanta Property & Casualty: 678-540-6206  Info@Elevanta.com ©2018 McLane Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

*FBS is unaffiliated with McGriff Insurance Services, Inc. © 2019, McGriff Insurance Services, Inc. All rights reserved. McGriffInsurance.com

00992_Rev. 4-1-19

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2019 Issue 2

FBS Board of Directors Wray Hutchinson Chairman Mark Jones Vice Chairman Jenny Beaudoin Director James Bitzonis Director Brian Carmody Director Steve Grube Director Roz Mallet Director Larry Podlager Director Karim Webb Director Christy Williams Executive Director

FBS Editorial Board

ON THE COVER From plateware to hand-breaded chicken, Buffalo Wild Wings® is rolling out an all new look in 2019. BWW® franchisees shared their best practices on how to rock the return to the Great American Sports Bar. See more on page 18.

COLUMNS 2

Chairman’s Column

by Wray Hutchinson, FBS Chairman

DEPARTMENTS 4

FBS Member News

8

One Topic: 10 Facts

9 Recognitions 9

Event Calendar

10 Franchisee Spotlight 30 Look, Listen, Read

FEATURES

11 Spotlight on the 116th Congress: Rep. Anthony Brindisi (D-NY-22)

Jessica Loeding Editor-in-Chief jessical@myfbsonline.org Rachel Jackson Managing Editor rachelj@myfbsonline.org Morgan Fitzgerald Contributor morganf@myfbsonline.org

14 2019 FBS Summit Takes on the City of Lights

Advertising Sales

22 When You Think No One Is Watching

by Dennis Snow, Snow & Associates Inc.

Jeff Reynolds Director of Business Partner Relations jeffr@myfbsonline.org 678-797-5163 Montserrat Almaraz Sales & Development Manager montserrata@myfbsonline.org 678-767-5160

Design and Layout

Kristen Thomas KT Graphic Design ktgraphicdesign@gmail.com

16 Be Calm When the Storm Hits: Get a Disaster Plan in Place for

Your Restaurant

by Sean Dawson, Mize Houser & Company P.A. 17 Connecting With Millennials in the Corporate World

contributed by McGriff Insurance Services 18 Rollout Best Practices: Creating a Game Plan That Works

by Morgan Fitzgerald and Rachel Jackson

24 The Proper Course of Action for Social Security Administration

No-Match Letters

by Douglas Duerr and Molly Martin, Elarbee Thompson Sapp and Wilson, LLP 26 Busy Strategy and Lego Pieces

by Dan Coughlin, The Coughlin Co. 28 Having a Value Focus

by Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro®

DIRECTORIES 12 Associate Member Listing 32 Advertisers Guide and Editorial Calendar

Headquarters 1701 Barrett Lakes Blvd. NW Suite 180 Kennesaw, GA 30144 Phone: 678-797-5161 Fax: 678-797-5171

In keeping with our commitment to the environment, this publication is printed on certified, environmentally-friendly recycled paper using eco-friendly inks.

Franchise Business Services publishes The SCORE. Any reproduction, in whole or in part, of the contents of this publication is prohibited without prior written consent of Franchise Business Services. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright© 2019

Printed in the U.S.A.

www.myfbsonline.org

From the Chairman

2

012 was a lackluster season for the Boston Red Sox, finishing last in the American League East with a 69-93 record. Boston went back to the drawing board, bringing in a new

manager and adding all-star talent to the roster. Those changes paid off – the Red Sox came out of the 2013 season with a World Series championship. From the first day of spring training session to the last pitch, members of the Red Sox organization carried out the game plan they knew would turn the season around.

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Sports teams undergo changes like this often. Players, coaches, strategy and even uniforms are subject to change each season. But, with change comes preparation. A team that wants to win will prepare thoroughly for their next season.

They might have some curveballs thrown at them, but with the right plan and an eye on the end goal, they can bounce back.

Like many teams in sports history, the past year has brought opportunities to the Buffalo Wild Wings® system. In March, we saw revamped marketing make waves.

New products made their menu debut with more on the way. We’re changing the look and feel of our restaurants. Team members have new uniforms. So, how do we, as franchisees, ensure we have all of our bases covered and are prepared for these changes?

Inside this issue of The SCORE, several franchisees share their experiences, feedback and best practices for the new

product rollouts. Franchisees from across the system took their experience from the March rollout and crafted policies and procedures that has been vital in formulating their plans for future changes.

I hope you will read on to learn more about the insights and observations these Franchise Business Services (FBS) members shared. I encourage you to use their advice to formulate a game plan for your organization as BWW® continues its return to the Great American Sports Bar. As franchisees, the best way for us to learn is to communicate with each other and share the knowledge we have gained through our restaurants.

The 2019 FBS Summit is another great opportunity for our franchisee community to come together and discuss these changes further. Held in Las Vegas, Oct. 9-11, this year’s Summit will once again offer the chance to hear from Buffalo Wild Wings and Inspire Brands leadership.

With November bringing more exciting possibilities, this event is the perfect time to network and share best practices with fellow franchisees, brand leadership and our system suppliers.

Registration is now open at http://www.cvent.com/d/x6q37t. The Summit is also the prime opportunity to hear about what FBS has accomplished in the past year and get your questions out to association and brand leadership. It is more important than ever that we come together, in collaboration with Buffalo Wild Wings and Inspire Brands, to make our system stronger. Training is over and we are headed into our season. Let’s make it a winning one!

I look forward to seeing you all in Las Vegas!

Wray Hutchinson

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MEMBER NEWS

BWW Unveils New Menu Items Atop Four M Franchising’s Times Square Location

Inspire Brands and Buffalo Wild Wings unveiled new menu items this summer on the rooftop of Four M Franchising’s Times Square location. The Big Apple provided the ideal backdrop for the introduction of the products, which featured a number of special guests such as Chief Marketing Officer Seth Freeman and Vice President of Brand Menu and Culinary Jamie Carawan.

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n June 26, Four M Franchising’s Buffalo Wild Wings® in Times Square hosted an exclusive showcase on the rooftop.

Representatives from Buffalo Wild Wings and Inspire Brands came out to reveal new menu items coming soon to B-Dubs® across the nation. About 50 people were in attendance, including guests from the media and social media influencers. Special guests from the brand – Chief Marketing Officer Seth Freeman and Vice President of Brand Menu and Culinary Jamie Carawan – also were on hand.

“It was an honor to be one of the first sports bars to be selected for this event,” said Juan Feliciano, area director for Four M. “It continues to build the relationship between Inspire and its franchisees. To be a part of an afternoon this big is something we will never forget.”

Dave Phillips and Jason Murphy mixed signature drinks for guests, including the Paloma and the Moscow Mule. Guests also were able to taste a new low-calorie beer from Dogfish soon to be featured on the menu. Additional items expected to be rolling out soon include the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich, new boneless wings and chicken tenders, and the new OG sauce.

The rooftop setting overlooking New York City and the excitement from Four M Franchising to be hosting the unveiling added to the buzz. Freeman and Carawan were able to make their way around to tables to meet with guests and gather their feedback on the new items.

“To play a part in hosting a moment this meaningful for the brand is truly memorable,” said Feliciano. “We are looking forward to a very bright future with Inspire Brands.” S

MEMBER NEWS

Diversified Restaurant Holdings Hosts ThirdAnnual Upper Peninsula Football All-Star Draft

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n March 16, Buffalo Wild Wings® in Marquette, Michigan, hosted the third annual Upper Peninsula All-Star Draft.

Around 200 guests, including local athletes and fans, gathered to watch the selection of high school seniors slated to play in the All-Star game later in the summer. Around 90 players are selected each year to play in the football game, demonstrate their skills and play with athletes from across the area.

The draft party is an opportunity for athletes to interact with future teammates and coaches in person. “It’s a great event for the athletes, their teammates and their families to attend,” said Matt Vogel, managing partner with Diversified Restaurant Holdings. “They are able to experience a live draft party that involves local players, while having the support and excitement of the community around them.”

After each selection is made, servers take notes in case any attendees have questions about a player. Radio broadcasters were at the event providing commentary and taste testing some new B-Dubs® menu items on-air, including the All-American

Cheeseburger and Jammin’ Jalapeno boneless wings.

The Marquette BWW® has had a growing relationship with Xcel Sports over the past three years. In addition to hosting the draft party, they have partnered up for training camp and the football game itself. The draft party has brought in at least $3,000 in sales each year for the restaurant. In the past, the draft has fallen during Michigan March Madness games and St. Patrick’s Day, which led to high community involvement. This year, the event occurred just a few days after a new menu launch, which helped increase awareness of the fresh burger program.

The partnership has also boosted annual summer sales because of participants and their families building a positive relationship with the sports bar.

