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THE MAGAZINE OF FRANCHISE BUSINESS SERVICES

2 020 ISSUE 1

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Jenny Beaudoin

Lands In the Franchisee Spotlight

Schedule for Success: Great Service Relies on Planning and Communication With Staff PAGE 18

PAGE 15

Regular P&L Management Keeps Companies Healthy PAGE 20

McLane Foodservice offers its sincere gratitude to the BUFFALO WILD WINGS franchisees for their years of partnership and successfully growing together.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2020 Issue 1

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 Bobby Pancake Director Larry Podlager Director Christy Williams Executive Director

FBS Editorial Board Jessica Loeding Editor-in-Chief jessical@myfbsonline.org Sean Ireland Managing Editor seani@myfbsonline.org Rachel Jackson Associate Editor rachelj@myfbsonline.org

Advertising Sales

Jeff Reynolds Director of Business Partner Relations jeffr@myfbsonline.org 678-797-5163 Montserrat Almaraz Sales & Development Manager montserrata@myfbsonline.org 678-439-2284

Design and Layout

Kristen Thomas KT Graphic Design ktgraphicdesign@gmail.com

ON THE COVER Longtime franchisee Jenny Beaudoin lands in the franchisee spotlight in this issue of The SCORE. Turn to page 15 to read how Beaudoin got her start with Buffalo Wild Wings® and what she loves about BWW®!

COLUMNS 2

Chairman’s Column

DEPARTMENTS

4 FBS Member News 11 Recognitions 11 Event Calendar 16 One Topic: 10 Facts 17 Look, Listen, Read

FEATURES 12 14 18 20 22 23 24 26 28 30 31

Team Up for Kids Raises More Than $1.5 Million in 2019 Spotlight on the 116th Congress: Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) Schedule for Success: Great Service Relies on Planning and Communication with Staff by Sean Ireland, FBS associate director of communications Regular P&L Management Keeps Companies Healthy by Sean Ireland Five Software Essentials for Your BWW by Savannah Daly, FBS communications coordinator New Year, New Tax Law Changes for Restaurant Owners by Stacy Smith, Mize CPAs Inc. Expanding Predictive Scheduling Laws Will Affect You by Douglas Duerr, Elarbee Thompson Sapp and Wilson, LLP Talk About Big Dreams and Little Details Every Day by Dan Coughlin, The Coughlin Co. How Leaders Can Get More Done Through Others: How Micromanagement Can Kill Productivity and Creativity by Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro® How to Manage the Risks of Water Damage by Lockton Affinity The Power of Presence by Dennis Snow, Snow & Associates Inc.

DIRECTORIES

13 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.

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From the Chairman

t is an understatement to say that 2020 has been a daunting year for restaurant operators around the world.

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As Buffalo Wild Wings® franchisees, we rely on the spring being one of our busiest seasons, with fans pouring in for March Madness, the start of Major League Baseball, the Kentucky Derby, the Masters, and the NBA and NHL playoffs. Instead, the COVID-19 outbreak turned the world upside down for everyone, cancelling sports, forcing the closure of our dining rooms and placing much of our nation under stay-at-home orders to prevent the spread of the virus. Very quickly, we saw our business model upended. Nearly overnight, we converted our sports bars to takeoutand-delivery-only operations. Though

the federal government has taken steps to provide relief to small-business owners like us and to our team members, there remain questions about loan repayment and whether the funds will be enough to make a difference. Now, as we prepare plans to reopen dining rooms, there are long-term issues to consider, too. What practices will be needed to ensure the safety of our guests and employees? How have guests’ expectations changed? What does the new normal look like? When will sales return to pre-crisis levels? So much is unknown now, but while we have begun creating a game plan to tackle these new challenges we are facing in the restaurant industry, we must consider how we will get things moving when the time comes to safely restart our lives. Yes, there will be missteps as our educated guesses and best estimates turn out to be off base, but we can pivot. Think of how quickly we changed our service model in March. Our teams can take in new information, change strategies and apply it to operations on the go. Franchise Business Services (FBS) is here as a resource for you and your staff as we navigate these difficult times. To start, keep up with the latest updates and industry resources regarding COVID-19 at www.myfbsonline.org. By now, you have all seen the calls to action that FBS has shared as we’ve sought to influence legislation that provides aid to our industry and our team members. You’ve

also been invited to webinars with experts who have provided guidance and advice on navigating the sometimes-confusing process for accessing relief and for protecting your business and its assets during this downturn. Our annual FBS Summit is a way for our members to gather and share information with each other that they can take back to their sports bars. Due to travel restrictions and our concern for the health of our members and business partners, the FBS Board of Directors made the difficult decision to reschedule this year’s Summit, which had been planned for May. We look forward to seeing all of you in person at the 2021 Summit in Las Vegas May 5-7, 2021. In the meantime, I encourage you to turn to each other – reach out to other franchisees through phone or email – and discuss the challenges you face and the solutions you’ve developed to meet them. Share the great ideas and best practices you are using to get through this crisis. Don’t forget that the FBS board and I are also always here to assist you. As we navigate this difficult time in our nation and world, stay healthy and safe. Keep up the great work you have been doing as you’ve quickly transitioned to providing food to our loyal customers via takeout and delivery. As we anticipate life returning to “normal” soon, be ready to reopen your dining areas with new practices that will keep our team members and guests safe but still provide the same outstanding food and service for which we are known. We will survive this challenge and emerge stronger from its lessons and the support of fellow franchisees.

Wray Hutchinson

memberservices@elevanta.com I elevantahealth.com/fbs I www.elevanta.com

MEMBER NEWS

Lancaster Wings Inc. Saves Lives With Red Cross Partnership

fter the holiday season ends, the American Red Cross often experiences a dip in blood donations. To help combat this, Lancaster Wings Inc., owned by Larry Tipton, has partnered with the Red Cross for the month of January each year since 2012. January is National Blood Donor month, and Buffalo Wild Wings® offers an incentive to help encourage more donations. Anyone who donates blood at a Red Cross blood drive in Fairfield County, Ohio, throughout the month receives a $5 gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings. The restaurant creates specific gift cards for the program each year so it can track how many are redeemed. If the restaurant helps the local Red Cross chapter meet its goal, it considers the program a success. Each year, the program has helped the chapter exceed its goal – usually by about 125%. At the end of each January, the Red Cross informs BWW® how many pints of blood were donated as a result of the promotion, showing just how many potential lives were saved. In 2019 alone, the program helped potentially save 2,538 lives in Fairfield County, contributing to a total of over 10,000 lives since 2012. “It is so rewarding to know just how many lives we potentially helped save through this program,” said Tipton. The restaurant advertises the program each year in a variety of ways, including table tents, posters, flyers in takeout bags and

All Fairfield County Red Cross blood donors received a card for $5 off their Buffalo Wild Wings purchase during the month of January.

traditional press releases. Lancaster Wings advises other franchisees to speak with their local Red Cross blood drive representatives to learn more about their program. “We are proud to make a tangible contribution to the community in a way that helps save lives – especially through this program, which underscores the importance of partnership,” said Tipton. S

High 5 Hospitality Remodels Restaurant on University of Delaware Campus L

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ast winter, the team at High 5 Hospitality (H5H) worked hard to remodel and refresh the Buffalo Wild Wings® restaurant on the University of Delaware campus in Newark, Delaware. The restaurant was transformed from a Generation Four design to a revitalized Stadia design. The team completed the renovations over a six-week period without closing for a single day due to clear communication among the team and the guests. “The coordination and efforts of the construction team, ownership and sports bar team were amazing to witness,” said Bobby Pancake, owner of High 5 Hospitality. The restaurant received a completely new audio-visual package and a revamped counter area to fulfill increased takeout volume. Many of the university students returned to campus after their winter break and came to check out the new changes. The company is hoping to see a 5-8% lift from the renovations. “We at H5H have truly enjoyed this renovation process,” said Mark Ford, multiunit manager for H5H. “It’s quite rewarding to see the reaction of our guests who come in and enjoy their new sports bar!” S

University of Delaware students can enjoy the recently remodeled Buffalo Wild Wings near the college’s campus.

MEMBER NEWS

AMPAL Group Franchisee Facilitates Annual Medical Camp in India B

Over 1,100 people came to the camp to receive general checkups, eye exams and prescription medication. T:3.5 in

A VISIONARY BLEND OF COGNAC & ORANGE LIQUEUR

MAKE IT GRAND T:4.75 in

ipin Patel, franchisee with AMPAL Group, recently hosted his fifth annual medical camp in association with the Psychological Development and Mental Health Foundation. Patel hosts the camp each year around his birthday in January. “Bipin feels, instead of spending money to celebrate his birthday or on a party for himself, he would rather spend this money helping those less fortunate,” said Jordan McMeen, marketing coordinator for AMPAL Group. “He finds ways to give back to his local communities here in the United States throughout the year but wanted to give back to his hometown in India.” The planning process for the camps begins over six months in advance. First, Patel contacts friends who meet with leaders of approximately 15 local villages to find out their needs. Then, a location is chosen that is central to the villages most in need. This year’s camp was hosted in Guajrat, India. Approximately 35 doctors from different fields, including cardiology, oncology, ophthalmology, gynecology and more, came to provide medical services to those in need. Over 1,100 people received treatments and prescriptions; 246 pairs of eyeglasses were also given to those who needed them. Patel personally paid for 67 cataract surgeries in the weeks after the camp. All items were given to the villagers free of charge, along with free food and drink. Bipin’s daughter, Payal, and son, Amit, who is also a franchisee, were involved in the camp as well. After attending in 2019, they were inspired to create a nonprofit organization to maximize their family’s impact. Their nonprofit is called Health Reach India and focuses on the promotion of health maintenance for longer and healthier lives. “The camp could not happen without the approximately 35 doctors and their staff volunteering their time, traveling to the location of the camp and donating their equipment and supplies to treat the camp attendees,” said McMeen. “The camp also could not happen without the volunteers who distribute over 10,000 flyers and hang hundreds of posters leading up to the camp to ensure all are aware of this free treatment being offered and the volunteers that coordinate the day. This is truly a group effort to help ensure all have access to the medical care they deserve.” S

DRINK WITH STYLE. DRINK RESPONSIBLY.

LIVE

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Franchisee Bipin Patel hosted his fifth annual medical camp with the help of Health Reach India and the Psychological Development and Mental Health Foundation.

