Flavor, Winter 2021

flavor T H E M AG A Z I N E O F T H E Q D O B A F R A N C H I S E E A S S O C I AT I O N | W I N T E R 2 0 2 1

Build business on QDOBA’s four pillars of hospitality | page 8

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table of contents

QFA Board of Directors

Columns

Ron Stokes Chairman

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Randy Key Vice Chairman Tom Lewison Secretary/Treasurer John Ghiradelli Director Leo Stathakis Director Debra Finkler Chief Staff Officer Christy Williams Elevanta CEO

QFA Editorial Board Sean Ireland Editor-in-Chief seani@qdobafa.org Rachel Jackson Managing Editor rachelj@qdobafa.org Savannah Daly Communications Coordinator savannahd@qdobafa.org

Departments 3

QFA Member News

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Look, Listen, Read

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One Topic: 10 Facts

Directories 5

Associate Member Listing

On the Cover

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Advertisers Guide and Editorial Calendar

Want to bring the flavor to the experience your guests have in your restaurants?

Building on the four pillars of hospitality will go a long way toward making their time inside a QDOBA Mexican Eats® restaurant one they’ll remember and want to repeat again and again. For more, see page 8.

Features 8

The Four Pillars of Bringing the Flavor to Your Guests’ Experience

by Rachel Jackson, QFA associate director of communications

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Employment Challenges Continue in COVID-19’s Wake

by Sean Ireland, QFA director of communications

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QFA Facilitates Franchisee Cooperation

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Win Customer Loyalty Even in Challenging Times

by Dennis Snow, Snow and Associates Inc.

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Stumbling Into Proficiency: Four Ways Mistakes Can Improve Your Productivity

by Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro®

Advertising Sales Montserrat Almaraz Sales & Development Manager montserrata@qdobafa.org 678-439-2284

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Should You Require Employees to Take a COVID-19 Vaccine?

by Douglas H. Duerr, Elarbee Thompson Sapp and Wilson, LLP

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Build the Fellowship of the Quest

by Dan Coughlin, The Coughlin Co.

Design and Layout Kristen Thomas KT Graphic Design ktgraphicdesign@gmail.com

Chairman’s Column

by Ron Stokes, QFA chairman

Headquarters 1701 Barrett Lakes Blvd. NW, Suite 180 Kennesaw, GA 30144 Phone: 678-797-5160 Fax: 678-797-5170

www.qdobafa.org Qdoba Franchisee Association publishes Flavor. Any reproduction, in whole or in part, of the contents of this publication is prohibited without prior written consent of Qdoba Franchisee Association. All Rights Reserved.

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

Copyright © 2021 Printed in the U.S.A.

chairman’s column

There Is Strength in Our Brand.

Strength in Our Message.

Strength in Our Association.

As we rang in the year 2020, no one was prepared for the worst, and amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, riots, protests and government-mandated stay-at-home orders, the restaurant industry took a hard hit. Despite this devastation, the QDOBA Mexican Eats® brand, our brand, rose above the rest, pivoted and demonstrated its strength.

While it wasn’t an easy year for anyone, together we were able to pivot and successfully navigate the challenges we faced while many others struggled to find their footing.

As a brand, we have many accomplishments to look back on in 2020. The year introduced many successes for QDOBA, including greater franchisee involvement in the system, which strengthened our external community. 2020 also brought us an online platform and third-party delivery improvements and introduced new products to our customers like Cauliflower 2

Mash, Hot and Sweet Chicken, and the burrito family meal.

While it wasn’t an easy year for anyone, together we were able to pivot and successfully navigate the challenges we faced while many others struggled to find their footing. This alone demonstrates our resiliency and the strength of the QDOBA brand, our product and our message.

As QDOBA owners and operators, we hold ourselves to a high standard, and it shows in our restaurants through our behavior and filters to everything our employees do as well. These high standards are what set us apart from the rest and helped us come out of 2020 on top and poised for success, ready to take on anything.

And now, as we welcome 2021 and the “new normal,” we look to hold onto and strengthen our success and accept whatever the new year may bring as an association and brand.