“Working with Todd and Jodi from Xcel has been an absolute joy,” said Vogel. “They have allowed our sports bar to be one of the highlights of the draft party as well as the preferred location to eat at during practice week. We are excited to continue our partnership with them in the future!” S

Diversified Restaurant Holdings Hosts Eat Wings, Raise Funds Event for Local Elementary School

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his year, Diversified Restaurant Holdings (DRH) teamed up with Rudyard Elementary School in Rudyard, Michigan, to raise funds for new playground equipment. The current equipment is upward of 15 years old and has recently started to deteriorate. A school parent and manager of the Buffalo Wild Wings® in Sault Ste. Marie approached the school principal about doing an Eat Wings, Raise Funds event at the restaurant.

By coming to the restaurant and showing special tickets to their server, customers could donate 20 percent of their bill to the cause. Tickets were sent home with students and were available in the school front office. Restaurant and school staff organized the fundraiser on a half-day for the school in hopes of increasing participation. The fundraiser also fell on a Wednesday, meaning kids ate for only $2.50 each.

“Many students came with their families,” said Michelle Sibbald, managing partner with DRH. “The crew was all in high spirits since it was such a worthwhile cause, and it could be felt throughout the store.” In addition to the percentage night, students and their families could purchase a spirit bracelet for $5 for the month leading up to the event. Between bracelet sales and the EWRF percentage, a total of $696.87 was raised.

The Sault Ste. Marie BWW® was excited to give back and become more involved with the community. Over the last few years, sales have been steadily increasing and momentum is picking up as the city is growing.

“It’s an amazing feeling knowing that we are already helping to set up Sault Ste. Marie as a great place to live for the families that will be moving into the area,” said Sibbald. “We are all excited to see what the future has in store for us.” S

MEMBER NEWS

JK&T Wings Raises Over $9,000 In Support of Team Member’s Battle With Cancer T ammy Upchurch has been a part of the Buffalo Wild Wings® family since December 2005 and has assisted in opening many locations across Michigan, Massachusetts, Illinois, Louisiana and Florida. Upchurch currently serves as a front-ofhouse, all-star trainer and shift lead at JK&T Wings’ location in Midland, Michigan.

This April, Upchurch was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma and metatastatic ductal carcinoma, which is a common form of breast cancer. She began intensive chemotherapy treatment soon after she was diagnosed and is scheduled to undergo surgery in October. Between treatments, Upchurch has continued to go to work with a smile on her face.

“Tammy brings everything to our Midland store and company,” said Alan Lepley, general manager of the Midland location. “She has a warm, friendly, caring attitude that is genuine and honestly contagious.”

“Tammy brings everything to our Midland store and company. She has a warm, friendly, caring attitude that is genuine and honestly contagious.”

– Alan Lepley, general manager of Midland location

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On July 21, JK&T Wings held a fundraiser supporting Upchurch across four locations, donating 20 percent of all net sales to her medical bills. “We have a couple of different promotions going on during the fundraiser,” said Lepley. “Tammy’s home store of Midland had a silent auction. Everything in the silent auction was donated by the community and vendors with all proceeds going to help Tammy in her battle. Our Saginaw location had tap takeover with a local Michigan brewery and also hosted a regional trivia tournament.”

The fundraiser was a huge success, raising over $9,400 to help with Tammy’s fight. The fundraiser increased foot traffic by 20-35 percent in each store, which is no surprise considering Upchurch’s countless number of regular customers. “I am still amazed by how many guests she knows by name and how many guests know her by name. We have people that travel from out of town and might swing by once a month or year and ask for Tammy by name,” said Lepley.

Upchurch is described as having a positive energy toward everyone she meets and is a beloved member of the community.

“Tammy has always been the first one to help anyone out in need. She’s a caretaker to many,” said Brandi Kogler, training general manager. “She has played softball with several teams

Tammy Upchurch, right, has been with JK&T Wings since 2005 and was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. JK&T Wings hosted a fundraiser across four locations to benefit Upchurch.

through the years; she golfs on leagues and is on bowling teams.

These are just some of the things that she has done to help bring the fun out in life.”

Upchurch described her journey as very humbling and expressed appreciation for all the support her Buffalo Wild Wings family has given her. “Not only do I have very supportive friends and family, I work for an amazing company. They have stood beside me every step of the way,” said Upchurch.

“Everyone has reached out in some way, shape or form to see how I am doing or if I need anything, adjusting schedules due to sickness from chemo, anything at all.”

“Not only do I have very supportive friends and family, I work for an amazing company. They have stood beside me every step of the way.”

– Tammy Upchurch

She extended thanks to everyone who has taken time out of their day to make sure she is doing well. “People have said that I am an inspiration and how nice it is to see me get out of the house and work when I can, but what they don’t know is that it is made possible by Buffalo Wild Wings,” she said. “If it wasn’t for my work family taking such good care of me, I would be far worse than I am today.” S

The Jones Group Hosts Benefit for Local High School Coach W

hen the Logansport, Indiana, Buffalo Wild Wings® location lost one of its regular customers, the restaurant decided to step up and give back. Chad Lambert was a vital member of the Logansport community who worked at the local high school and dedicated himself to coaching youth basketball and baseball.

“When we found out about his passing, it was only natural to help in any way we could for his foundation,” said Amanda Westerfeld, general manager for the Logansport location owned

by The Jones Group. “He loved kids and wanted to help them in any way he could.”

The Chad Lambert Youth Athletic Fund, created in Lambert’s honor, helps raise money for athletic programs across the area. The team at Logansport BWW® hosted a successful Eat Wings Raise Funds night on May 8 to raise money. There was a great turnout for the fundraiser from friends, family and athletes who came out to support Lambert.

Between this fundraiser and other community efforts, over $14,000 was raised in his name. The money has been used to purchase a Shoot-A-Way Gun for the Logansport High

Chad Lambert was passionate about sports and coached basketball and baseball at Logansport High School.

School basketball team. The foundation has also paid dues and purchased gear for local youth leagues, helping ensure that every child has the opportunity to play. S

Diversified Restaurant Holdings Hosts Thrive45 March Madness Event

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n March 18, Diversified Restaurant Holdings’ Buffalo Wild Wings® in Petoskey, Michigan, hosted a networking event for young professionals. Thrive45 is an organization in the Northern Michigan area that strives to bring young professionals together to build meaningful friendships and connections.

The Petoskey BWW® has been partnering with Thrive45 since 2015 and has hosted several networking events over the past few years. Because this year’s event fell during March Madness, attendees were encouraged to wear their favorite team’s apparel in order to be entered into a contest for a $50 Buffalo Wild Wings gift card.

Around 30 young professionals were in attendance in addition to representatives from local businesses. The $5 entry fee provided boneless wings and other appetizers for guests to enjoy, and a cash bar was also available.

Guests were able to fill out their own bracket for March Madness and take guesses at who would win it all. The event was a great opportunity for young professionals in the area to connect with each other both socially and professionally. “We enjoy partnering up with Thrive45 and the young professional industry,” said Managing Partner Chenelle Capp. “These events are great ways to meet new people, and we look forward to hosting again.” S

One topic: 10 facts

Labor Costs 1 Average retail wages have risen by almost $1 per hour in the last year, to $19.40 as of March.

2 Twenty-seven states and Washington, D.C., have increased their minimum wage in the last five years.

3 Another 41 local municipalities have adopted minimum wages that are higher than their state levels.

4 The restaurant industry employs 15.3 million workers ‌

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And is expected to add 1.6 million new jobs in the next 10 years.

6 With a turnover rate estimated to exceed 70 percent, the restaurant industry is in particular need of tools that streamline onboarding and training and, at the same time, help boost retention.

7 Retaining staff is a persistent issue for operators and cited data showing that turnover rates increased in 2018 for both hourly employees and for all levels of management.

8 In a Restaurant 2025 report on the future of automation in the restaurant industry, automation and robotics could play increasingly important roles in back-of-the-house restaurant operations such as cleaning, as opposed to providing front-line service.

9 Employee scheduling software can help reduce labor costs by 1-3 percent.

10 Scheduling software can help reduce employee scheduling time by 80 percent, keeping all communication on one platform where everyone can see it.

Source: Touch Bistro, Restaurant Business

RECOGNITIONS Congratulations to the following World Wide Wings employees:

Tim Becker has recently joined the

World Wide Wings family as a district manager, overseeing Buffalo Wild Wings® stores in the Portland, Oregon, market.

Becker has 18 years of experience with multi-unit restaurants, previously working as the director of operations for Rogue Ales Brewing and Distillery.

Jimmy Calo has been selected as a district manager for the Southern and Northern California markets. Calo has served in the hospitality business for over 35 years and was a district manager for Buffalo Wild Wings Corporate. Most recently, Calo served as district manager for Chipotle.

Sean Neligan recently accepted the general manager position at the Lloyd Center BWW®. Neligan began his career with World Wide Wings in October 2017 and started out as a bar manager at

Congratulations to the following KATAR Group employees: Tyler Scarbrough is employed at the

Ashland, Ohio, Buffalo Wild Wings as a store manager and recently celebrated his five-year anniversary.