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MEMBER NEWS

Grube Inc. Hosts 10th WVU Fans Gather at Annual United Way Hot BWW Cross Lanes to Wing-Eating Contest Raise Money for Patron

n Jan. 29, the Buffalo Wild Wings® in Bridgeport, West Virginia, owned by Grube Inc., hosted the 10th annual Hot Wing-Eating Contest for United Way of Harrison County. The annual event is one of United Way’s biggest fundraising efforts for its annual campaign, which funds over 19 local nonprofits in Harrison County. This year’s event was called Battle of the High Schools. Coaches, teachers and even vice principals participated and tried their best to eat as many B-Dubs® hot wings as they Jim Wilson, second-place could in eight minutes. Over winner who ate 34 wings, and 200 students, family and friends Josh Dilger, first-place winner watched their school’s represenwho ate 36 wings, pose with tatives and donated to the cause. their trophies from the 2020 To raise money, participants Hot Wing-Eating Contest. solicited pledges for each wing that they ate. There were four winning categories: top man, top woman, most eaten and most money raised. Each winner received a trophy. Josh Dilger from Aurora, West Virginia, devoured 36 wings in eight minutes and beat the five-time reigning champion. Between 45 participants and a full house of guests, $54,000 was raised for United Way. “We believe in giving back to the communities we serve and felt United Way was an impactful way to serve all of Harrison County,” said Rick Small, marketing director for Grube Inc. He also praised General Manager Jason Mike, who is nicknamed the “Mayor of Bridgeport,” for his efforts planning the event. S

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n Dec. 29, Grube Inc.’s Buffalo Wild Wings® in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, was packed with over 200 West Virginia University (WVU) fans. The supporters showed Thousands of dollars were raised at a fundraiser at Buffalo Wild Wings for Scott up in their blue Barr and his family to help with medical and gold not just expenses. to root on the Mountaineers, but also to raise funds for a local resident, Scott Barr. After beating testicular cancer twice, Barr was diagnosed with metastatic bladder cancer in 2017. He lives near Buffalo Wild Wings and would often come eat wings and watch WVU sports. Section 304, a West Virginia Mountaineers fan club, approached the restaurant about hosting the event. Any patron who showed a flyer to their server would have 15% of their total bill donated to Barr and his family to help with medical expenses. There was also an auction of various autographed WVU memorabilia. In addition to a Mountaineer win, the event also was a winner, raising thousands of dollars for the Barr family. General Manager CeCe Kirkhart and her team did a phenomenal job hosting the event, and it was great to see so many people support the cause. Barr’s brother, Chris, was thankful to everyone who came. “Knowing he’s got so many friends and family, that shows a lot about him,” said Chris. “He’s got a lot of people turning out for him even though he can’t be here – he’s too sick. There’s a lot of people out here supporting him today.” S

JK&T Wings Sponsors Local Fire and Ice Festival

he Fire and Ice Festival in Rochester, Michigan, is an annual winter festival hosted by the local parks and recreation department. Each January, the festival brings a plethora of winter-themed events to downtown Rochester. This year’s festival took place Jan. 17-19 and included many events for the community to enjoy. Families participated in ice skating, marshmallow roasting, tube sledding and ziplining. After an ice-carving competition, the ice sculptures were on display throughout downtown Rochester for people to admire.

The Buffalo Wild Wings® in downtown Rochester, owned by JK&T Wings, sponsored a shuttle to and from the event that kept people from having to walk from the city square. After the fireworks and light shows at the end of each night, many attendees stopped in the restaurant to warm up with some wings or drinks, bringing additional traffic. JK&T Wings participates in several different community events throughout the year and looks forward to getting more involved in 2020. S

MEMBER NEWS

Two Joes Inc. Introduces Esports Tournament O

n Feb. 25, Buffalo Wild Wings® in Mankato, Minnesota, owned by Two Joes Inc., partnered with local Bethany Lutheran College’s esports team to host its first live esports tournament. The Bethany Vikings Esports team used the tournament as a bonding opportunity and a way to recruit new members. A $1,000 scholarship to Bethany was awarded to the winner of the tournament. Over 60 college students participated in the tournament, which involved playing Super Smash Bros., a Nintendo game that features battles between legendary Nintendo characters. The restaurant was full with over 100 guests watching, playing and socializing. In addition to the scholarship, a Nintendo Switch was given away to a lucky winner courtesy of Best Buy. PepsiCo also sponsored the event, providing its Mountain Dew Game Fuel drink to all players. Local radio station Hot 96.7 attended the tournament and gave wristbands to the Mall of America theme park to guests. “Buffalo Wild Wings is the No. 1 place for sports and adding the esports platform into our business programming perfectly aligns with that mission,” said franchisee Joe Frederick Jr.

Over 100 guests attended the Super Smash Bros. tournament on Feb. 25.

The tournament was wildly successful for the restaurant and has inspired Two Joes to plan other similar events for the future. “We would love to do other tournaments for adults 18 and up, or for high school kids,” said Jen Epper, business and marketing manager for Two Joes. S

High 5 Hospitality Creates Friendly Competition, Sparks Community Fundraising Involvement

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year to raise money for various causes, including the Delaware National Guard, Easterseals Disability Services and various local schools and sports teams. The winner of the contest was Westside School PTA, which raised over $2,200 for its school through fundraisers at BWW. This was a 450% increase from how much it raised with High 5 Hospitality in 2018, which was High 5 Hospitality less than $500. Thanks to the announced Westside School contest, nearly $5,000 was raised PTA was the contest winner for the school. and presented school The 2019 High5K took officials with a check for place on Nov. 1, and 89 runners their funds raised prior to participated and raised money the High5K. for a great cause. For its first year, High 5 Hospitality is proud of the tremendous involvement and excitement that revolved around the contest. The number of Home Team Advantage fundraisers went up from 30 in 2018 to 60 in 2019 as a result. Michael Golt, brand ambassador for High 5 Hospitality, encourages other restaurant leaders to try this concept in their community. “Connect with your community and educate them about what you are doing,” he advised. S

THE

n 2019, High 5 Hospitality, owned by Bobby Pancake and Steve Wheat, decided to introduce its first fundraising contest at all BWW® locations in Delaware and two in Maryland. Each year the company hosts the annual High5K on the first Saturday in November. In 2019, High Eighty-nine runners came with 5 Hospitality introduced family and friends to the High5K a contest to encourage on Nov. 1. organizations to increase participation and raise more funds. High 5 Hospitality’s new contest was from Jan. 1 through Sept. 30 and incentivized any local organization or business to raise money through BWW’s Eat Wings Raise Funds (EWRF) events by allowing the organization or business with the most money raised to keep a percentage of the proceeds from the annual High5K. “With our High5K raising $10,000 for our local community over the past couple of years, this contest has encouraged many new organizations to schedule fundraisers and current partners to schedule even more events,” said Pancake. About 300 organizations participated in EWRF nights throughout the

MEMBER NEWS

Chicopee, Massachusetts, Buffalo Wild Wings Receives 2019 Helping Hands Award E

Teens from the Chicopee Boys & Girls Club visited BWW throughout the year to shadow and learn from team members.

ach year, the Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee, Massachusetts, selects one of its local business partners as the recipient of the Helping Hands Award. The award is given to the organization that best embodies the mission of the club and has the largest impact on the youth it serves. The 2019 award winner was the Buffalo Wild Wings® in Chicopee, owned by Awesome Holdings, LLC. General Manager Tom Baron was elected to the General Manager Tom Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors in Baron accepts the 2019 January 2019 and helped facilitate several Helping Hands Award from the Chicopee Boys events with the restaurant throughout & Girls Club. the year. BWW® donated food for the club’s Christmas party and employees volunteered time for the club’s annual golf tournament. The restaurant also partnered with the club’s teen center, allowing teens to come in the restaurant twice during the year, pair up with a BWW team member and learn firsthand what working in the hospitality industry is like. “The teens really bonded with the staff members and many great relationships were formed,” said Baron. Baron was recognized on behalf of Buffalo Wild Wings at the board of directors meeting on Dec. 12. He is excited about continuing the partnership with the Boys & Girls Club into 2020 and beyond. In addition to the annual events, the restaurant plans on expanding its relationship with the teen center by hosting meetings, planning fundraising events and even sending Blazin’ Bill as a surprise guest to club athletic events. “It’s one thing to be fortunate working for a great brand as well as a great franchisee,” said Baron, “but to have staff members who are as equally passionate about the spirit to serve and give back to the community as I am is what makes my position here truly special.” S

Two Joes Inc. Hosts Jiu Jitsu Demonstrations for UFC 244

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any BWW® restaurants across the country have late-night crowds during UFC fights. Fans love watching the main event on a big screen with wings and drinks. However, Two Joes Inc., owned by Joe Fredrick Sr. and Joe Fredrick Jr., put a cool twist on “fight night” in their Mankato, Minnesota, restaurant. The restaurant partnered with local business Kato Jiu Jitsu to give demonstrations of the sport throughout the night. An area was cleared for mats, and guests were able to watch Kato members and instructors spar against each other. Kato gave a three-month membership to a lucky raffle winner at the event. Guests enjoyed wings and $2 Modelo drafts. The restaurant was packed with guests, with over 150 people in attendance. “Our goal is to create legendary experiences for all of our guests,” said Joe Frederick Jr. “The partnership with Kato Jiu Jitsu

The Buffalo Wild Wings in Mankato, Minnesota, was packed for UFC 244 while local business Kato Jiu Jitsu performed demonstrations.

was a natural fit for our UFC Fight Nights.”

MEMBER NEWS

Carolina Wings Hosts Annual Shop with Heroes Event

ach year, Carolina Wings Management’s BWW® in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, hosts a holiday event that gives back to its community. On Dec. 14, 50 community heroes, made up of first responders from the North Myrtle Beach police, fire and EMT departments, came to the 2019 Shop with Heroes event. Each hero paired up with a child and gave them the royal treatment for the day. First, the children and their heroes ate lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings®, paid for by the city of North Myrtle Beach. The kids got to know their hero and learn about what they do while eating, playing games and coloring. Then, the children rode in police cars and fire trucks to the nearby Walmart to shop for Christmas presents. The restaurant has been hosting this event for the past five years, but the turnout this year was the best to date. About 95 people attended, and local media outlets came to report on the event, which was great advertising for BWW. It was a great outcome for everyone involved – local heroes were recognized for their efforts and children in need got a great Christmas. “The staff loves doing these types of special events, especially when it helps the kids,” said Tom McGuigan, general manager. “The officer in charge told us that this year was the most welcome that they ever felt and that it was hard to tell who had bigger smiles on their faces, the kids or the staff!” S

On Dec. 14, local first responders paired up with children for the annual Shop with Heroes event at the Buffalo Wild Wings in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Jones Group Celebrates the Life of a Regular Customer at Buffalo Wild Wings E FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM

Delight your guests. Control your costs. Protect your reputation.

Helping you achieve better business results at a lower total cost.