Through the Qdoba Franchisee Association (QFA), there are many resources available to help you navigate these current and future challenges. It is your job to continue to come together as franchisees, as an association and as a brand by taking part in the daily learning opportunities and discussions happening within the QFA. It is vital to utilize the resources provided to you.

Within this issue of Flavor, you will read about building upon your four pillars of hospitality, overcoming challenges with hiring and retaining employees in the wake of COVID-19, and the different benefits our valuable association has to offer.

After months of quarantines and stay-at-home mandates, people look for joy in the simplest of things and use any excuse to get out of the house. It’s more important now than ever to bring a special touch of flavor WINTER 2021

hospitality to warm the hearts of customers during these uncertain times. That is where the pillars of hospitality come into play.

What message are we sending about our individual stores? Our brand? At QDOBA, our mission is to bring flavor to people’s lives through our communities, our people, our restaurants and our food, and hospitality is the start of it all.

Some of the hurdles from 2020 remain with us as we cross over to 2021.

Hiring in the new year has proven to be just as challenging as it was during the heart of the pandemic. Read on to learn more about continued employment hurdles in the wake of COVID-19 and best tips and practices for battling such challenges.

With that, it’s important to remember that not only does hospitality draw more guests, but it also creates a welcoming atmosphere that is sure to satisfy your employees and create an attractive work environment. A restaurant’s culture is brought to life through each location’s leadership and open communication.

As we look to 2021, we are optimistic for what the future holds as we move into some level of normalcy, continuing to strengthen our brand, our message and our association. l

Ron Stokes Chairman

member news

QDOBA Restaurants Show Packer Spirit With Green and Gold Fridays

Team members at QDOBA Mexican Eats restaurants in Wisconsin donned their Packers gear each Friday during football season.

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lthough the 2020 football season looked quite different from past years, one thing remained the same: team spirit!

To celebrate this, Roaring Fork Restaurant Group, led by franchisee Ron Stokes, partnered with the Green Bay Packers for a third year in a row for its “Green and Gold Friday” promotions at QDOBA Mexican Eats®. Each Friday, Packers fans were encouraged to wear their green and gold gear to their local QDOBA to receive free chips and queso.

The program is heavily promoted all season long across all the Green Bay Packers marketing channels: social, email, web, mobile, in-game, print and more, giving QDOBA significant reach and exposure. Roaring Fork also encourages its employees to participate by wearing their green and gold as well.

Abby Hansen, vice president of marketing for the company, noted that the crew members love the change-up from their traditional uniforms. Roaring Fork also hosts contests for the teams, where the most spirited teams are rewarded with gift cards.

“The more our crew is into the promotion, the more likely they are to promote this partnership offering to the guests,” said Hansen. “Plus, sharing photos on social media of our enthusiastic teams flavor WINTER 2021

sporting their green and gold gear has been a great way to boost engagement and connect with fans.” l 3

member news

Tim Velleca Celebrates Five Years of Feeding Families at Local Hospital

Roaring Fork Restaurant Group Celebrates Opening of Mount Pleasant Location

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Team members from Fresh Made Foods LLC deliver meals to families and staff at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta every other Wednesday.

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im Velleca, owner of Fresh Made Foods LLC, which operates two QDOBA Mexican Eats® restaurants in the Atlanta area, has recently reached a milestone of charitable giving for a cause that hits close to home for his family.

Velleca’s son had open heart surgery around his first birthday, leaving his family with a long stay at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). “Most of the parents at the hospital traveled from out of town, were staying in hotels, eating takeout for every meal out of necessity and spending a lot of money that many do not have to spare,” Velleca said. “These families were dealing with chronic health issues for their children that may not be cured for long periods of time, if ever.”

This experience led him to dedicate many charitable efforts and donations to the hospital. In 2009, he donated two WII station carts that children who were too sick to play in the central playroom could use. Since then, his donation has evolved into weekly ward visits, providing QDOBA meals to the staff, patients and their families each Wednesday.

Five years ago, the first QDOBA meals were provided to the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorder Center at CHOA. While walking through the hospital that first night, Velleca noticed many children with all sorts of ailments and their worried parents – some with heads hung, others trying to keep a positive attitude – roaming the halls.