Jamie Swick celebrated five years as a

server in the Ontario, Ohio, store.

Brianna Lute recently celebrated five years as a server at the Canton, Ohio, location.

Erica VanNostran is a server at the Canton, Ohio, location celebrating her five-year anniversary.

the Lloyd Center location, before moving over to the downtown Portland location to take on the HOH manager position.

Prior to working with World Wide Wings, Neligan was general manager at Kelly’s Neighborhood Pub in Vancouver, Washington, and bar manager at Moxy’s in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

EVENT CALENDAR FBS Board of Directors Meetings Oct. 8-9 Las Vegas, Nevada FBS Summit Oct. 9-11 Las Vegas, Nevada

Jessica Hutchinson, a bartender at the Wooster, Ohio, location celebrated 15 years with Buffalo Wild Wings.

Justin Bardin celebrated three years as a server at the Canton, Ohio, restaurant.

Peyton Matthews recently celebrated

anniversary as a cook and server at the Canton, Ohio, location.

promotions, new hires, employee or

Alyssa Robinson celebrated her

records). To submit information for

three years as an assistant manager at the Mentor, Ohio, location.

Rachel Loomis celebrated three years as a

server at the Mentor, Ohio, B-Dubs®.

Victoria Werner celebrated five years as a server at the Avon Lake, Ohio, B-Dubs.

restaurant anniversaries and sales

three-year anniversary as a cashier at the Willoughby, Ohio, location.

Recognitions, complete the online

Eryka Boles is a bartender at the Willoughby, Ohio, B-Dubs and is celebrating her three-year anniversary.

www.myfbsonline.org/submissions, email

submission form at

communications@myfbsonline.org or call 678-797-5161.

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a server at the Avon Lake, Ohio, B-Dubs.

company’s achievements (employee

THE

Daniel Hegarty celebrated five years as

Adam Miller celebrated his three-year

We want to highlight your

FRANCHISEE SPOTLIGHT

Sanjay Mehra United Restaurant Holdings

+ Year Became a BWW® Franchisee: 2018 + Total Number of BWW Locations: 8 + Total Number of Employees: 450

How did you and your partner(s) meet?

I don’t have a partner in Buffalo Wild Wings®, but I have a great chief operations officer and we both work together to lead our restaurants to the future.

What drew you to the brand?

In the early 2000s, when BWW first came to town, I went to try it out. The restaurant was so busy with no room to walk!

It was loud, energetic, full of people, like being in the game! I remember liking the restaurant and experience so much that I bought a BWW3 glass that night to take home. Being an avid Houston sports fan, I found myself frequenting Buffalo Wild Wings to get a drink and watch the game. I was either at the stadium watching my Rockets play or in Buffalo Wild Wings.

I have always worked very hard to achieve the dream of owning a great full-service concept. When I discovered the opportunity to enter the system and purchase Buffalo Wild Wings, I was extremely excited. I love Buffalo Wild Wings and having the opportunity to own and lead this concept was a golden opportunity. Fast forward a year in and I could not be happier owning eight top-tier, full-service Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants.

What is your favorite thing about the brand?

As a business owner, I feel proud to be an owner of a great brand like Buffalo Wild Wings in Houston, Texas. I love the fact that we serve an excellent wing product in an environment that is bursting with excitement and energy! Nothing is more aweinspiring than hearing your guests, or “crowds,” yelling, clapping and roaring along with their teams in our restaurant stadiums.

What other concepts do you own?

No other concepts yet at this time.

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What are your current top three business goals?

1. To develop the best leaders, “coaches,” in our restaurants who will provide a “wild” and memorable experience in our BWW. We know with great coaches comes winning teams, championship teams!

2. To be the best sports bar on the block by executing attractive and flavorful drinks with great smiles.

3. We want our guests to know there is no better place to watch a game. We want to be relentless in executing the best food, best service and best AV experience.

Describe your best recent business decision:

We have decided that we want to carry the brand ambassador flag and bring Buffalo Wild Wings to communities that are underserved by not having a memorable place to watch the game. We want to bring Buffalo Wild Wings to areas in America that are lacking this Great American Sports Bar through organic development.

What is the best business advice you have received?

No matter what business you are in, you must be involved in your business. Always challenge your teams to be better. Never settle for any level of success because there is still another step or rung to reach for. That is how we stay competitive.

Describe the biggest industry change since you started:

Third-party delivery has become more prominent, and it is an area where we believe we need to compete. For us, we have established excellent partnerships with third-party delivery, but only chose specific units as not to cannibalize our carry-out. As a business owner we must be very strategic in where and with whom we will provide delivery.

We wholeheartedly believe that the most beneficial approach for the future will be to continue to work to drive traffic into our restaurant and steer our guests to enjoy Buffalo Wild Wings the way it was intended – in our restaurants! Instead of a “home away from home,” this is a “stadium away from a stadium!”

Describe your current biggest challenge as a franchisee:

The challenge is always finding creative ways to ensure we keep our talent engaged and retained. The full service – well, all service industry – is very competitive, and we cannot be complacent. This is an ongoing challenge that is the paramount of importance.

What is your favorite BWW wing sauce?

Mango Habanero is excellent!

If I weren’t a franchisee, I would be …

I would be a professional cricket player for India. I know I could have made it happen! S

Spotlight on the 116th Congress:

Rep. Anthony Brindisi (D-NY-22) Q

sensible regulations for businesses, the government needs to deliver certainty for small-business owners. Passing bipartisan solutions is one of the ways Congress can provide certainty. A version of the Accelerated Payments for Small Business Act was included as an amendment to the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act, which I supported. I am also a co-sponsor of bipartisan legislation to create a centralized website for smallbusiness compliance guides. This bill will help small businesses comply with federal rules and regulations so they can be eligible for government contacts and programs.

Throughout your service in the New York State Assembly, what qualities or skills did you develop that you utilize as a public servant?

A

The key to being a good public servant is listening to your constituents. From my time in the Assembly to my time in Congress, the folks I represent have been clear that they want someone who is willing to work across the aisle to get things done. I’ve done just that.

I’ve worked with Democrats and Republicans on bipartisan solutions that can cut through the noise, including a new technical education diploma pathway in New York so high school students can graduate with technical skills leading directly to a job. During my time in public service, I’ve honed my listening skills and used them to find common ground with my colleagues and get things done for Upstate New York.

Q A

What do you see as the current biggest threat to small-business owners?

How important is legislation, such as the Accelerated Payments for Small Business Act, to small business in the U.S.?

This goes back to Washington giving the business community the certainty they need. Whether it is ensuring small businesses get paid in a timely manner or providing clear and

Throughout my time in public service, I’ve seen firsthand that the best ideas come from the folks on the ground. One of my top priorities is to help create good jobs for Upstate New Yorkers and support businesses that drive our local economy. I launched Brindisi at Your Business because it’s important for me to hear straight from employers, employees and business leaders about the work we need to do to help them grow and thrive. I have visited 24 local businesses so far with many more in the works. Washington politicians sometimes forget what it is like to run a business, meet payroll or deal with burdensome regulations. I will make sure to continue to visit small businesses across my district.

Q A

Since launching Brindisi at Your Business, how have those interactions influenced your opinion on the impact legislation has on small business?

I’ve met with small businesses across the district, and I’ve heard the struggles and successes of Upstate New York’s business community. These small-business owners provide feedback, ideas and guidance for how I can best represent them in Washington. It’s led to me supporting a number of bills to help small businesses, including the DRIVE-Safe Act to address the shortage of commercial drivers; my bill to repeal the Health Insurance Tax; and the Wage Increase Fairness Act, legislation to ensure franchise businesses are treated as small businesses when local governments raise the minimum wage. These visits and conversations underscore just how crucial the dialogue between business and Congress is. I invite all businesses in our community, big and small, to reach out to my office and let me know what they think. S

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How did your interactions with small businesses in your state influence your decision to introduce the “Brindisi at Your Business” initiative?

THE

Uncertainty and added costs coming from Washington.

Washington is a mess; we see it with the trade war, with the tariffs hurting local businesses and with many in Congress’ inability to work together. I’ve heard from the business community that they need certainty coming out of Washington.

One issue in particular that I hear over and over again from small-business owners is the rising cost of health care and how it affects their bottom line. Those high prices are coming from the rising costs of drugs and insurance premiums. I’m committed to addressing drug prices with the bipartisan Ensuring Timely Access to Generics Act I introduced with my Republican friend from Pennsylvania, Rep. John Joyce. I also introduced the bipartisan Jobs and Premium Protection Act, bipartisan legislation to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Tax (HIT). According to outside studies, the HIT will force small businesses to pay nearly $500 more in health insurance premiums per family. These bills are commonsense solutions that will help address rising costs for businesses.