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xceptional service goes a long way in the restaurant business – it’s what turns a firsttime guest into a regular customer Friends and family of Ross Dunham filled who feels like an honorary team the Buffalo Wild Wings in Angola, Indiana, for a memorial in his honor. member. An excellent example of this happened recently at a Jones Group BWW® in Angola, Indiana. After Ross Dunham, a beloved regular, passed away in the summer of 2019, the Angola team held a memorial in his honor for his friends and family. The group sat at Dunham’s favorite table, which was next to the Golden Tee golf game, and set up a picture of him with a tall glass of Bud Light next to it. “We made sure we were staffed up and welcomed everyone in that day,” said General Manager Matt Marvin. “There were many tears shed and memories shared that day. Everyone was so pleased with the turnout and continue to come in.” Dunham’s memorial was a day the Angola team will never forget. “We aren’t just a restaurant, we are a family here,” said Marvin. “We develop these personal relationships with our guests not just for the business, but for ourselves as well. We enjoy including them in our little family here.” S

MEMBER NEWS

High 5 Hospitality Partners With Local Youth Sports Foundation for Raffle Fundraiser T he Jason Anderson Foundation for Youth Sports is a nonprofit based in Lewes, Delaware, that is dedicated to helping children in need participate in youth sports activities. Last fall, the Buffalo Wild Wings® in Rehoboth, Delaware, owned by High 5 Hospitality, partnered with the foundation for the first time to help it raise funds. The foundation conducted a raffle of two prizes: a New Orleans Saints helmet signed by quarterback Drew

Brees and a Saints football signed by wide receiver Michael Thomas. A representative from the Jason Anderson Foundation was at the restaurant during a Saints playoff game to sell raffle tickets for the items to guests. The foundation also set up a table at the entrance of the restaurant to spread the word about its efforts. All the proceeds from the raffle funded Delaware children who want to participate in a sports activity but might be turned away due to a lack

of financial resources. In its first four years, the Jason Anderson Foundation provided more than $35,000 to local sports programs. This fundraiser aligns closely with the values of Buffalo Wild Wings and is similar to the Team Up for Kids initiative. “We strive to support our local community and its youth,” said Michael Golt, brand ambassador for High 5 Hospitality. “We believe all children should be able to play and benefit from sports.” S

Franklin’s Management Father-Daughter Duo Keep University Spirit Alive in Their Restaurants

Father-daughter duo Colleen Flowers and Jerry Franklin are both alumni of the University of Dayton.

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ranklin’s Management, owned by franchisee Jerry Franklin, has three Buffalo Wild Wings® locations across the state of Ohio. As an alumnus of the University of Dayton (UD), his restaurants serve as a staple gathering place for the Dayton alumni community in northeast Ohio. Franklin played football at UD and graduated from the university in 1974. He credits his college experience for laying the groundwork to start his first “BW-3s” in the ’90s. Franklin’s daughter, Colleen Franklin Flowers, followed in his footsteps and became a UD alum in 2001.

Over 100 University of Dayton Flyers fans and alumni gathered at Buffalo Wild Wings on Feb. 22 to watch the men’s basketball team take on Duquesne.

The duo often hosts watch parties for UD fans to gather and watch sports. On Feb. 22, the Strongsville location hosted a party for the UD men’s basketball game against Duquesne, which over 100 Flyers fans attended. “We host all kinds of events, but when you can provide space to a huge community that shares the same love as I have for the University of Dayton, it is truly something special,” said Franklin. Franklin and Flowers stay involved with Dayton throughout the year beyond just hosting watch parties. Their Cleveland locations donate food for the

annual Christmas Off Campus event, where members of the UD Cleveland Alumni chapter volunteer at a local elementary school’s holiday party. The restaurant also hosts the planning committee throughout the fall for meetings. “We are very lucky to have people come to ‘our house’ and celebrate the University of Dayton with us,” said Flowers. “You can’t help but be in a good mood during each event. The endless stories and tireless laughter make all the hard work preparing worth it. Best part, I am able to do it all with my father!” S

RECOGNITIONS Congratulations to the following World Wide Wings employees … Tim Eaker has recently been promoted to district support manager for the Midwest. Tim has been with BWW® for the past 12 years and previously worked for Ruby Tuesday restaurants for 10 years.

Chandler Porter has been hired as general manager in the Chico, California, Buffalo Wild Wings®. His journey in the food and beverage industry began in 2003 and includes a wide variety of experience from fine dining, entertainment and specialty venues. Porter started working for World Wide Wings in 2015 and has held various roles over the years.

Congratulations to the following Awesome Holdings, LLC employees … Matt Nord, vice president of operations, is celebrating his 10-year anniversary with BWW. His previous experience in the restaurant industry includes multiunit management with TGI Fridays and Ruby Tuesday. He began as a multiunit manager for BWW and assumed his current role in 2015.

Ben Lee, regional manager, is celebrating his 10-year anniversary with Buffalo Wild Wings. His BWW career began as a service manager in College Park, Maryland. He then received his first general manager role in 2013 and was promoted to regional manager in 2015. Ben also oversees the beverage programming for the franchise.

Congratulations to the following High 5 Hospitality employees … Matt Newquist recently celebrated his five-year anniversary as the learning and development coordinator for High 5 Hospitality. Alexander Morris is celebrating his 10-year anniversary with High 5 Hospitality. Morris works as a cook at the BWW in Christiana, Delaware. Mandy Lloyd is celebrating 10 years with High 5 Hospitality as a bartender. She works behind the bar of the Christiana, Delaware, BWW. Dylan Stubbs will be celebrating five years as a cook at the BWW in Dover, Delaware. Kourtney Mitchell will be celebrating five years as a cook at the BWW in Dover, Delaware.

Congratulations to the following KATAR Group employees … Rachel Favalon is a server at the Wooster, Ohio, location and recently celebrated five years with the company.

Congratulations to the following Franklin’s Management employees … Joe Wedlake, director of operations, is celebrating his 20-year anniversary with the company. He started as a general manager at the Medina, Ohio, location and won the Grand Prix three times before becoming the operations director for Franklin’s Management.

David Lashaway will soon celebrate his 10-year anniversary with Franklin’s Management. His passion for the restaurant industry began as a QAE inspector for a basic trainee dining facility on Lackland AFB in Texas. He currently works as the assistant manager at the BWW in Medina, Ohio.

We want to highlight your company’s achievements (employee

the online submission form at www.myfbsonline.org/submissions, email communications@myfbsonline.org or call 678-797-5161.

FBS Summit May 5-7, 2021 Las Vegas, Nevada

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sales records). To submit information for Recognitions, complete

EVENT CALENDAR

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promotions, new hires, employee or restaurant anniversaries, and

Rich Zawrotuk has recently celebrated 15 years with Franklin’s Management. He was the general manager at the Broadview Heights BWW and was transferred to the Strongsville location in 2011, where he is still general manager today.

Team Up for Kids Raises More Than $1.5 Million in 2019 T

he 2019 Team Up for Kids Fundraiser was one for the record books! The Buffalo Wild Wings® system raised more than $1.5 million to support the Buffalo Wild Wings Foundation. These funds will support our mission of ensuring that all kids can belong to a team. Through our partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, we’ve helped more than 300,000 kids belong to a team. These are just a few of the kids you’ve helped with your participation in the Team Up for Kids program. Thank you!

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Keshawn was a shy and introverted third-grader. He put his all into the basketball program at Boys & Girls Clubs of the CSRA in Augusta, Georgia, and was mentored by the coaches for over four years. He is now a star player at his school and leads the team in points. He came out of his shell and is now one of the club’s most popular members. Keshawn volunteers at the club, helping whenever needed. He’s always the first to step up to the plate to lead. He currently serves as a student coach for soccer and has made it his mission to help younger members learn the game and win. He aspires to be an athletic director of a recreation center.

Jayse was having a difficult time keeping

his level of activity and voice at appropriate levels. He became a member of Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and began playing basketball and soccer through the club’s ALL STARS program. Staff immediately saw improvements in his behavior. At the ALL STARS awards night, Jayse was named Most Improved Player for basketball and MVP for soccer. The ALL STARS program gave him a way to channel his high energy in a positive way. Jayse’s mom noticed behavior improvements at home as well and has thanked his coach repeatedly for working with him this year.

Logan was recently taken out of his

mother’s care due to less-than-ideal circumstances. He was unable to attend Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Alabama

in Birmingham, Alabama, as he bounced around among group homes and foster families. He finally settled into a foster home and enrolled in a school that has transportation to the club. Fortunately, there was still time to sign up for the club’s basketball league. It was Logan’s first time playing an organized sport, but his current guardian and foster family have been there every step of the way, attending numerous games to see him play. Receiving that kind of positive adult support was a first for him, too, and it’s made a difference. Because of the basketball league, his self-worth and disposition have improved dramatically, and he continues to thrive.

About four years ago, J’mya lost her father. The ALL STARS basketball league at Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton Harbor in Benton Harbor, Michigan, became a safe haven not only for J’mya but also for her two sisters, who joined the league with her. This program allowed her to blossom into a confident leader and sharpened her basketball skills. This upcoming year, she will start as a freshman on the varsity basketball team at Benton Harbor High School. After her father died, she did not have hope for the future, but now she aspires to earn a scholarship to play NCAA Division I basketball. Thanks to ALL STARS, she’s on the way to achieving her dreams. S

Support the Vendors

THAT SUPPORT YOUR ASSOCIATION CONTACT NAME

PHONE

Elevanta Health

Partner

Hannah Copeland

hannahc@elevanta.com

678-439-2283

Lockton Affinity

Partner

Reid Robson

elevanta@locktonaffinity.com

844-403-4947

McLane Foodservice Inc.

Diamond

Charlie Gallagher

charlie.gallagher@mclanefs.com

317-331-1112

PepsiCo

Diamond

John Ledva

john.ledva@pepsico.com

732-618-8578

Molson Coors

Emerald

Stephanie Vint

stephanie.vint@molsoncoors.com

816-289-1786

Campari America, LLC

Pearl

Danny Moch

danny.moch@campari.com

240-367-6137

Ecolab Inc.

Pearl

Kasey Beeler

kasey.beeler@ecolab.com

612-750-0759

Heineken USA

Pearl

Andrew O’Rourke

aorourke@heinekenusa.com

703-586-7917

Quad/Graphics Inc.

Pearl

Scott Ingram

singram@quad.com

612-594-3166

The Wasserstrom Co.

Pearl

Matt Brown

mattbrown@wassterstrom.com

614-737-8314

TraitSet

Pearl

Dan Longton

dan@hrgems.com

239-877-0110

Audio Visual Design Install

Assoc. Mbr.

Jason Abbott

paperwork@avdiusas.com

260-615-8995

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Assoc. Mbr.

Cristin O’Hara

cristin.m.o’hara@baml.com

617-434-1897

Boston Beer Co.

Assoc. Mbr.

Gary Fragle

gary.fragle@bostonbeer.com

770-402-9850

Brown-Forman Corp.

Assoc. Mbr.

Dennis Greenwood

dennis_greenwood@b-f.com

678-602-5996

C&T Design and Equipment Co.

Assoc. Mbr.

James Bales

jbales@c-tdesign.com

317-654-3721

Copesan

Assoc. Mbr.

Mary-Agnes Janke

majanke@copesan.com

800-267-3726 x2324

Daktronics

Assoc. Mbr.

Walter Southwood

waltersouthwood@daktronics.com

605-692-0200

David H. Tishkoff, CPA, LLC

Assoc. Mbr.

David Tishkoff

dtishkoff@bullseye-controls.com

614-799-0856

DRAS Cases Inc.

Assoc. Mbr.

Josh Flattum

josh@drascases.com

507-402-4812

Federal Heath

Assoc. Mbr.

Randy Cearlock

rcearlock@federalheath.com

317-581-7790 x23

Founders Brewing Co.