Knowing firsthand that families with children at CHOA have so much on their minds, Velleca decided to eliminate the stress of finding something to eat on Wednesday nights. He wanted to make the meals something families could rely on consistently.

“All day long we listen to issues that face us in the world – terrorism, gun control, racism, taxes, politics, rumors and scandals,” Velleca said. “As I watched these children, parents and staff, the importance of these daily issues was severely diminished.”

QDOBA has been donating meals biweekly for five years straight. Thankfully, other local businesses have followed in his footsteps, leading to a renovation of a portion of the hospital wing to accommodate catered donations. The room has refrigerators, sinks and volunteers to serve food from the Ronald McDonald House.

Velleca is excited to keep the tradition going and provide many more meals to the staff and families at CHOA. l 4

oaring Fork Restaurant Group began 2020 with a new restaurant. The QDOBA Mexican Eats® in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, opened Jan. 7, 2020, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Jan. 21.

The restaurant team encouraged members of the community to come to its new location by doing business drops one week prior to opening. “We focused initially on touching our current catering customers since they had brand familiarity,” said Mike Pranke, co-founder.

Then the staff shifted focus to all nearby businesses and potential customers, handing out snacks, flyers and other promotional materials to raise awareness about the restaurant.

The Mount Pleasant restaurant is the only location in the market that features a breakfast menu, so the staff emphasized it to make customers aware.

About 250 guests came to the restaurant during its grand opening. The staff had a sample table at the entrance so guests could get free chips and queso while waiting in line to order. The local chamber of commerce attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony to congratulate the team on another successful restaurant opening in the community. l

The Roaring Fork Restaurant Group team recently celebrated the opening of its new location in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin.

flavor WINTER 2021

member news

QDOBA Oregon Feeds Heroes Fighting West Coast Fires L

ast summer, wildfires raged across the West Coast, burning millions of acres in Oregon, Washington and California.

QDOBA Oregon, which has 10 locations throughout the state, provided meals for firefighters who worked countless hours to contain the spread of the Riverside fire, which burned near Estacada, Oregon.

QDOBA Oregon Regional Manager Doug Kramer saw news that members of the community were donating items and canned goods to firefighters. He also heard about a local restaurant owner named Marvin who was cooking hot meals for them. Kramer thought these front-line workers might like a hot meal from QDOBA Mexican Eats® too.

After making some calls, Kramer was put in touch with Marvin, who was ecstatic to hear Kramer’s offer, and the two arranged a date for QDOBA to provide meals to the front-line workers and volunteers in Estacada – Friday, Sept. 18.

Several QDOBA employees, including Yolanda, Luigi, Santiago and Antonia, went to the restaurant early that morning and helped prepare 250 burritos for Estacada firefighters for lunch.

Kramer and COO/Director of Operations Bill Nelsen dropped off the meals at a makeshift donation zone in the parking lot of a local steakhouse in Estacada. “We were not directly able to see the firefighters’ reactions as they were still on the front line,” said Nelsen. “However, we were told by a local volunteer that the firefighters were elated to receive the fresh burritos.”

At the drop-off site, local news station FOX 12 Oregon was

Bill Nelsen and Doug Kramer drove the QDOBA catering van from Portland, Oregon, to Estacada, Oregon, to deliver hot meals to firefighters and volunteers.

filming a segment about the community making donations to the firefighters. “These fires have really hit home. We wanted to help in any way possible, so we brought some burritos to feed the firefighters and feed the volunteers as well,” Kramer told reporters.

The fires did hit home, as many QDOBA employees had family and friends who were evacuated during the crisis.

Homeowners taped doors and windows to try to keep smoke out.

The QDOBA Oregon team found it refreshing to see its community come together for a great cause during such a hard time.

“It was such an uplifting moment to know that QDOBA Oregon helped hundreds of people that truly needed the help. I am very proud of Doug and his vigilance to make this happen for the firefighters,” said Nelsen. “It took a lot of hard work and effort to pull this off from everyone involved.” l

Support the Vendors

THAT SUPPORT YOUR ASSOCIATION

COMPANY

LEVEL

CONTACT

EMAIL

PHONE

Avanti Restaurant Solutions

Assoc. Mbr.

Shawna Snyder

ssnyder@avanticorporate.com

916-378-0099

Bunge Oil

Assoc. Mbr.