Q A

Support the Vendors

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THAT SUPPORT YOUR ASSOCIATION

COMPANY NAME

LEVEL

CONTACT NAME

EMAIL

PHONE

Elevanta Health McLane Company Inc. PepsiCo Oasis Advantage Campari America, LLC Ecolab Inc. Heineken USA New Belgium Brewing The Wasserstrom Co. Trupay Audio Visual Design Install Avery Dennison Bank of America Merrill Lynch Boston Beer Co. Cintas Citizens Bank – Restaurant Finance Constellation Brands Copesan Crew App Daktronics DAP PRO Solutions David H. Tishkoff, CPA, LLC Disaronno Domino Foods DRAS Cases Inc. Epsilon Esentia Systems Inc. Federal Heath FIFCO USA Founders Brewing Co. Franklin Machine Products Freshcheq G&G Closed Circuit Events Green Dot Corp. – rapid! PayCard Guardian Protection Heritage Parts Herofi Inc. Huntington Bank iSolved HCM IQ Back Office Inc. ITW Food Equipment Group Jolt Jones Sign Kellogg’s Kuerig Dr Pepper Lagunitas Brewing Co. Mahoney Environmental Marmon Foodservice Technologies Mendota Valley/Touchtunes/Upshow MillerCoors National Entertainment Network National Franchise Sales

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toddb@myfbsonline.org charlie.gallagher@mclanefs.com john.ledva@pepsico.com cbrennan@oasisadvantage.com danny.moch@campari.com kasey.beer@ecolab.com nmalloy@heinekenusa.com mperetti@newbelgium.com mattbrownr@wassterstrom.com mathew.abraham@trupay.com paperwork@avdiusas.com tony.janega@averydennison.com cristin.m.o'hara@baml.com gary.fragle@bostonbeer.com lawsonda2@cintas.com eugene.chang@citizensbank.com marty.kern@cbrands.com cblakley@copesan.com will@crewapp.com loni.haar@daktronics.com bborrelli@darpro.com dtishkoff@bullseye-controls.com mborgard@disaronno.com John.hooker@asr-group.com josh@drascases.com james.slade@epsilon.com bscott@esentia.com rcearlock@federalheath.com jamie.williams@fifco.com diemj@foundersbrewing.com jhoffman@fmponline.com jake@freshcheq.com nick@ggccevents.com smcdonald@greendotcorp.com dmoss@guardianprotection.com chuck.maddox@heritageparts.com vlad@herofi.com John.luehmann@huntington.com toglesby@isolvedhcm.com ken@iqbackoffice.com bryan.waechter@itwfeg.com burke.alder@jolt.com rwalker@jonessign.com joy.arager@kellogg.com dennis.eastman@dpsg.com jim.randall@lagunitas.com sonny@mahoneyes.com waasz@princecastle.com bill.lethert@mendotavalley.com gregory.miller2@millercoors.com meredith.clinton@nen-inc.com eh@nationalfranchisesales.com

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National Restaurant Association – ServSafe NCR Corp.

Netsurion Northcoast Productions One More Time Inc. Pabst Brewing Co. Pacific Premier Franchise Capital Parts Town Paycor Inc. Pinnacle Commercial Capital Pitco/MagiKitch’n/Blodgett Plate IQ Plymold Rack Draft Services Royal Cup Coffee and Tea Scot Young Research Seating Concepts SENTIO Shoes for Crews Skechers Springzy TD Bank – Restaurant Franchise Finance Group Tekmark Global Solutions TraitSet HIRE Tredsafe/Walmart US Bank/FSV Payment Systems Valley Proteins Zenput

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wbanks@restaurant.org connor.adams@ncr.com wrickman@netsurion.com Ncp1155@sgcglobal.net aalvarez@onemoretimeinc.com szelinsky@pabst.com ssoltero@ppbifranchise.com cdrummond@partstown.com cbradford@paycor.com wildman@pincomcap.com mmccabe@pitco.com jillian@plateiq.com jryan@plymold.com jimmyrack@fuse.net erica.dorsey@royalcupcoffee.com ashley.piomelli@syrclean.com khibben@seating-concepts.com chad@mysentio.com sherrie@shoesforcrews.com haroldsu@skechers.com charlie@springzy.com mark.wasilefsky@td.com cgraham@tekmarkinc.com dan@hrgems.com ttravis@esoriginals.com sales@fsvps.com rrogers@valleyproteins.com christina@zenput.com

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Protect your brand.

Protect your employees.

2019 FBS SUMMIT 2019 FBS SUMMIT TAKES ON THE

of

he 2019 FBS Summit promises to be another spectacular event as FBS takes on the City of Lights and all Las Vegas has to offer. Join us, Inspire Brands and Buffalo Wild Wings® leadership as we dive into an insightful agenda full of brand updates and best practices. Find out what’s coming up next for the B-Dubs®, enjoy time with fellow franchisees and vendor partners, and of course, our annual Texas Hold ’Em Tournament.

Informative sessions led by brand leadership affords you the opportunity to gain insights on topics such as Inspire Brands updates, the 2020 BWW® plan, operations, new strategies and outputs, Loyalty & 1-1, and new restaurant openings. Not only will you hear from key decision-makers for yourself, but the 2019 FBS Summit brings Former Army Ranger and author Kris “Tanto” Paronto with his story of how being of service to others and being willing to make sacrifices will help your business succeed and how the power of humility, strength, faith and teamwork will sustain you on the road to accomplishing your goals.

Held Oct. 9-11 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, this is your opportunity to hear from brand leadership and take advantage of unparalleled networking opportunities.

Register now at http://www.cvent.com/d/x6q37t.

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PAUL BROWN

JOHN BOWIE

LYLE TICK

KRIS PARONTO

As CEO of Inspire Brands, Brown oversees the multi-brand restaurant company’s portfolio, which includes more than 4,600 Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and R Taco locations worldwide.

With 25 years in the restaurant industry, Bowie brings extensive insight to his role as chief operating officer of Buffalo Wild Wings. Prior to joining BWW, Bowie served first as senior vice president of operations for the northeast region and then as chief operating officer of Arby’s, overseeing global operations for more than 1,000 companyowned restaurants and more than 2,400 franchised restaurants across seven countries.

Tick serves as president of Buffalo Wild Wings, part of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants. Prior to joining Buffalo Wild Wings, Tick was managing director for Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) beauty brands business in the Americas. At WBA, Tick led the re-organization of the America’s business and established a capabilities program around end to end brand management and commercial management.

Kris Paronto – “Tanto” as he is affectionately known in security contracting circles – is a former Army Ranger and private security contractor who has deployed throughout South America, Central America, the Middle East and North Africa. He also worked with the U.S. Government’s Global Response Staff, conducting low-profile security in high threat environments around the world. Paronto was part of the CIA annex security team that responded to the terrorist attack on the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi in 2012, helping to save over 20 lives while fighting off terrorists for more than 13 hours. Paronto’s story is told in the book “13 Hours” and in the 2016 major motion picture of the same name.

You will also hear from: Seth Freeman, chief marketing officer.

Navin Sharma, senior vice president of insights and customer personalization.

Don Crocker, chief development officer.

Franchise Business Services Board of Directors.

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BE CALM WHEN THE STORM HITS: Get a Disaster Plan in Place for Your Restaurant

By Sean Dawson, CPA

H

eavy rains and flooding, kitchen fires, natural gas explosions, vandalism, tornadoes, power outages – there are plenty of examples of disastrous events that can interrupt (or end) your restaurant’s operations.

And, during an event when emotions can run high, you’ll save yourself valuable time and dollars if you have a disaster preparedness plan in place before a disaster strikes.

Here are a few things you can do or think about in advance to save yourself some time and stress when a disaster hits: Call your insurance carrier and ask about business interruption insurance. The added peace of mind could be well worth the annual premium and imagine the relief you’ll feel if you ever have to file a claim.

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Track your assets. Do you have a list of tangible assets that could be damaged when a disaster hits? Equipment and computers are the easy ones to track, but don’t forget about your servers, furnishings and food inventory. It’s also a good idea to have the plans for your HVAC and plumbing systems scanned and available electronically as well.

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Accessing your data. How will you retrieve POS, HR and payroll data if your computers or paper files are damaged?

If you’re not managing data in the cloud, now is a good time to rethink your backroom solutions. Consider scanning paper documents and following a monthly backup schedule for your financial data. Using cloud services to store data is an easy way to access your financial, payroll and HR information when originals are lost or even if you simply need a file but aren’t able to reach your office. Also think about how you will manage financial reporting in a disaster situation. What accounting and financial reporting is crucial so you know where you stand financially?

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How quickly will you be able to get your restaurant back on track? Think about how long it will take to replace kitchen, computer and other restaurant equipment. Which pieces of equipment would you upgrade if you were forced to replace?

What is the lead time on ordering and installation? Keep in mind you may not be the only restaurant in this situation and your vendors may have other clients that will all need immediate attention. Being prepared for this situation may help you expedite your orders and to reopen quicker.

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Don’t forget about payroll. Your employees may not be able to afford missing a paycheck, and we’ve seen several instances of a disaster affecting regular payroll distribution.