Assoc. Mbr.

Jeff Diem

diemj@foundersbrewing.com

317-506-9232

Jolt

Assoc. Mbr.

Briton Page

briton.page@jolt.com

801-698-3084

Mahoney Environmental

Assoc. Mbr.

Sonny Nuccio

sonny@mahoneyes.com

815-791-1005

One More Time Inc.

Assoc. Mbr.

Alex Alvarez

aalvarez@onemoretimeinc.com

323-839-8541

Pabst Brewing Co.

Assoc. Mbr.

Steve Zelinsky

szelinsky@pabst.com

314-882-4103

Parts Town

Assoc. Mbr.

Craig Drummond

cdrummond@partstown.com

717-329-4380

Pinnacle Commercial Capital

Assoc. Mbr.

William Wildman

wildman@pincomcap.com

317-514-6906

Pitco/MagiKitch’n/Blodgett

Assoc. Mbr.

Mark McCabe

mmccabe@pitco.com

603-230-5509

Plymold

Assoc. Mbr.

Judy Ryan

jryan@plymold.com

507-789-8337

Seating Concepts

Assoc. Mbr.

Ken Hibben

khibben@seating-concepts.com

815-483-2253

UPshow

Assoc. Mbr.

Jamey Walsh

jamey@upshow.tv

773-699-0095

Welcome Wifi

Assoc. Mbr.

Mark Robinson

mark@welcomewifi.com

484-354-7409

Valley Proteins

Assoc. Mbr.

Ron Rogers

rrogers@valleyproteins.com

540-877-3220

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Spotlight on the 116th Congress:

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) Q A

as the Accelerated Payments for Small Business Act would expedite the much-needed cash flow that businesses need to grow and succeed. The bill would direct federal government agencies that contract with small businesses to pay those small businesses within 15 days, rather than the current 30-day standard.

Through your tenure as a public servant, what qualities or skills did you develop that you utilize as a representative?

The ability to listen. When I first ran for Congress, one of the best pieces of advice was from former Speaker Paul Ryan, who told me, “You have two ears and one mouth, use them in that ratio.” The power of listening is incredibly important for elected officials. Our job is to hear constituents’ concerns and ideas and legislate based on their feedback. My best legislative ideas and solutions come from innovative ideas shared with me by constituents. Hard work. I was raised with a very strong work ethic and won my first campaign because of an effective message and outworking my opponent. I try to bring that work ethic to my job every day. I have participated in over 1,000 constituent district outreach events since I was sworn into office. The importance of bipartisanship. I am proud to be in the top 10% of the most bipartisan members of Congress, according to The Luger Center. Solving problems often means working across the aisle.

Q A

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

One of the most common things I have heard from small businesses and manufacturers across the North Country is the need for high-skilled, trained workers. To compete in a 21st-century economy, workers need the skills and experience necessary to secure these high-skilled jobs. I am proud to have led on a number of initiatives, including the Career and Technical Education (CTE) for the 21st Century Act, aimed at increasing opportunities in higher education. This bipartisan legislation that I developed with my colleagues on the House Committee on Education and Labor and was signed into law updates federal CTE policies to help more students gain the knowledge and skills they need to compete for in-demand jobs. Another threat many small-business owners face is the rising cost of health care. I was proud to introduce a reform to repeal the “auto-enrollment mandate,” an unnecessary and duplicative part of the Affordable Care Act that reduces choice in health coverage and creates confusion that can lead to significant tax penalties on both the employee and employer. I was also proud to co-sponsor the Small Business Health Fairness Act, which would empower small businesses to join together through association health plans to provide their employees greater access to affordable health care.

Q A

How important is legislation, such as the Accelerated Payments for Small Business Act, to small business in the United States?

Many small businesses in my district struggle with timely access to essential capital that they rely on to engage in new projects, pay their employees and expand their businesses. Legislation such

How has being the daughter of smallbusiness owners influenced your opinion on the impact of legislation on small business?

When you grow up in a small-business family, you inherently understand that it is a 24/7 job and the buck stops with you. You also learn the true importance and value of positive customer service. I have brought this perspective to policymaking and constituent services in Congress. I understand that small businesses are the engine of any local economy, and I am committed to advancing policies in Congress to help entrepreneurs grow and succeed. When it comes to constituent services, we try to instill the value in my district and D.C. offices of the importance of customer service – timely, friendly and efficient. I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress to promote the important economic role of our nation’s small and locally owned companies and hard-working families across our district as they pursue their dream of running their own businesses.

In what ways are you seeking feedback from small businesses in New York and then using that information in your role on the Committee on Education and Labor?

I have participated in hundreds of small-business and manufacturing tours in my district. I also have cultivated a great working relationship with the local chambers of commerce throughout the North Country and am constantly meeting with small businesses across my district to understand how I can best serve them in Congress and as a member of the House Education and Labor Committee. For example, I’ve come to notice that independent work arrangements, often coordinated through online platforms, provide freelancers and small businesses with the freedom and flexibility to provide specialized services on a per-job basis, while promoting economic growth through an efficient pairing of providers with consumers. However, expansion of the independent workforce is under threat due to outdated laws that increase the cost and complexity of doing business. As a member of the Education and Labor Committee, I was proud to introduce the Modern Worker Empowerment Act to end the current patchwork that increases the cost and complexity of contracting with independent contractors. This bill would empower self-employed individuals to compete on a level playing field, while allowing companies to obtain services in an economically efficient manner. S

FRANCHISEE SPOTLIGHT

Jenny Beaudoin + Partners: Bob and Barb Ganse and Steve Beaudoin + Year Became BWW® Franchisee: 1999 + Total Number of BWW Locations: 4 + Total Number of Employees: 350

How did you and your partner meet? They are my family.

What drew you to the brand? We originally loved the simplicity and originality of the brand.

What is your favorite thing about the brand? I love that we are a brand that is fun – from the guests to the marketing to the atmosphere. It is just a really fun brand. I also love our franchise community and the way we support one another.

What other concepts do you own? Black Rock Bar & Grill.

Describe your best recent business decision. Choosing to bring in additional resources to help with the day-to-day side of the business.

Describe the biggest industry change since you started. It is amazing how much our business changed during this pandemic. We have implemented programs systemwide, such as direct delivery, that we have been trying to roll out for years. States are allowing alcohol to be delivered. It’s a whole new world.

Describe your current biggest challenge as a franchisee. Right now, we are all just trying to survive, and I truly believe we will be an even stronger franchise community when we come out on the other side.

What is your favorite BWW wing sauce? Asian Zing.

If I weren’t a franchisee, I would be … The only thing I ever remember wanting to be when I was young was a mother. I am fortunate to have the four most incredible kids on the planet. I honestly am not sure that I have any marketable skills outside of the restaurant industry. I literally grew up in the restaurant business and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. S

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My answer to this was very different not long ago than it is now. With the coronavirus situation, my goals are to stay open, remain in business and to not close.

Keep it simple, and keep debt low.

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What are your current top three business goals?

What is the best business advice you have received?

One topic: 10 facts Plant-Based Proteins 1 By 2040, the conventional meat supply will drop by more than 33%, according to a report from the consulting firm AT Kearney.

2 The global plant-based protein market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.1% from 2019.

3 Restaurant experts ranked plant-based proteins as the No. 2 food-and-menu trend over the next decade.

4 Established novel vegan meat replacement brands such as Beyond Meat, Impossible and Sunfed raised approximately $900 million in global funding in 2018, and this number is expected to grow over the next few years.

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7 And 57% of these consumers see this as a permanent change as opposed to just 14% who are experimenting.

8 The amount of plant-based protein product launches has increased 300% since 2013.

The soy protein segment commanded the largest share of the overall plant-based protein market in 2019, but the pea protein segment is expected to witness a rapid growth by 2025.

As of December, over 18 chains offer plant-based alternatives in their restaurants.

The global plant-based protein is estimated to reach a value of $14.32 billion by 2025.

According to a HealthFocus international study, 52% of consumers have made dietary changes within the last two years to include more plant-based foods and beverages â€Ś

Sources: TechCrunch, Food Navigator USA, Restaurant.org, Business Insider

LOOK LISTEN 5 READ

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.

Being empathetic at work means seeing the situation from another’s perspective and using that vantage point to shape your leadership style, workplace culture and branding strategy. In her book, “The Empathy Edge: Harnessing the Value of Compassion as an Engine for Success,” Maria Ross pairs her knowledge as a branding expert with proven research and fascinating stories from executives, change-makers and community leaders, revealing exactly how empathy makes brands and organizations stronger.

Hosted by Alex Judd, the EntreLeadership Podcast features lively discussions and tips on leadership and business by some of the top minds in the business, like Mark Cuban, Seth Godin, Jim Collins and Simon Sinek.

Tilman Fertitta, also known as the Billion Dollar Buyer, started his hospitality empire 30 years ago with just one restaurant. He knows the challenges that business owners face, as well as the common pitfalls that cause them to go under. His book, “Shut Up and Listen! Hard Business Truths That Will Help You Succeed,” contains common sense principles that have rocketed his worldwide hospitality empire to the top.

Wave is a seamless software platform that helps you create invoices, manage income and expenses, and manage your payroll. With Wave, you can organize and manage your business’s finances effortlessly.

Technology is accelerating far more quickly than anyone could have imagined. During the next decade, we will experience more upheaval and create more wealth than we have in the past hundred years. “The Future Is Faster Than You Think,” by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler, serves as a blueprint for how our world will change in response to the next 10 years of rapid technological disruption.

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Believing in what you are doing, putting yourself out there and being consistent when times get tough can be overwhelming for any entrepreneur. The Mind Your Business Podcast by James Wedmore will help you take your business mindset to the next level. Wedmore makes you think in a whole new way, so you stop telling yourself false stories and you switch to genuinely believing that you are capable and deserving of success. S

THE

Trello is a collaboration tool that allows teams to get things done efficiently. Trello’s boards, lists and cards enable you to organize and prioritize your projects in a fun, flexible and rewarding way. Trello draws on the principles of Kanban, a method of visualizing workflows to provide an overview of a project from start to finish.

The Garnish: A Podcast for Restaurant People brings advice and stories from people across the restaurant industry, from managers and servers to chefs and cooks.