Moving to a completely electronic payroll using direct deposit and paycards eliminates the worry about check delivery and distribution.

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Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Build a list of your key vendors, suppliers, and accounting, banking and legal advisors that will need to be notified. Keep your employee list (with email and cell numbers) with you or use a texting service to update employees. A calling tree can also be a quick way to spread the word.

Your loyal customers will also want to know what happened.

Take advantage of social media to get the word out and keep them updated.

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Assign a spokesperson. Depending on the disaster, you may find a camera crew outside your restaurant. Designate a spokesperson in advance who will remain calm in an emergency and deal with media. Let everyone in your organization know who this person is and have his or her contact information readily available at each of your restaurant’s locations.

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Be aware of your options for tax relief. In large-scale natural disasters like flooding or storms, the IRS might provide some tax relief, including extending filing deadlines, or they may waive the failure-to-deposit penalties for employment and excise tax deposits. If your business is located in a federally declared disaster area, you might have the option to claim disaster-related casualty losses on your federal income tax return for the year in which the incident happened, making it particularly important to keep track of clean-up and renovation costs.

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Detail all the above in a recovery plan. Keep it in a safe place, along with contact numbers and emails.

Additional items to consider and include:

• Your local laws. Depending on the disaster and your local laws, you may need state inspections before you can legally reopen. Check with your local authorities to find out what the process is before you face a disaster.

• Establish a relationship with a cleaning or commercial cleanup crew BEFORE the disaster hits.

• A one-page emergency plan for your restaurant’s employees that provides them with specific instructions on what they should do.

• Hire security to ensure your assets are protected while you’re not onsite doing cleanup.

With a little advance planning, you can survive (or even thrive) when a disaster strikes. S SEAN DAWSON, CPA is a shareholder in the Mize Restaurant Group. Mize Houser & Company P.A. is a full-service accounting firm, providing the Elevanta Accounting & Payroll Solution for FBS members.

Connecting With Millennials in the Corporate World O

ver the past decade, countless leaders have asked themselves the same question: Is it time for my company to develop policies or initiatives directed toward millennials?

But before hiring a consultant or reading up on how to handle the millennials on your team, take a moment to consider what’s truly different about this generation. Although they have been stereotyped as entitled, lazy and financially illiterate, there is little to no evidence suggesting that younger employees are different solely because they are millennials.

Research suggests that primary factors of work engagement, such as meaning, autonomy and competence, don’t differ much between millennials and older employees. However, millennials express concerns that are less important to older employees, such as student loan repayment and personal relationships. According to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, millennials are the largest generation in the country’s labor force at 35 percent. With this number still rising, it is important to better understand how to keep them satisfied in the corporate world.

As with any large group, there can be serious risks associated with applying stereotypes to millennial employees. Most people in the workplace prefer not to be grouped together but instead evaluated based on their individual qualities and skills. The same applies to millennials. Assuming an entire group of people are lazy or technology dependent is unethical and could negatively affect your employees’ experience. If employees are treated a certain way based on an ill assumption, it could be insulting and impact the workplace as a whole. Employee satisfaction and morale can decrease, leading to idleness and unproductivity in your company.

What Matters to Millennials?

Sparking Motivation

Instead of focusing on stereotypes that revolve around millennials in the workplace, think about what techniques can be used to motivate them to be their best. By looking at the results from the research, financial stability is important to this generation. To encourage millennials, consider offering benefits that provide financial value to them such as insurance, paid time off and student loan repayment. Attract more employees by using a fixed salary model that is dependable and highlight core values or initiatives of the company that help society as a whole.

Because millennials value meaningful connections, it is essential to build earnest relationships among your employees.

Managers should focus less on being a “boss” and more on being a coach, providing guidance and insight to their employees.

Finally, provide challenges to employees; offer them opportunities to learn and grow within the organization. S

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This information is provided courtesy of FBS partner McGriff Insurance Services. Protect your business by contacting them today at servicenow@mcgriffinsurance.com or 888-399-2040.

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Research conducted by HR consultancy firm Mercer found that, while the potential for long-term career opportunities is millennials’ No. 1 reason for joining an organization, job security and opportunities for professional development are the main reasons they remain loyal. Experts have also discovered several different factors that are important to millennials when it comes to feeling secure in the workplace: • Financial Security. With student loan rates rising, millennials worry about their financial futures. They tend to gravitate toward positions with a high fixed salary as opposed to those with performance-based pay.

• Positive Impact. Contributing positively to society is a component of work that millennials hold in high regard.

Although they know that generating profit is the main goal of business, millennials value companies that are also making strides

for their communities with programs such as diversity or sustainability initiatives. They want to feel as if they are contributing to a bigger picture than just making money.

• Career Advancement. Experts suggest that millennials are much more likely than other generations to leave a job if they are not growing or benefitting personally. It is important to provide opportunities for employees to grow inside the company.

Millennials want to be challenged, and if they cannot find that challenge at their current job, they will not hesitate to seek career opportunities elsewhere.

• Supervisor relationships. When millennials make connections with their supervisors, they are much more likely to stay put in an organization. Instead of pure direction, they value a mentorship – a relationship they can look to for both support and advice.

In another study conducted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), it was found that health insurance, paid time off (PTO) and student loan repayment aid, respectively, were the top three employment benefits most valued by recent college graduates.

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By Morgan Fitzgerald and Rachel Jackson

t’s no secret the last several months have been eventful for Buffalo Wild Wings®.

With the introduction of new leadership in 2018 came a new vision for the brand. Rollouts bringing new products, menus, uniforms and plateware were introduced in March to contribute to the evolution of the BWW® brand. Although these changes are exciting, they came with their own unique challenges.

Company-wide rollouts require people to think differently, and no matter how well-thought out or exciting, a period of adjustment follows any new launch.

With even more

game-changing additions on the horizon, it is important to take a look at the wins and opportunities from the March initiative to help your organization create a game plan tailored to your success.

An effective rollout cannot happen overnight. It is important to remember that good things take time and preparation. No one becomes an expert after one training session, so it is important to follow up with your team.

“Check-ins at the restaurant level are important to continue validation and discourage shortcuts that could negatively affect the quality of service,” said Cameron Sefrin, Buffalo Wild Wings field trainer manager - franchise west. “A check for execution (CFE) document was created to provide a tool to ensure that all new products and procedures were in place and to validate that training was completed.”

Sefrin advises the use of CFEs in all future rollouts since they may highlight common mistakes from restaurant leadership and identify best practices.

For the launch to reach its maximum potential for success, it is important that those who are executing the rollout in your store feel confident and excited.

“It’s up to all our leaders to get our teams excited about new changes and advancements,” said Sefrin. “Excitement is infectious!”

The prospect of launching better quality products and menu items is something to be proud of, and the more enthusiastic team members are to introduce these products and menu items, the more eager guests will be to order them.

One of the most exciting features of the last rollout was the introduction of new menu items, such as the All-American Cheeseburger, which has been incredibly well-received by customers.

“Guests who tried the burger were amazed,” said Juan Feliciano, area director for Four M Franchising.

“Now we have folks come in regularly for it, and our staff is proud of selling our All-American Cheeseburger!”

To establish a consistent standard across every restaurant, it is imperative to create a cohesive training procedure for all employees to follow. “A few things that we learned are that we really need to focus on training our front-of-house people as well,” said Treavor Smith, divisional vice president Midwest for World Wide Wings. “You think you’re just rolling out a new burger and nachos, but some servers have biases on what ingredients are used so they kind of cascade that down to the guests. We really had to make sure that we went back and trained the servers on, ‘Hey, this is how this is built.’”

If possible, have your team taste all the new products, then have servers cook the new items with the kitchen team so they get as thorough an understanding of the product as possible. This will give front-of-house staff the vital, hands-on experience needed to make the new rollout one that’s game-changing.

“Our director of operations and area directors got together for training sessions of our own. We studied and practiced for hours. It is important to know what you are teaching prior to teaching it,” said Feliciano. “From there, we rallied the general managers and kitchen managers for a training session in our White Plains, New York, location.”

During these training sessions, Four M Franchising’s team talked about the new uniforms and burgers. “We then taught and practiced making the burgers.

Continued on page 20

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>>>>> Best Practices

Continued from page 19

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But training didn’t stop there. We visited sports bars and practiced with the cooks – we made and ate burgers for weeks!

And, after the go-live date, we made more burgers and continued to teach and practice,” said Feliciano. “To this day, we still follow up.”

For World Wide Wings, the training process starts with the district managers who then train the general managers.

“We found it was better to not have an all-store meeting when the managers take their training to the store level. When store meetings are held on Saturday, everybody shows up tired and not everyone can make it,” explained Brian Adams, divisional vice president West Coast with World Wide Wings. “Instead, we would roll out the training process for many days between those general manager meetings before it goes live. We would make one of every new menu item for our team to taste at both lunch and dinner. Then we’d have the servers go back and cook it with the kitchen guys just to get a better understanding of what the product looks like.”

No matter how detailed a rollout strategy is, it is impossible to create a plan that is logistically foolproof for every location, and there are bound to be a few areas that need improvement.

Finding a solution for the areas needing improvement will make your success that much more satisfying. Brainstorm with your leadership team and invite ideas from employees to create a collaborative approach to your team’s rollout method.

“The rollout had a rough start at first. The whole process was about change and change is not always easy for some, but the refresh and improvements were certainly needed,” said Feliciano. “When the dust settled, we had a brand-new look and a burger to be proud of.”

For example, a common hurdle during the March reboot was the new, larger platters. These platters took up

World Wide Wings devoted time to determining best practices for dealing with the ramekins rolled out in March.

World Wide Wings reworked storage for the new, larger plateware.

more space than the previously used boats. This made it difficult to get more food onto trays, thus taking longer to get food out to guests. World Wide Wings placed an emphasis on the outside expo, which sped up the process and quickly resolved any issues.

Ramekins also threw a curveball at some locations. From supply to how to clean them, the small containers were a big source of frustration. World Wide

Wings created internal procedures for where to soak, wash and dry them that ironed out the process in no time.

The best way to prepare for and solve potential problems is to utilize the recommended operational practice of top-down communication. “Communication from the top down in our group made execution simple for the launch,” said Tra-C Garcia and Jason Garrity with JK&T Wings. “First, we took a hard look at each

>

of our locations, which are all unique regarding workspace layout, to develop a plan that would accommodate the changes. We were able to identify several additional items that would benefit our team in executing the changes more efficiently. Then, we held a company-wide conference call that walked through all aspects of the launch and identified additional items beneficial to operational execution. Following the conference call, we set up general manager huddles where we assemble all our leaders together, along with their district managers, to prepare them for their team huddles. Having everyone on the same page made the launch a great success for us!”

At Four M Franchising, the biggest challenge was forgetting what its staff already knew and taking on a new process. “When someone has done the same ritual for years, it takes more than one try to break the habit,” said Feliciano.

“Resistance to change was the next big obstacle. Making sure our folks knew the direction we were going and taking them for the ride was the challenge.”

Remember, it is always better to risk over-communication rather than to not communicate enough. Empower your people by keeping them informed. “Leave no surprises for the team,” said Garcia and Garrity. “It is critical to cascade information down with leadership meetings followed by district meetings and then individual team huddles. Invite key WCTs to participate early, giving them a say in how things will roll out. WCTs can be very impactful at not only preparing the team for the change but selling them on the change as well.”

Feliciano suggests using continued follow-ups as a method to ensure the rollout is being executed properly. “Just because an item is made right today does not guarantee it will be tomorrow,” advised Feliciano. “Never let up and demand excellence, and make sure you commend those when they do a great job.

The compliments will go a long way.”

Collaboration between franchises

and BWW corporate is encouraged as the brand prepares to launch the new items through the remainder of the year and into the future. With the recent addition of the corporate field training team (FTM), Inspire Brands has encouraged franchise owners and operators to continue to provide feedback for future trainings and rollouts.

“The addition of the FTM position now provides an additional sounding board to roll info up the chain,” said Sefrin. “We are franchise advocates and support company operations by bringing more alignment and consistent messaging

across the board. I am very proud to be working so closely with franchise operation and our franchisees and to be sharing our vision to every team member, manager and owner. Together, we are one brand and one voice.” S

MORGAN FITZGERALD and RACHEL JACKSON are with FBS communications. You may reach Fitzgerald at morganf@myfbsonline.org or 678-540-6202 and Jackson at rachelj@myfbsonline.org or 678-540-6209.

To ease the transition to the new look, World Wide Wings’ Tualatin, Oregon, location folded and tagged uniforms with the team member’s name.

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When You Think No One Is Watching Y

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By Dennis Snow

ou’ve probably heard this quote by legendary college basketball coach, John Wooden: “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” Whether we’re talking about someone’s personal or professional life, what he or she does when no one is watching truly is the ultimate test of character.

But what if someone is watching, and we just don’t know it?

I was working in my home office one rainy Florida day, and happened to look up as our mail carrier pulled up to our mailbox. One package wouldn’t fit in the mailbox, so she had to bring the mail up to the front door. She obviously didn’t know I was watching because she used my mail to protect her head from the rain! By the time I got to the front door, she was gone, and my soggy mail was on the table by the door. I’m sure this mail carrier thought, “No one will see me, so why not?” Well, the customer saw her, and my trust in her integrity vaporized right there.

I’m sure you’ve seen some of the hidden camera videos of restaurant workers as they accidentally drop food on the floor, pick it up (thinking no one is watching), and then proceed to serve the food to a customer. Not only is this behavior disgusting, it has resulted in mountains of bad press for the restaurants involved.

The employees in question thought no one was watching; but the

Even when you think no one is

hovering supervisor. It’s just the right thing to do – it’s part of the Disney culture. Is it any wonder that the number one compliment Walt Disney World receives is how clean the place is?

I once read an excellent suggestion (I unfortunately don’t remember where I read it). But the suggestion went like this: Imagine one day at work, unbeknownst to you, a video crew films you on the job – all day. You have no idea they’re there. The resulting video becomes the company’s new hire training video.

Would you be proud of what these new hires would see and hear you doing? Would your behaviors demonstrate your organization’s values in action?

I remember something my mother used to say when I was a teenager and going out with my friends. “Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want Grandma to read about in the newspaper.”

Something to think about: Even when you think no one is watching, what behaviors would demonstrate your commitment to your organization, to your customers and, ultimately, to your own character? S

watching, what behaviors would demonstrate your commitment to your organization, to your customers and, ultimately, to your own character? camera was watching, and ultimately so were millions of viewers.

Customers were horrified and trust was diminished.

Conversely, I was killing time late one evening in a nearly empty airport. A merchandise kiosk was nearby and the employee there spent her downtime dusting product, arranging displays and staying busy. She didn’t know anyone was watching, but I was watching and was impressed with her work ethic. At another kiosk about 20 feet away sat a bored employee reading a book and regularly referring to his cellphone. I wasn’t so impressed with his work ethic (and I don’t think his boss would have been either).

One of the things I love when I visit Walt Disney World is watching cast members go out of their way to pick up trash off the ground, even when they don’t think anyone is watching. There’s a pride factor associated with this behavior that doesn’t rely on a

DENNIS SNOW is the president of Snow & Associates Inc. Dennis worked with the Walt Disney World Co. for 20 years and now consults with organizations around the world, helping them achieve their customer service goals. He is the author of “Unleashing Excellence: The Complete Guide to Ultimate Customer Service” and “Lessons From the Mouse: A Guide for Applying Disney World’s Secrets of Success to Your Organization, Your Career, and Your Life.” You can reach Dennis at 407-294-1855 or visit his website at www.snowassociates.com.

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23 SCORE | 2019 Issue 2

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The Proper Course of Action for

Social Security Administration No-Match Letters

By Douglas H. Duerr and Molly Martin

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he Social Security Administration (SSA) is once again issuing Employer Correction Request Notices, commonly known as “no-match letters.” While these letters may appear ominous, the stated purpose of the letters is to enlist an employer’s help in ensuring that the Social Security accounts of employees are properly credited for the wages they earned from the work they performed.

While it might be tempting to toss the letter aside, we would instead recommend taking the following steps:

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Review the Letter. While the letter can appear threatening, it is neither an allegation that you have knowingly employed undocumented employees nor that any of your employees are working illegally. There are various reasons why an employee is the subject of a no-match letter even though s/he has done nothing wrong: • A clerical error by the employee, employer or SSA. • Unreported name changes.

• Identify theft.

• Errors in reporting multiple surnames or hyphenated last names.

Remember that the SSA is not designed to be an enforcement agency and cannot issue fines or otherwise

prosecute you. Still, you should take time to review the letter and take steps to resolve any discrepancies.

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Conduct Your Own Investigation. Visit the Business Services Online program referenced in the letter to determine which employees have incorrect information. Before engaging your employees in the investigation process, match the information the SSA has on file for those employees against what you have recorded. Pay attention to the spelling of the names and any accent marks or hyphenations that may have been accidently added or omitted.

3

Privately Meet with Employees. Next, schedule private meetings with employees. If you anticipate any language barrier, have an interpreter present. Explain that the SSA has incorrect information on file for them and you need their help to ensure that their Social Security earnings are going to the correct account.

Ask employees to confirm their full legal name (including spelling, accent marks and hyphenations); date of birth; and Social Security number. If you determine the error was a clerical mistake that can easily be corrected (e.g.

name change, misspelling, etc.), have the employee complete a W2-C form correcting the information.

If there is no clerical error, direct the employee to contact the nearest SSA office in order to fix the issue and provide the employee with the contact information of the nearest office. Do not give any advice on how to handle the issue.