SCHEDULE for SUCCESS

Great Service Relies on Planning and Communication with Staff by Sean Ireland

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cheduling employees can be a difficult balancing act and one of the most overlooked challenges in successful restaurant management. You want employees to have predictable lives outside of work with time for families and interests, but there’s a business to run. To provide the consistently great guest service and experience for which Buffalo Wild Wings® is known, the business needs good people in the house to offer it. Planning for the right number of players from your team to make sure the restaurant is running well takes a lot more than penciling in dates and names on a chart. There are several questions to be considered: • How many employees will you need at a particular day and time? There’s historical data from the previous year to consider, but it should be balanced with the restaurant’s most recent sales trends. • Have a group of people available only on certain days at certain times for part-time hours and likewise for full-timers? You’ll often have to account for influences such as college class schedules and the babysitting availability that control employees’ lives outside the building. • Some city governments have or are considering laws that require employers to post work schedules weeks in advance or compensate employees for last-minute shift changes. What laws are relevant in your area? The good news? Technology can alleviate some of the pain involved in both the planning and communication sides of the scheduling process and developing a set of best practices can make scheduling easier and more predictable for both management and employees. Three BWW® franchisee companies are great examples of how scheduling can be made more manageable for both employees and their managers. High 5 Hospitality, a company with eight Buffalo Wild Wings locations in Delaware and Maryland, uses a template for scheduling with staffing sizes based on the obvious factors such as restaurant seating capacity, sales volume and availability of team members. Strawberry Wings Inc., which operates two B-Dubs® restaurants in Ohio, divides each year into four templates that

guide restaurant staffing needs by season and by special event historical data. Recent individual restaurant sales trends are also considered to give more context when building the daily staffing plan. “When we have events, we have suggested additional staffing for each of those events so we can refer to similar ones. We keep notes on what would have helped or if it went well, so if we need to adjust on the next one, we can,” said Darcy Bruns, regional manager for Strawberry Wings. “These are discussed in our weekly manager meetings. Also, when we have had two or three weeks of bottlenecks, we discuss what we need to do to adjust our best practice set schedule.” There are other factors to consider, too. AntSul Group, which operates seven restaurants in New Jersey and New York, makes sure that the sales data used in scheduling accounts for factors such as the dine-in/takeout split, which may signal a need for more cashiers on shifts on certain days or in certain restaurants. Scheduling is the responsibility of individual restaurant department heads for each of these BWW franchisees, and general managers make the management schedules. At Strawberry Wings, management schedules get posted four weeks at a time. “Managers work the most hours and hardest, and we want to make sure they can have a quality of life outside

If a management revision of a schedule is needed after it has been released to employees, Strawberry Wings goes beyond use of the app and has managers speak directly to the affected team members to be sure the alteration is acceptable. “Our company policy is that once a schedule is posted, no changes are to be made without staff members’ agreement to the change,” Bruns said. High 5 Hospitality also puts a strong emphasis on communication and respect when it comes to schedule revisions. “Taking your team members’ lives and situations into consideration, these adjustments need to be requests and not demands,” Lookabill said. Staff turnover is an issue for even the best-run restaurants, making it important that hiring and training be a constant process. As part of it, both AntSul Group and Strawberry Wings give new employees an immediate taste of what BWW can be like at its busiest. “We try to schedule new trainees during some highvolume times to give them the most learning possible as well as be able to maintain labor and operational needs,” Torsiello said. Scheduling trainers appropriately is an important factor for High 5 Hospitality. “Once you have hired the right team member, you want to set them up with your best trainers. Having these trainers in the loop on the entire training process is important. That starts with them knowing they are training before they walk in for their shift,” Lookabill said. “Bring your trainers in early and make sure they have the quality time to sit down and cover book materials before on-the-job training begins. Remember, these new team members are your future. Everyone deserves the same quality training.” S SEAN IRELAND is the FBS associate director of communications. You may reach Ireland at 678-797-5165 or seani@myfbsonline.org.

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of B-Dubs, so we allow them to plan things,” Bruns said. For the non-management staff, releasing work schedules at a regular time each week is helpful. “Our schedules are posted every Thursday before the next workweek,” said Jackie Torsiello, regional training and marketing manager for AntSul Group. “This is a good amount of time for our managers to work through scheduling availability and request-off details, as well as for team members to review scheduling and see if there are any discrepancies or issues that we may need to get covered.” High 5 Hospitality posts schedules two weeks in advance. “This helps [employees] better plan their lives in an industry that operates seven days a week, 12 to 14 hours a day,” said Jeff Lookabill, one of the company’s multiunit managers. One of the most difficult scheduling challenges can be building around the specific needs of part-timers. Strawberry Wings has employees complete shift availability forms that must be updated and approved by department managers three weeks before any availability changes. “We ask for three weeks so we know if there is hiring/training that may need to be made to cover their shift changes,” Bruns said. Likewise, AntSul Group is constantly monitoring its workforce availability to make sure each restaurant’s unique needs are met. “We manage our pars (team members needed for a shift) and sometimes hire based on the needs and days that are required for that time in our units,” Torsiello said. “Full-time team members and part-time team members vary depending on your location and your preference,” Lookabill said. “Certain organizations may prefer more part-time team members based on factors such as insurance costs. Others may utilize more part-time help based on demographics. For example, a restaurant located close to a university may have more staff looking for part-time employment. Other locations may be more rural and not have as many qualified candidates. They may utilize more full-time help.” Strawberry Wings tries to keep about 35% of its workforce as full-time staff, including management, to keep key opening and closing positions in all areas covered by well-trained, experienced staff members. The goal at Strawberry Wings is to keep at least 15% more people on staff than the number needed to work all available shifts to allow for vacations, time-off requests and employee loss without the sports bar suffering. All three companies use electronic scheduling apps to quickly communicate schedules to employees and help them request changes if needed, as well as keep managers in the loop. Using the app, “staff always have their schedules at their fingertips,” Bruns said. “They can easily trade shifts, with management approval, if something comes up. They can pick up more shifts if they need or want more hours.” The use of such apps is a best practice for service businesses to make scheduling easier and reduce the time needed to communicate about it. The system should have the functionality that allows employees to change availability and make time-off requests and trade shifts, requires management approval and offers communication by email or text message. At all three companies, schedule changes can only be requested by employees and approved by managers through the apps. “These systems also allow employers to place parameters on the teams such as how far out you can make a request and the ability to accept or deny a request based on hours already worked in a week,” Lookabill said.

Regular P&L Management Keeps Companies Healthy by Sean Ireland

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hen someone has questions about their health, they go to their doctor for a checkup. After checking the patient’s weight, blood pressure, pulse, temperature and body fat, as well as asking questions about lifestyle and family medical history, the doctor has a clear picture about the patient’s overall health and likely can make recommendations about needed changes in specific areas that will improve their condition. For businesses, profit and loss statements are much like the doctor’s tools for diagnosing and reporting on a company’s health. They provide an overall picture of the company’s condition and offer insights into areas where specific changes can bring needed improvement. Unlike annual checkups, however, profit and loss (P&L) statements for Buffalo Wild Wings® franchisees are much too important to be studied only once a year. Rather than being a confidential communication between doctor and patient, P&Ls are shared and used throughout an organization to guide the changes needed to boost fiscal health. It’s common practice for businesses to generate P&L statements by month or fiscal period, as well as quarterly and annually, and to compare them with the

same periods for previous years. It’s also common for companies to collect and review certain types of information often found on P&L statements on a weekly basis, such as food and labor cost reviews and sales projections. P&L evaluations at companies like Carolina Wings Management, which owns six Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants in North and South Carolina, and JK&T Wings, which owns 42 B-Dubs® locations in Louisiana, Massachusetts and Michigan, go from the top levels of management down to individual restaurant management staff, where the rubber meets the road. No one has more control over the P&L statement than those who manage the food and employees. Regular reviews arm them with the critical knowledge needed to make improvements. “Whether done weekly or monthly, [the review] gives us and the management team in each store a game plan to work by,” said Larry Alderson, franchisee with Carolina Wings Management. “It gives the manager ownership of the P&L.” Alderson and Carolina Wings Management Director of Operations Dan Dormer regularly analyze P&L statements with their managers in a reviewat-all-levels system – one that occurs similarly at JK&T Wings. “The more

eyes on them the more accuracy we have,” said Jeff Carmody, a district manager with JK&T Wings. “All owners, executives and GMs review them each period. Our controller, along with our accounting personnel, sends out weekly payables and purchase reports, which are scrubbed and evaluated.” “At the store level, the district manager reviews with the general manager,” added Jason Garrity, another JK&T Wings district manager. “We do our best to review items line by line but focus a lot on the food costs, liquor costs, beer costs and labor. We compare like periods, and then game plan on how to drive down those costs. When we review the following period, we follow up on our previous discussions and troubleshoot where we went wrong or where we did well.” Though there are differing views on the most important parts of the P&L statement, there is agreement that, like symptoms of an illness, they each play a role in signaling problems that when diagnosed can lead to a prescription for better business health. Alderson said year-over-year sales and cost-of-sales comparisons stand out for Carolina

and good operational sense,” Dover said. Other items to watch: • Maintenance and repair: Preventive maintenance often keeps larger, more costly problems from cropping up – problems that will also affect the level of service the restaurant provides to guests. • Utility costs can be trimmed with conservation programs. • Purchases for items such as linens, office or bar supplies: Can they be made in bulk for savings? • Cost of goods sold: Executive teams look at contract pricing for ways to lower costs on food, beer and liquor. Whatever areas become the focus of a company’s P&L management, communication about them and the ways they can be improved is key. JK&T Wings often holds P&L workshops with managers, but outside of those, the company controller, accounting team, district managers and store general managers have constant email chains with discussions about what line item adjustments might bring improvements. “We stress that there is no such thing as a dumb question reviewing these areas,” Carmody said. Of course, both companies use technology to help diagnose problems and suggest potential improvements. “We use programs that help pinpoint theft and loss of food. It also helps us see overtime and helps managers be more aware that this is a big cost, one we struggle with,” Garrity said. Besides the use of technology, the companies tie manager bonuses, at least

in part, to efforts keeping items on profit and loss statements in line. JK&T Wings offers managers monthly bonuses tied to the cost of goods sold. Incentivizing cost reduction, particularly on the largest expenses of food, alcohol and labor, stresses its importance and focuses attention on it constantly. “Make sure you review the [P&L statements] with your teams frequently, keep managers involved at all levels and keep the staff involved,” Garrity said. “It will all improve if teams are educated on it and involved in it.” Those timely reviews, with top-to-bottom participation and open communication about profit and loss statements, are all part of the regimen that leads to quick diagnoses of problems and, ultimately, a healthy bottom line. Just as recommended checkups – and the adjustments to lifestyle and diet that may come from them – keep people healthy, regular attention to profit and loss statements and the adjustments made to rehabilitate problems keep a company healthy. There’s no doubt that keeping management focused on regular, frequent reviews pays off. “Too often P&Ls are either reviewed by too few people or not often enough,” said JK&T Wings District Manager Scott Neri. “Staying on top of the business at hand is paramount to a company’s success.” S SEAN IRELAND is the FBS associate director of communications. You may reach Ireland at 678-797-5165 or seani@myfbsonline.org.

HEINEKEN

Brewed with all-natural ingredients. Perfect for when your guests want a great beer with no alcohol – like weeknight dinner, lunch or around a workout.

Offering HEINEKEN® 0.0 to your guests gives them the ability to moderate their drinking while enjoying the premium taste and badge value of an imported beer.

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Great alternative to sodas or soft drinks, and you’ll profit from selling this beverage due to its premium high-quality price point.

THE

Wings Management, but added, “Every line is important, or it wouldn’t be there.” “All the information is important,” agreed Joel Dover, also a JK&T Wings district manager. “However, at the store level, we do concentrate on things that can be controlled by operations, for example, linen service, trash – purchases like these we can control at the store level. Things we cannot control might be a fixed cost like rent, credit card charges, etc. We take all line items into account but do focus on operational controllables.” “They all are important to our teams. We scrub day-to-day controllables as well as back-page items and utilities,” Carmody said. “I think if the team isn’t educated on these areas, then we are losing opportunities to build our bottom-line profitability. We have stores in different regions and in different states with different sales volumes, all of which have certain impacts on the business that you can learn from. If you don’t look at the P&L this way, you can miss opportunities such as taking advantage of contract pricing, comparing store-tostore purchases based on volume to keep shelf costs down, labor comps and utility opportunities.” “At the store level, I think labor, including overtime, training and turnover, as well as the cost of goods sold [is most important],” Garrity said. “Obviously, everything is important, but those are the items that managers have direct control over. There are so many things on the P&L to take on, it is best to take on the things you have the most control over.” It’s a wide range of items, one that Alderson said has few limits. “I could debate that just about every item except rent and insurance can be controlled by the managers,” he said. If all the items are controllable to some degree, which ones can have the greatest impact on the bottom line? The JK&T district managers suggested looking at line items like labor. For instance, if an outside factor pushes sales down temporarily, staffing levels should be adjusted immediately. Businesses services should be adjusted based on the peaks and valleys of the restaurant’s sales volume cycles. Trash pickup may need to be scheduled five times per week during the busiest times but scaled back to four when sales are slower. “We have to be smart about our decisions and base them off historical data

Five Software Essentials for Your BWW by Savannah Daly

n 2020, technology and innovation are at a peak. New apps, software and technology are emerging every day. As restaurant owners, it can be daunting to invest in new software for your business without knowing if it will truly make a difference. Thankfully, several franchisees provided input on technology that is essential to their restaurants’ success. 1. OpenTable OpenTable allows restaurants to connect with guests and understand feedback. Reward customers for loyalty, and tailor their dining experience. Features include reservation and waitlist management, POS integration and more. Over 50,000 restaurants use the software, including many Buffalo Wild Wings®.Wings® locations.

2. EcoLab Prep-n-Print

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Prep-n-Print (PNP) is a labeling system that helps simplify and streamline the food rotation process. By eliminating handwritten labels, the program allows restaurant owners to save time and money. JK&T Wings has been using Prep-n-Print for six years. “Since investing in this labeling system and eliminating the need to hand write labels, our dating has improved immensely,” said Tra-C Garcia, vice president of training. “Though the standard for labeling has recently changed at BWW®, we continue to utilize the PNP as we feel it remains best practice to have both a prep date, expiration date and product name on all items.”

3. Springzy Springzy is a platform that helps leverage restaurant competition by using gamification to increase sales. Springzy automatically

translates check data into engaging and fun competitions, resulting in an actively engaged restaurant crew. The platform is used by several franchisees to boost performance and morale in their restaurants.

4. Microsoft Power BI Compile your restaurant’s analytics into meaningful insights with Microsoft’s Power BI. Treavor Smith, divisional vice president for World Wide Wings, says the platform is a one-stop shop for operators. “Our back-of-thehouse system feeds Power BI so we can slice and dice our numbers,” explained Smith.

5. FreshCheq FreshCheq is a food-safety reporting app with various tools such as temp, prep and inventory logs, as well as real-time reporting. By digitizing logs onto employees’ smartphones or computers, Freshcheq makes the logging process much easier for restaurant managers. “FreshCheq is simple and effective and our managers love it,” said Garcia. S

SAVANNAH DALY is the FBS communications coordinator. Daly may be reached at savannahd@myfbsonline.org or 678-439-2288.

New Year,

New Tax Law Changes for Restaurant Owners by Stacy Smith, CPA

ust as we welcomed in 2020, it’s also time to usher in new tax changes that could impact you and your restaurant’s operations. Here are a few changes you need to know about.

Form W-4 for Withholding Revised and Redesigned. The IRS released its long-awaited final version of the W-4 (retitled Employee’s Withholding Certificate) with major revisions designed to make accurate income-tax withholdings easier for employees starting in 2020. According to the IRS, the “new design reduces the form’s complexity and increases the transparency and accuracy of the withholding system.” It also accounts for changes from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that suspended personal exemptions and increased the standard deduction. The IRS posts answers to frequently asked questions about the new form at www.irs.gov/newsroom/faqs-on-the-2020-form-w-4. In addition, some states issued guidance on how to compute withholding to account for the federal changes. New Overtime Rules Were Issued. No doubt you’ve read about the Department of Labor finalizing overtime rules that went into effect Jan. 1. The salary threshold for a highly compensated employee (HCE) to be exempt from receiving overtime increased from $100,000 to $107,432. For employees who are classified as executive, administrative or professional (EAP) employees exempt from receiving overtime, the minimum salary level has increased from $455 per week to $684 per week ($35,568 annually). Employers can now use non-discretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) that are paid at least annually to satisfy up to 10% of the standard salary level. Double-Check Unemployment Tax Rates in Your State. States that increased the amount of taxable wages subject to unemployment tax (the taxable wage base) in 2020 include: Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming. Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri and Ohio have lowered their taxable wage base.

STACY SMITH, CPA, is a shareholder with Mize CPAs Inc. (formerly Mize Houser & Company), a full-service accounting firm that provides the Elevanta Payroll & Accounting solution for FBS members.

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Individual Limits Have Also Changed. The IRS made inflation adjustments to a range of key figures, including individual income tax brackets. Pay attention to your standard deduction for the 2020 tax year. The IRS has bumped it to $12,400 for singles, up from $12,200 in the prior year. The standard deduction for married joint filers will be $24,800, up from $24,400 in 2019. The Social Security tax wage base has increased to $137,700 for 2020 (up from $132,900); employee portions of Social Security and Medicare remain unchanged at 6.2% and 1.45% of wages, respectively. Traditional and Roth IRA contribution limits did not change for 2020 – $6,000 for each type of IRA, with an additional $1,000 “catch-up” contribution allowed for account owners 50 and older. In addition, the age restriction on contributions to traditional IRAs for tax years starting in 2020 has been repealed. This only applies to taxpayers who meet other requirements to make IRA contributions (i.e., earned income, not participating in a qualified plan, etc.) The required minimum distribution age for IRAs is now raised from 70 and a half to 72. Before 2020, retirement plan participants and IRA owners were generally required to begin taking minimum distributions, or RMDs, from their plan by April 1 of the year following the year they reached 70 and a half. This age requirement was first applied in the retirement plan context in the 1960s and, until recently, had not been adjusted to account for increases in life expectancy. Limits on 401(k) plan deferrals increased from $19,000 to $19,500, and the catch-up contribution limit also increased from $6,000 to $6,500. Similarly, limits on SIMPLE deferrals increased from $13,000 to $13,500. However, the SIMPLE catch-up contribution limit remains unchanged at $3,000. New laws include a lot of important changes, including highly technical items that affect both business and individual tax returns. For more information about the changes and how they might affect you, your business and your employees, consult your payroll processor or tax adviser. S

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The Minimum Wage Rate Changed in Many States. The following states increased their minimum wage rates on Jan. 1: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont and Washington. Also be aware that some localities have increased their minimum wage rates as well.

Other Changes. The Section 179 deduction – the amount of business equipment purchases that can be immediately expensed – increased to $1,040,000, up from $1,020,000, and the phaseout increased to $2.59 million of total eligible purchases (specific qualifications apply).

Expanding Predictive Scheduling Laws Will Affect You by Douglas H. Duerr

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mployee scheduling has a direct impact on job satisfaction and employee retention, something made even more important given the low rates of unemployment. Unfortunately, scheduling is hard, particularly for small businesses, when there are uncertainties caused by a need to have just the “right number” of employees during each shift and an inability to know who is not going to show at the last minute due to illness or other reasons, as well as the uncertainty of how many customers will visit the business that day. Because of the uncertainties, many businesses have attempted to cope through methods such as having employees required to be on the premises or available on short notice to cover for absences, requiring an employee during the regular shift to stay over to cover the next shift or informing employees on short notice of schedule changes. Such practices negatively impact employee morale, and in response to complaints by many workers in the hospitality and retail industries about inconsistent and short-notice schedules, an expanding number of local jurisdictions are enacting so-called predictive scheduling laws. These laws are

based on the belief that “on-call” and changing schedules disparately affect low-wage workers who may need to plan ahead for childcare and transportation needs as well as adjust for second jobs or school conflicts. This has resulted in a patchwork of laws with similar, but differing requirements. One thing they all have in common, however, is that they are targeted at chains, i.e. franchised business in food service, hospitality and retail. Even if your business is not yet covered by one of these laws, they still have potential impact on you. Although several states (Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa and Tennessee) have passed laws prohibiting local governments from requiring predictive scheduling since the first such law went into effect in 2015, Oregon and at least six local governments now have laws requiring predictive scheduling. If your business is part of a franchised concept in one of those jurisdictions, you are likely obligated to comply with a predictive scheduling law. So, what are the requirements? Although each law is different, they generally require the following:

• 10-14 days’ notice of the schedule. • A good faith estimate of the number of shifts per month. • The right to decline a shift that starts within 10 hours of the end of their previous shift. Failure to meet these requirements results in a payment obligation to the employee of additional wages (e.g., one hour of pay for each shift changed, half pay for each hour cut, premium pay up to double time or other penalties).

• 10-14 days’ notice of the schedule. • A good faith estimate of the number of shifts per month. • The right to decline a shift that starts within 10 hours of the end of their previous shift.