If the employee has been terminated or resigned, still try to contact that individual. You can do so by mailing the Sample Notice the SSA has prepared (located at https://www.ssa.gov/employer/notices/ SSNVSsampleLetter.pdf ) to the employee’s last known address.

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Schedule Check-Ins With Employees. It is best to give an employee approximately 60-90 days to address the error. However, if you do not act when an employee fails to correct the issue, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could determine that you have “knowledge” that an employee

does not have work authorization.

Therefore, for any employee you directed to contact the SSA, you should schedule periodic check-ins (such as at the 15-day mark, 30-day mark, etc.) with that employee to see if s/he needs help contacting the SSA to get the information corrected. The check-ins can take the form of another meeting with the employee, an email reminder or letter home. These meetings and communications will help resolve the issue and show you actively worked with the employee to remain in compliance with the law.

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Do Not Discriminate. The investigation of no-match letters provides many pitfalls for employers trying to remain in compliance with the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

The INA prohibits discrimination based on national origin, citizenship status, immigration status, requiring specific documents or more than the minimum documents to verify employment eligibility and retaliation. Be careful to avoid these common pitfalls: • Terminating or taking any other adverse action against an employee solely because of the no-match notice; • Conducting a no-match investigation differently for some employees (e.g. only scheduling meetings with Hispanic employees); • Requiring an employee to produce documents to address the no-match; • Asking an employee to complete a new I-9 due solely to the receipt of a no-match letter; • Requiring an employee to produce specific evidence from the SSA or any other government entity that a no-match has been resolved.

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Respond to the No-Match Letter. You should report back to the SSA by either submitting a W2-C form correcting the misinformation or letting the SSA know the results of the investigation (e.g. whether an employee is still in the process of correcting the information) within the 60-day window after receiving the letter. Ignoring a no-match letter will not be helpful in disproving that you did not have knowledge of unauthorized workers on your payroll.

Further, should you subsequently be subject to an I-9 audit, it is possible ICE will request that you produce any no-match letters you have received. In fact, general counsel for United States Citizenship and Immigration Service previously reported that I-9 violations were more likely to be found if an employer did not take any action after receiving a no-match letter. Therefore, it is important to show you have taken steps in correcting any employment verification issues.

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Avoid Future No-Match Letters. The SSA provides a Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS) for registered users, which

includes employers. Using this service, you can determine whether there are any discrepancies in an employee’s information that you can address prior to the filing of W-2 forms. Be aware that you cannot use this information for any reason other than wage verification.

In addition, you can set up a process by which you regularly check employee information to ensure it is up to date.

Again, you can use the SSNVS to do this.

Be careful to ensure you are checking the information for all employees, otherwise your practice could be considered discriminatory.

Conclusion A no-match letter can arrive for a myriad of reasons and does not mean that you have unauthorized workers.

Nonetheless, these letters create potential liabilities and pitfalls if not handled correctly. That said, ignoring the letter and/or terminating the relevant employees based solely on the letter, would be the worst mistake of all.

Following the steps outlined above will go a long way to reducing your risk. S

DOUGLAS H. DUERR is a partner and MOLLY MARTIN is an attorney at Elarbee Thompson, a national labor and employment law firm with an industry practice area focused on franchises. Learn more at www.elarbeethompson.com.

Life is full of compromises.

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HR SERVICES | EMPLOYEE BENEFITS | PAYROLL ADMIN | RISK MANAGEMENT

SCORE | 2019 Issue 2

As a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) offering integrated, costeffective solutions for your business, Oasis Outsourcing brings remarkable value to you and your company.

25 THE

Document Everything. It is important to document all your efforts to remain in compliance with the law. Develop a policy for employer representatives who will take part in responding to the no-match letter. This policy should include information related to when and how in-person meetings should be conducted, a script to follow when discussing no-match letters with employees, and an emphasis that no adverse actions should be taken against employees who are the subject of the letter.

During any in-person meetings

with employees, make sure two employer representatives are present – one to conduct the meeting and another to take notes. Keep any written communications to or from the employee in the employee’s personnel file, along with a copy of notes taken during the meeting.

Business Strategy and Lego Pieces

By Dan Coughlin

y nephews, Bob and John, are amazing with Lego pieces.

Every time I go to their house, they have built some amazing new creation. Sometimes they follow step-bystep instructions and sometimes they just build whatever comes to mind. Either way, I’m amazed every time by their result.

Recently I learned the term “business architecture” from Seth Godin in his course, The Bootstrapper’s Workshop. He explained that there are different approaches that entrepreneurs can deploy to earn an income. Some deliver the product or service, some bring people together who want to be together, some organize different types of workers, and some people own an

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asset that can be sold.

Combining these two thoughts (Lego pieces and business architecture) helped me greatly. I could see a new way of looking at business strategy.

Simplifying the Idea of Business Strategy For a long time, I’ve thought that the word strategy is the most complicated and confusing word in all of business. I believe if you read 50 books on strategy you will get 50 different definitions. And, oftentimes, they are worded in a way that is almost indecipherable.

However, I can visualize Lego pieces and how they can be assembled to build different creations. There are 2,350 different Lego elements that come in 52

different colors. You can build a lot of different things with that much variety.

And now I can see how organizations can use different pieces of business architecture to intentionally build different types of businesses.

So here is my definition of a business strategy.

A business strategy defines the business you are in and what your organization does to generate value for customers.

The “what your organization does” part consists of the pieces of your business architecture.

10 Pieces of Business Architecture Here are 10 ways that a company can produce value for customers and be paid for it: The Deliverer – delivers the product or service to the customer.

The Maintainer – maintains the quality of the product or service.

The Insurer – ensures the product or service for the customer and replaces it when needed.

The Gatherer – gathers people together who want to be together.

The Organizer – organizes different types of talented people to deliver the work that has been paid for.

The Creator – creates the product or service.

The Repeater – repeats the creation of the product or service.

The Entertainer – entertains customers.

The Connector – connects buyers and sellers.

The Doer – does the work for the customer.

DAN COUGHLIN focuses on strengthening excellence. He defines excellence as doing whatever you do as well as you can do it right now while simultaneously learning how to do it better the next time. He has provided more than 4,000 executive coaching sessions and more than 500 seminars on excellence since 1998. He is the co-author of the new book, “The Any Person Mindset: Be Accountable to the Difference You Can Make.” Visit www.theanypersonmindset.com to learn more or visit his Free Business Leadership Idea Center at www.thecoughlincompany.com.

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Analyze Famous Businesses Using Business Architecture Now describe the strategy of a famous business by defining the business they are in and the pieces of Business Architecture they use.

Intentionally State Your Business Strategy Now it’s time to think about your business. I want you to fill in the blanks: We are in the ___ business that primarily combines ___ .

You can fill in the first blank with the business you think you are in today, but you can also fill it in with the business you want to be in going

forward. The choice of how you define the business you are in is tremendously important. It will affect your decisions that impact every part of your business.

Once you’ve defined the business you are in, then decide on which pieces of business architecture you are going to primarily use.

For example, I’m in the performance improvement business that primarily combines The Creator and The Deliverer.

Going forward, I could intentionally add The Gatherer to my business strategy.

Step back right now and really think.

What business do you want to be in?

What pieces of business architecture will you combine to produce value for your customers?

Play with this for a while. You might just develop a breakthrough insight for the future of your business. S

THE

You can come up with more, but 10 ways are enough to make my point.

Become familiar with what they mean. Start by thinking of an example of each of these business architectural pieces. Here’s what comes to my mind: The Deliverer – pizza delivery guy.

The Maintainer – plumber fixes the sink.

The Insurer – Office Max ensures that the printer will be fixed or replaced.

The Gatherer – a conference meeting planner.

The Organizer – the contractor who assembles the workers to finish a basement.

The Creator – the author of a book.

The Repeater – a franchisee who replicates a restaurant.

The Entertainer – a comic doing a stand-up routine.

The Connector – real estate broker introducing buyers to sellers.

The Doer – the cleaning person who cleans up your house.

Amazon is a retail business that primarily combines The Organizer, The Deliverer and The Connector.

Google is an information and advertising business that primarily combines The Organizer, The Deliverer and The Connector.

The Walt Disney Co. is a family entertainment business that primarily combines The Creator, The Entertainer and The Gatherer.

McDonald’s is a quick-service restaurant business that primarily combines The Repeater, The Organizer and The Doer.

Notice that these two things (defining the business you are in and selecting pieces of business architecture) allows you to create an infinite number of different business.

Now you try it. Think of an existing organization, define the business it is in, and the different pieces of business architecture it uses. There are no perfect answers. I just want you to think about organizations in terms of the business they are in and the different ways that they produce value for customers.

Having a

VALUE Focus

By Laura Stack

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e’ve all been there. It’s the end of the day. Your schedule was jam-packed. You crossed 27 things off your to-do list. And still, you have that nagging feeling that the whole day slipped by before you got the chance to really accomplish anything at all.