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

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Why should you care if your business is not in Oregon or in one of the cities with a predictive scheduling law? As noted above, scheduling, particularly scheduling changes, has a direct impact on employee morale and retention. If an individual has a choice between working for an employer subject to a predictive scheduling law or following the predictive scheduling concepts as a best practice, that individual is more likely to choose that employer and to stay. In today’s gig economy, many individuals have multiple part-time jobs, so having a predictable schedule is an important perk for them. Significantly, a study of Gap retail stores published in 2018 found that providing a predictable schedule and start and end time consistency resulted in a 5% increase in labor productivity and a median sales increase of 7%. Although there are more and more tools available to help with setting a predictable schedule, if they are too expensive for you and/or you determine that it is necessary for you to use one or more of the coping methods mentioned above, there are a couple of things to keep in mind: • If employees are required to report to the work site to see if they will be required to work a shift, the time they are required to wait for that determination is “work” for purposes of minimum wage and overtime laws. Also, some states have “reporting pay,” which is a minimum number of hours of pay for reporting to work. • If employees are “on call,” i.e. are required to report to work within a certain period of time to cover a shift due to a labor shortage, the “on-call” time could be considered “work”

for purposes of minimum wage and overtime. There is no bright-line test for when the on-call requirements will make the time compensable, but factors include how soon after the call the employee has to report, how often the employee is called in when on call, and how often and for how long an employee is on call. • If employees are held over or called in for extra shifts, entitlement to overtime compensation is measured for each payroll week; there is no averaging over the two-week period. Some employers mistakenly believe that so long as the employee only works 80 hours in two weeks, no overtime is due. (Watch out for daily overtime if required in your jurisdiction.) • Some states have “days of rest” laws requiring premium pay if an employee works more than five or six days in row. It is believed that more jurisdictions will enact laws requiring predictive scheduling. In fact, two (Chicago and Philadelphia) of the six local governments have their scheduling laws go into effect in 2020. Thus, be alert to the possibility of a new law being enacted by your state or local government. While providing a predictable schedule is hard, particularly for a small business, there are multiple benefits to the business in terms of easier legal compliance, improved employee morale and improved productivity. S

s m ea r D g Bi Little Details talk about and

every day

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eople need to know what to do and why to do it. They are willing to work hard. They have great talent. They are passionate. But they need to understand the story they are stepping into and why it is important and what they need to focus on to be successful. the art of theater and the art of business My daughter, Sarah, is a junior in college, and she is a theater arts major. Now that Iâ€™ve learned what theater

by Dan Coughlin

arts is all about, I think every aspiring business executive should have at least a minor in theater arts. Theater arts is about the creation and delivery of a meaningful story in a three-dimensional, human way. There are so many parts to the creation and delivery of a story. A script needs to be written with a purpose and a plot and characters; those characters need to be selected and directed by certain types of people who can bring out the best in each person to generate scenes that are worthy of the story to be told. Sets need to be designed

that are the art that the actors step into, which is Sarahâ€™s particular skill and passion. Lighting needs to be guided. Costumes and props need to be made, and profits need to be produced in order to afford to do it all over again. Business is about the creation and delivery of a meaningful story in a threedimensional, human way. There are so many parts to the creation and delivery of

a business. A strategy needs to be written with a purpose; a plan needs to be written for certain types of employees to deliver certain types of products and services to certain types of people. Managers need to be cultivated who can guide those employees effectively. Relationships need to be developed with certain types of suppliers. A culture needs to be established to sustain the business and help build the desired brand, and profits need to be produced in order to do it all over again. Notice that there is the business of theater and the theater of business. They are intertwined.

>>>>>>>>>> Knowing what the end result is supposed to look and feel like and how it connects to the purpose of the story is essential to creating a great theatrical production, TV show or film.

>>>>>>>>>> Vision alone does not make a great business. There are thousands of details that need to be focused on and executed properly. Every detail matters.

every day talk about the little details However, vision alone does not make a great show. Along the way there are countless details that must be executed over and over in every part from the script to the set to the acting and lighting and so on. Details matter in theater, television and films. They matter a lot. Vision alone does not make a great business. There are thousands of details that need to be focused on and executed properly. Every detail matters. They all matter a great deal.

conclusion A beautiful example that shows the importance of talking about the big dream and the little details was the making of Disneyland in the early 1950s. Walt Disney created a television show called “Disneyland,” where he talked over and over about a theme park that would become the happiest place on earth. He showed blueprints and drawings of the park. There are iconic photos of him standing on a pile of dirt and explaining what it would become. And then every day he talked about the details of all the different parts of Disneyland and what needed to be accomplished. This is what you need to do in your work. Every day talk about the vision and the purpose and why the end result is so incredibly important. And every day talk about the details that need to be executed in order to make the vision a reality. S DAN COUGHLIN is president of The Coughlin Company Inc., a management consulting firm focused on improving executive effectiveness and significance. He serves as a thinking partner for executives, managers and business owners toward improving their most important desired business outcomes. He does this through executive coaching for individuals and small groups. He also provides keynote speeches and seminars on effectiveness and leadership.

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every day talk about the big picture If a producer and a director do not know what the end picture is supposed to look like and feel like, they can invest a lot of time, energy and money, and end up creating something meaningless and worthless. Knowing what the end result is supposed to look and feel like and how it connects to the purpose of the story is essential to creating a great theatrical production, TV show or film. If a business executive doesn’t know what the end picture is supposed to be like for customers in terms of the value they receive and the experience they go through in receiving it, then they can invest an enormous amount of time, energy and money, and end up creating and delivering something that is meaningless and worthless. Once the producer and director know the desired end result, they need to talk about that big picture, that big dream, every day so that all of the people working on the show can see what they are working toward.

Once the business executive sees the desired end result for customers and for his or her organization, then he or she needs to talk about it every day over and over and over so that the employees can see what they are working toward creating and delivering.

How Leaders Can Get More Done Through Others: How Micromanagement Can Kill Pr odu ctiv ity f you want to destroy worker initiative, blast a hole in producIf an tivity and scribble the bottom line with red ink, there’s no you get paid dC better way to do it than by micromanaging your employees. $50 an hour, you rea Keeping workers on tight leashes and constantly interrupting them should never do anything tivi ruins their ability to find thoughtful, profitable ways to do their jobs, that earns the company less than that. ty and it wastes your valuable time as well. Even if you must take steps to fix something

True organizational productivity requires engaged, informed personnel willing and eager to work toward the organization’s mission and vision. And it all starts with a simple concept that’s amazingly hard for some people to implement: trust. Learn to Trust This can be a tough sell, especially if you’ve built your organization from the ground up. It’s your baby. You know all its quirks, and it can be hard to trust even small parts of it to other people, since you can’t be absolutely certain that they won’t let it come to harm somehow. But consider this: If you’re so distrustful of your employees, then why did you hire them in the first place? Trust is the diametric opposite of micromanaging, which is based on a lack of trust that others can do their jobs. Your trust for the people who work for you should underlie every decision you make as a manager. Instead of automatically distrusting them, it’s to your advantage to assume that they can do the jobs they’ve been hired to do, assuming the proper training and opportunity. This may require some serious reworking of your default attitude but make it your ultimate goal to be able to stand back and give them the benefit of the doubt, as long as they have the experience and can prove their competence. If they can’t, that’s when you can justifiably ride them and, as necessary, replace them. You do need to keep an eye on everyone, but only as part of the big picture. Otherwise, give people the freedom and flexibility to get their jobs done. Meanwhile, you can be doing all those high-value things that you get paid the big bucks for, instead of trying to do everyone else’s work.

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Delegate That Task! Micromanagers tend to live by the old adage, “If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.” But the savvy leader quickly learns that you can’t get it all done right by trying to do everything singlehandedly. If you allow yourself to become a slave of your team’s day-to-day operations, your own productivity will flag along with everyone else’s. As a manager, your core responsibilities should be things like marketing, growing the business, overseeing (but not minutely controlling) other people’s efforts, dealing with your superiors and, in general, doing whatever brings in the most profits for the organization. Your sights should always be set higher than the mundane, which means that you must delegate or outsource anything that fails to meet your high-profit standards. It just doesn’t make economic sense to run around taking care of little things, or handling crises that should be assigned to lower-paid employees.

a subordinate is doing wrong, whether that involves training or replacing them, in most cases it’s still cheaper than doing the job yourself. Besides, if you waste time on other people’s jobs, you’ll have to work extra hard to get your job done. Oh, no doubt you’re willing to put in the extra time, and that’s laudable, but eventually you’re going to wear yourself out and start slipping, decreasing your own productivity and making yourself less valuable to the company. When it comes down to the bottom line, you simply have to push every responsibility you can down to the lowest possible level. Focus on your critical few tasks, handing off everything you realistically can to other people. Again, this comes down to rejecting the temptation of micromanaging and setting your default attitude to “trust.” In this case, let me amend that to “trust, but verify.” Just because you hand a task to someone else doesn’t mean that you can forget all about it. That’s abdication, and it’s something you can’t afford – because even when you delegate a task, you’re still responsible for it. You still have to make sure that it’s getting done consistently and on a timely basis. So occasionally, you’ll have to check in with your delegate to learn the score and, as necessary, make adjustments. Just don’t hang over them like a Sword of Damocles.

Keep an Eye on the Big Picture By definition, a manager’s role is to provide direction for his or her subordinates, which means that you do have to get into the nittygritty of problem solving sometimes. This is fine, to a limited extent, but again, don’t try to do it all, even when you can. One of the biggest downsides of micromanaging, above and beyond the issues of trust and overwork, is that it requires you to focus too tightly on the details of organizational function. To paraphrase the old saying, you see the trees, but not the forest … and it’s your job to keep an eye on the forest as a whole, not just this oak or that sycamore. A laser-sharp focus is ideal when you’re trying to get your own tasks done. It’s not so great when you’re putting someone else’s tasks under the microscope, while forgetting that they’re a small part of something much bigger that needs to be taken care of in its entirety. Close oversight must be the exception, never the rule. Otherwise you are, again, hamstringing your productivity, making yourself less useful all the way around. There’s another old saying for this kind of thing: penny wise and pound foolish. When you get right down to it, focusing too tightly on the little pictures while ignoring the big one is like throwing away money. The higher you climb, the more often you have to stop and take a look at the big picture. You need to thoughtfully determine what really drives the value and results you’re looking to achieve and assign most

by Laura Stack

of your attention to those items. What things have the biggest impacts on the company? What makes these things important? What can you do to make them better? That’s what you should ask yourself. If necessary, find a business mentor who can help you widen your focus, based on their own experiences, or educate yourself on how others have done so in the past. There are plenty of books on the subject. It’s been said that the devil is in the details and perhaps that’s so, but if you hire people that you can trust to do their jobs, then by and large the details will take care of themselves. You need to pull back from the individual pixels and look at how it all comes together to make a profit for your organization. Worry about your corporate or organizational strategy first. Put good people in place, get all those other big-picture ducks in a row and the little things will fall into line with a minimum of fuss.

The Final Analysis As is so often the case, the factors I’ve discussed in this article interrelate in ways that are hard to separate and can be difficult to quantify. But what it all comes down to is that you must be willing to tear yourself away from the minutiae of your team’s daily operations, take a deep breath and step back. Be flexible. Trust your people. Encourage their participation in the company’s success. In short, give them an opportunity to grow and flourish, without being stifled by your constant hovering. Allow them to be creative and productive on their own terms. Stepping back also gives you a better view of the overall big picture. This allows you to more easily guide your organization in the direction that you and the company want it to go. It’s rather like being the captain of a ship: where you really need to be is up on the bridge, overseeing everything, steering your vessel through the straits and avoiding all the reefs and other perils that you can more easily see from your elevated position. If you spend too much time down on the deck nitpicking a sailor’s performance – or worse, hauling the lines and clearing the deck yourself – then you’re eventually going to hit something and wreck the ship. And if that happens, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself. S 29 LAURA STACK, MBA, CSP, CPAE, aka The Productivity Pro , gives speeches and seminars on sales and leadership productivity. For over 25 years, she’s worked with Fortune 1000 clients to reduce inefficiencies, execute more quickly, improve output and increase profitability. Laura is the author of seven books, including “Doing the Right Things Right: How the Effective Executive Spends Time.” To invite Laura to speak at your next event, visit www.TheProductivityPro.com. ®

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Encourage Employee Engagement What would you rather have: a bright-eyed, engaged employee who “owns” her job, knowing that she has a say in how things are done and is therefore invested in the company’s success … or a disengaged drone who keeps his head down, does the minimum necessary to scrape by and cares only for his paycheck? That’s an easy enough choice, right? Sadly, though, the second type of employee is at least as common as the first, and they’re separated by a wide “mediocre middle” consisting of the partially engaged and unengaged. The relationship between employee engagement and productivity isn’t precisely one-to-one, but as a rule, workers with a high level of engagement are willing to try harder, so they tend to be more productive than people who work only to put food on the table. Engaged workers enjoy and appreciate what they’re doing. This makes them willing to go the extra mile, which in turn makes them invaluable. The equation is simple: more productive workers means higher profits, and engaged employees are more likely to be productive than their unengaged or actively disengaged co-workers. They also tend to be safer, more customer-focused and less likely to jump ship. To put it another way, employee engagement has a high return on investment … whereas disengaged employees represent a financial drain. Gallup estimates that employee disengagement costs American businesses as much as $300 billion a year in lost productivity. To engage employees, you must empower them. Let them take initiative in their work and let them know that they’re allowed to. This requires something of a hands-off attitude, though again, abdication is never a good idea. Communication must be your watchword here. It may very well be the most important factor in encouraging employee engagement, and it must be bidirectional. Make your vision and intentions clear to your employees and allow them to provide feedback on most matters. You may not agree with them, and nothing may come of their suggestions, but it’s the opportunity to contribute that matters – and you might just find that they have a great deal of wisdom to communicate, if you’ll listen. As part of your communication effort, you’ll need to help each employee understand their place in the company, and how they’re contributing when they do their jobs well. Explain both the what and the why and ask them if they understand their roles and have any ideas about how they can improve the associated systems and processes. This is another place where your understanding of the big picture is crucial, and as they say, when you teach someone something, you’re also teaching yourself.

Provide Critical Training Speaking of teaching, you need to be willing to provide the education and training that your employees require to do their jobs effectively. Proper training takes some of the strain off you and makes micromanaging unnecessary. On the employee side of the equation, good training can: • Develop critical knowledge and skills. • Increase awareness of company policies and operations. • Demonstrate the company’s mission and vision, and the employee’s place in the corporate structure. • Encourage engagement. • Improve motivation and confidence. • Re-emphasize the need for quality and excellence. • Promote efficiency. • Decrease the likelihood of accidents and injuries. • Reduce turnover. All this, taken together, can’t help but increase productivity. A good training program can also buff the company’s public image, help the company stay competitive and attract more and better job candidates.

How to Manage the Risks of Water Damage W Covered Perils ater damage poses a significant risk to the business you’ve worked so hard to build, particularly during cold and slushy winter months. Property insurance policies provide important protection to millions of businesses like yours, but some find the options for water damage coverage confusing. To help keep your business safe and dry, it’s important to know the risks, take steps to avoid a water intrusion and understand your insurance coverage.

Water Intrusion Risks

Below-zero temperatures, snow and ice, and the springtime melt can all pose a risk of water damage to the structure and contents of your property. Some dangers are more apparent than others, but it’s important to keep all potential water intrusion risks in mind: • Basement water seepage • Burst pipes • Clogged gutters • Flooding and run-off • HVAC system leaks • Mold and rot • Plumbing problems • Poor drainage • Roof ice buildup • Sewer and drainage backup • Snow melt • Sprinkler malfunction • Wind damage • Window and door seal leaks

Tips to Protect Against Winter Weather Water Damage

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To help protect your property from water damage in winter, do the following: • Fix slow leaks and broken seals at the first detection. • Install a water leak-detection device. • Install insulation in attics and crawl spaces to prevent pipes from freezing and bursting. Also consider wrapping insulation directly around pipes. • Monitor pipes, appliances and sump pumps during power outages. • Have an emergency plan in place should your property experience water damage. • Prevent gutter blockages and ice dams from forming on the roof. • Clear excess snow and ice away from doors and windows. • Have your heating systems checked, including boilers, piping, burners and controls before any cold weather occurs. This may help prevent frozen and burst pipes. • Maintain your temperature inside to at least 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid frozen and burst pipes. Keeping one or two faucets dripping in frigid temperatures can help too. • Check your roof before and after each winter to ensure your roof can stand any snow or ice buildup. If there is damage, hire a professional to get it fixed. • Talk to your insurance representative about your property insurance and any endorsements your business may require.

Understanding Your Property Insurance Coverage

Property insurance coverage available for water damage is typically organized into water intrusion perils and levels of coverage. Some perils are covered by your insurance while some

require a broadening endorsement.

Plumbing, heating or air conditioning system leaks: If one of these systems suffers a sudden malfunction, your business could sustain costly water damage. Sudden leaks and ruptures that require the tear-out and replacement of damaged areas of the building are typically covered. Fire suppression system malfunction: A rupture or accidental discharge of a sprinkler system or other fire suppression system could cause considerable damage. Water damage caused to both real property and business personal property is typically covered. Exterior weather damage: Most property insurance policies cover water damage from weather when the exterior property is damaged, causing water to enter the building. However, it’s very important to learn the details of your policy, as not all types of weather events are covered.

Available Coverage Endorsements

Flooding: Water damage that results from a tidal surge, the overflow of rivers, lakes or streams, or rapid surface water accumulation and run-off is usually not covered by property insurance policies. However, if the location of your business is designated by FEMA as above the 500-year flood level risk (Flood Zone C), a broadening endorsement may be available. Sewer or Drainage Backup: Wastewater from sewers and drains can cause significant damage to your business if the systems were to get clogged and back up. However, most property policies don’t automatically include this coverage. Typically, you can get an endorsement that will provide coverage within certain conditions and sub-limits. Water damage risks are at a peak during winter and spring months. Understanding the risks, preventative measures and coverage options will help keep your business safe and dry.

About Lockton Affinity

For more information about water damage and available coverage, contact Lockton Affinity, the co-broker of the Elevanta Insurance Program. Lockton Affinity offers key coverage designed with your insurance requirements in mind, including property insurance. Learn more at Elevanta.LocktonAffinity.com. Questions? Contact the Lockton Affinity team at Elevanta@LocktonAffinity.com or 844-403-4947. S This program is administered by Lockton Affinity, LLC d/b/a Lockton Affinity Insurance Brokers, LLC in California #0795478. Coverage may not be available in all states and is subject to actual policy terms and conditions. Coverage may be provided by an excess/surplus lines insurer which is not licensed by or subject to the supervision of the insurance department of your state of residence. Policy coverage forms and rates may not be subject to regulation by the insurance department of your state of residence. Excess/surplus lines insurers do not generally participate in state guaranty funds and therefore insureds are not protected by such funds in the event of the insurer’s insolvency.

o f r p e r w e o s e p n e c h e t S

was terrific. But for the prices we were paying, we deserved more. We deserved his full attention for those relatively few moments that he was actually interacting with us. It wouldn’t have taken much for him to have created a very different impression. A smile while filling our water glasses, a comment on our meal selection as we ordered, eye contact as he set down the bread basket: Any of these gestures would’ve taken no additional time, but would’ve made a world of difference. I mentioned my restaurant experience to a participant attending one of my presentations this week. He asked if my experience would keep me from returning to that restaurant and I had to admit that no, it would probably not keep me from returning. But if we do go back, it won’t be because of the service, it will be in spite of it – and that distinction is important. Today, businesses of every type need to set their sets higher than just delivering service that doesn’t drive customers away. All our businesses need to focus on giving our customers excellent reasons to definitely come back and to sing our praises to friends, family and colleagues. If we want loyal customers, we have to be present! S

DENNIS SNOW is the president of Snow & Associates Inc.

SCORE | 2020 Issue 1

Dennis worked with The Walt Disney 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.

31 THE

everal of my articles have focused on the differences between employees who do their jobs with a “task mentality” versus employees who do their jobs with an “experience mentality.” I stress this topic so heavily because it is at the heart of what separates great service providers from the rest of the pack. Those employees who focus on creating great experiences make customers feel welcome and valued. Those who focus on merely completing tasks make customers feel processed. The word that bridges the gap between a task mentality and an experience mentality is presence. To create a positive customer experience, an employee must be present for the customer and, at least for the moment, that customer only. Then, and only then, can the employee notice the customer’s body language, tone of voice, word choice, facial expression or any of the hundreds of other possible signals the customer may be sending, thus providing clues for delivering personalized service. Employees who are not present for the customer don’t catch those signals; they just go through the motions of completing the task. They’re thinking about the next customer, the previous customer, their spouse, the paperwork, their supervisor, anything but the customer they’re dealing with at that moment. And the customer perceives the employee’s attitude as one of indifference. A couple of nights ago my family was having dinner at a very nice restaurant. The food was great as was the restaurant’s atmosphere, but our server was clearly more focused on completing his tasks instead of creating a memorable experience for his guests. He would look at one of his other tables as he served us, whisk by without comment as he dropped off or picked up our bread basket, comment to another server while he refilled our water glasses, and headed to the kitchen as he wordlessly set the check on our table. As I observed this server’s performance, the word “presence” popped into my mind. That’s what was missing – he wasn’t present for his guests. He certainly performed his tasks efficiently. He was prompt, he delivered the correct orders, and the food

by Dennis Snow

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Campari America

240-367-6137 grandmarnier.com Ecolab

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800-35-CLEAN www.ecolab.com Elevanta Health

678-439-2283 elevantahealth.com/fbs Heineken 21

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PUBLICATION DATE

May 22

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401-378-1612 www.heinekenusa.com Lockton Affinity 844-403-4947

IB elevanta@locktonaffinity.com

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800-888-9963 www.wasserstrom.com * CS=Cover Sheet, IF=Inside Front, IB=Inside Back, BC=Back Cover

2020 Issue 1 |

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Issue 2 is due out July 2020. 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 May 22. Our editorial staff can assist in writing the article.

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Bringing better insurance options to business owners like you. Lockton Affinity is now a co-broker with Elevanta. As a franchise owner looking for insurance coverage to protect your business, you can expect more from Lockton Affinity and Elevanta:

Tailored product offerings Protecting against the risks your business faces can be difficult. With coverage from Elevanta and Lockton Affinity, you receive tailored coverage designed with your requirements in mind.

Complimentary policy reviews Concerned you don’t have the right protection for your franchise? Email Lockton Affinity at Elevanta@LocktonAffinity.com with your current insurance policies and we will review them free of charge to ensure your franchise has the right policies and limits in place.

Risk management tools We offer risk management tools like loss prevention plans, risk management articles and newsletters, and webinars to help you mitigate risk—and lower your insurance premiums—over time.

Learn more about this new partnership and its offerings by contacting Lockton Affinity at Elevanta@LocktonAffinity.com or (844) 403-4947. Lockton Affinity, LLC | 10895 Lowell Avenue, Suite 300 | Overland Park, KS 66210 Mailing Address: Lockton Affinity, LLC | PO Box 410679 | Kansas City, MO 64141 | Phone 913.652.7500 Copyright © Lockton Companies. All programs administered by Lockton Affinity, LLC. D/B/A Lockton Affinity Insurance Brokers, LLC California License #0795478.

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