Being busy is one thing. Being productive is something else.

On the surface, it can be hard to tell the difference. And that’s why it is so easy and tempting to fall into the “busy”

trap. In today’s workplace, as much as we supposedly revere productivity, “busy” is the badge of honor. Stacks of papers covering a desk, a frazzled dash to the coffee machine, and all those blue streaks of Outlook (un)availability – wow, you are important. It’s easy to show how busy you are, but productivity is something much more personal – and much more important.

At the end of the day, it’s only productivity that matters. That means

you need to be very sure that your time is not only accounted for but has real value.

Nobody cares how many things you crossed off your list.

Nobody cares how busy you were last week if key projects are falling through the cracks. Results matter – so think about how you can get the most value out of every day.

Here are some ideas to get you started: Let some tasks go. If you value your time, you can’t spend it doing things that aren’t valuable. Take a step back and make sure that even your lowest priority tasks are worth the time and effort you invest in them. Just because they manage to creep onto your to-do list week after week doesn’t mean they are a good use of time. If it’s an activity you do for someone else, make sure that person still finds it valuable before you spend another second on it. The last thing that you want is to spend time on projects that only shuffle their way through inboxes until they are finally deleted or tucked into some bottomless filing cabinet.

Train someone. Of course, there are plenty of tasks that you’d like to skip permanently, but that isn’t always an option. But maybe you can call in for some backup. Are you the only one capable of getting it done? If so, is there someone that you could train to fill the need? Even if you need to invest some time and energy in bringing someone up to speed, you’ll thank yourself down the road.

Just remember, when delegating tasks like these, you need to let go of your perfectionism. If you are still fretting about things getting done exactly how you were doing them, then you’ll miss out on the point of delegating it out in the first place.

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Cancel that meeting. Meetings are important. They allow for the exchange of ideas and play an important role in the dynamics of the workplace.

But not all meetings have the same value.

With a limited number of hours in the day, you need to pick and choose when a meeting is appropriate and when it isn’t. Always think twice before calling a meeting. If you have the flexibility to choose, you should always think twice about agreeing to attend one, too. If you feel like a good deal of your day is wasted by meetings, consider the following: • Is the meeting simply to exchange information? If so, an email might do the trick just as well, and save everyone a lot of time.

• Is there travel involved? An elevator ride is one thing. Real travel is quite another. Whether the meeting is going to have attendees from across town or across

the country, always stop and consider if a conference call might be just as effective. Sometimes the faceto-face is critical. Other times, Let some tasks go. it just doesn’t matter, so you If you value your time, you can’t must set boundaries to avoid wasting your time or anyone spend it doing things that aren’t else’s. valuable. Take a step back and make • What’s your role?

Maybe your place could be sure that even your lowest priority taken by an assistant who can take good notes. Just make tasks are worth the time and sure that, if decisions need to effort you invest in them. be made, whoever is taking your place is capable of filling in for you. Others will be quickly annoyed if your absence turns into an inconvenience for them.

If you do need to be there personally, find out exactly what is needed of you. directly on the envelope or use labels.

If only one item on a two-hour agenda The same is true at home. Dinner, involves you, perhaps you can handle that laundry, paying bills – developing a matter first and leave the meeting early. system can dramatically reduce the Spending half of your day in meetings frustration caused by everyday tasks. waiting for your agenda item can be a Even something as simple as a reusable frustrating time-waster. checklist can be enough to keep you moving in the right direction.

Revisit your objectives. When was the last time that you reviewed Determine the value. Find out your job description? As time passes, exactly what is expected of you. You it is easy to drift away from our formal might be going well above and beyond responsibilities and objectives. This can what is really needed. Perhaps you are be bad if you’re doing work you weren’t preparing an elaborate weekly status hired to do, but it can be bad when it report when those that read it are only comes time for a performance review. interested in that chart you always put Be aware of what is expected of you on page five. If they ignore the rest, and know the criteria on which you just distribute the chart. By getting an are evaluated. Sometimes you’ll need idea of what the report is really for, you to realign the priorities that have been might turn a two-hour headache into driving your schedule. Sometimes you a 20-minute piece of cake. Perfection and your boss might agree that your job has its place, but if the benefits of your description should be adjusted based on work aren’t worth your time, you should your evolving role in the company. reconsider what you’re doing for the sake of personal productivity.

Improve the process. Quite Make it a productive day! S often, the time traps that drive us crazy are just because it’s being done inefficiently. This is particularly true when LAURA STACK, MBA, CSP, CPAE, aka The it comes to repetitive tasks that you’ve Productivity Pro®, gives speeches and been engaged in for a long time. We get seminars on sales and leadership producso set in our ways that we don’t realize tivity. For over 25 years, she’s worked there might be a better way to accomplish with Fortune 1000 clients to reduce inefa task. If you have a similar report or ficiencies, execute more quickly, improve business letter that needs to be written on output and increase profitability. Laura a regular basis, come up with a template. is the author of seven books, including If you are regularly overwhelmed by your “Doing the Right Things Right: How the weekly filing, consider handling paperEffective Executive Spends Time.” To work as it comes in, before it piles up. If invite Laura to speak at your next event, you’re constantly handwriting addresses visit www.TheProductivityPro.com. on envelopes, figure out how to print

LOOK LISTEN READ L

ook, Listen, Read is a quarterly compilation of some of the most highly rated and reviewed apps, podcasts, books, websites and other resources. FBS does not support or endorse the use of these tools, which merely serve as a guide to exploring a new level of knowledge and productivity for your business.

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1

Business Insanity Talk Radio is hosted

by business expert Barry Moltz. Moltz has founded and run various small businesses for the past 20 years. On this podcast, Moltz interviews numerous entrepreneurs about the craziness of running a small business. Moltz typically interviews five guests per episode and releases one episode once a week.

2

Klaviyo makes it super simple to pull in data from your ecommerce platform, point-of-sale software and other marketing tools. So, the only limit to how you segment your audience is your own imagination. Say goodbye to spreadsheets, and say hello to highly relevant, personalized marketing made easy.

3

Do you want to learn the tips and tricks successful people used to get to where they are? Productivity guru Tim Ferriss’ “Tools of Titans” may be just the book you’re looking for. The 673-page tome is mostly a collection of interviews with more than 100 successful folks from all walks of life, all of whom offer up personal productivity advice and other insights about their careers.

“Tools of Titans” is broken into three sections: Healthy, Wealthy and Wise.

In each section, Ferriss’ own tips, routines and habits are spliced in between interviews.

6

Each week, Duct Tape Marketing publishes a

podcast with a well-known industry expert to discuss a small-business topic. John Jantsch has been a small-business marketing expert for a long time, so he often shares trends and advice for enterprise and smallbusiness audiences alike.

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4

Would you use the word “effective” to describe your managerial style? If not, or if you’re not sure, you need to read Peter Drucker’s 1967 classic “The Effective Executive.”

To thrive as a leader, executives need to figure out how to get the right things done. For Drucker, effective executives have great time management skills.

They’re also able to work productively while delegating tasks to the best people.

Effective executives prioritize and make the right decisions at the right times.

9

Absorb LMS gives you the flexibility to assemble and deliver courses that learners will love all while streamlining and automating your administrative workflows. Your best learning and development program begins with Absorb LMS. S

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Are you the kind of person who’s content with your skills or resistant to change? Do you think your business does what it does and there’s no possibility you’d succeed if you tried something entirely different? If so, you might find it liberating to learn that you do have the power to change these perceptions. Dr. Carol Dweck, Ph.D., is a professor at Stanford who’s the pioneer of mindset research; she’s been studying the power of mindset for decades. In her book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,” Dweck argues that our mindset dictates our behavior. It’s our way of thinking about ourselves and the world that governs the way we act.

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5

Freshteam is the

Written around 500 B.C., Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” is a timeless book on military strategy that remains surprisingly relevant today – not just on the battlefield, but also in the business world. The book is divided into 13 short chapters, each which explores a different facet of warfare. There are several lessons in the book that you’ll definitely want to read – and it won’t take that long, either.

ADVERTISERS GUIDE 2019 FBS Summit

CS

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2019 EDITORIAL CALENDAR

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CALL FOR FRANCHISEE NEWS Issue 3 is due out September 2019. As always, we want to highlight any news or events associated with our members. If you have ideas for potential stories, please submit online at www.myfbsonline.org, email communications@ myfbsonline.org or call 678-797-5161 by Aug. 30. Our editorial staff can assist in writing the article.

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From all of us at McLane Foodservice, Inc, to the BUFFALO WILD WINGS franchisees,

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*FBS is unaffiliated with McGriff Insurance Services, Inc. © 2019, McGriff Insurance Services, Inc. All rights reserved. McGriffInsurance.com

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THE MAGAZINE OF FRANCHISE BUSINESS SERVICES | 2019 ISSUE 2

Franchisees Offer Best Practices on Brand’s New Product Rollout

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