Michael Middendorf

michael.middendorf@bunge.com

623-810-7745

Cargill Foodservice

Assoc. Mbr.

Michael Huemoller

michael_huemoller@cargill.com

714-290-4321

Impossible Foods

Assoc. Mbr.

Nathan Amaya

nathan.amaya@impossiblefoods.com

650-847-8255

Koch Foods

Assoc. Mbr.

Trey Sylvest

trey.sylvest@kochfoods.com

334-387-1752

McIlhenny Co. - TABASCO

Assoc. Mbr.

Corey Stepien

corey.stepien@tabasco.com

949-378-3119

OpsAnalitica

Assoc. Mbr.

Erik Tversland

erik@opsanalitica.com

303-653-2041

Smithfield Foods

Assoc. Mbr.

Chuck Roark

croark@smithfield.com

414-331-7361

The Cholula Food Co.

Assoc. Mbr.

Danielle Viar

danielle@cholula.com

914-380-7345

Villa Lighting

Assoc. Mbr.

Nicole Smith

nicole.smith@villalighting.com

314-633-0582

flavor WINTER 2021

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LOOK LISTEN 4 READ

NetSuite software is an online service that enables companies to manage all key business processes in a single system. Companies use NetSuite for enterprise resource planning and to manage inventory, track their financials, host e-commerce stores and maintain customer relationship management systems.

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ook, Listen, Read is a quarterly compilation of some of the most highly rated and reviewed apps, podcasts, books, websites and other resources. QFA 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.

1

The “Order Up” podcast, brought to you by the National Restaurant Association, brings you stories from behind the research and the policy during this time of challenging decisions. Join “Order Up” each Friday for stories from association leaders and those in the restaurant industry, backed by research and policy. “Order Up” shares conversations about the recovery ahead of the industry, informed by the latest data. You’ll leave with an understanding of the current issues and insights into the best business practices.

2

Striven: All the power of enterprise software, designed specifically for small to midsize businesses. Finally, you don’t need a huge budget to get everything your business needs to run more effectively.

3

“Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business” is a landmark, bestselling business book and a fascinating behind-the-scenes history of the creation of author Danny Meyer’s most famous eating establishments. “Setting the Table” is a treasure trove of valuable, innovative insights applicable to any business or organization.

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5

Over the course of 20 years, Napoleon Hill researched the most prominent men of his day for his book, “Think and Grow Rich.”

Turns out these men all shared 13 common habits that made them successful. Hill published his findings in 1937. Today, this classic read is considered the forerunner of self-help books. The biggest takeaway is you must have the right state of mind to become successful. Hill breaks down the exact steps needed to develop a winning mindset.

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The journey to success is different for everyone.

The obstacles we overcome along the way are often what make us who we are. Come along as we travel the paths of the most influential people at one of the fastest-growing companies in the country through the ”Power Forward” podcast. Their stories will inspire you to power forward in all that you do.

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Gusto makes your company’s payroll, tax and benefits processes more efficient. In addition to managing online employee onboarding, Gusto handles new-hire reporting and all local, state and federal tax filings; automates deductions for benefits and workers’ compensation payments; and emails digital pay stubs to employees.

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Bestselling author Rachel Hollis takes on all the challenges entrepreneurs face in her podcast “RISE.” Hollis interviews other entrepreneurs and offers applicable advice and tactics for running your business better or being a better business person.

By listening to the “RISE” podcast, you’ll learn how to kick that nasty procrastination habit or how to change your mindset to be more positive. l

flavor WINTER 2021

One topic: 10 facts

Employment in the Restaurant Industry 1

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There are 15.1 million restaurant industry employees in the United States.

Nine in 10 restaurants have fewer than 50 employees.

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1.6 million new restaurant jobs will be created by 2028.

Seventy-six percent of restaurateurs are looking for labor management tools in their restaurant point of sale.

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The restaurant workforce makes up 10% of the overall U.S. workforce.

The number of middle-class jobs ($45,000-$75,000 annual salary) in the restaurant industry grew 84% between 2010 and 2018, more than three times faster than in the overall economy.

4 Three in 10 restaurateurs cite staffing as a challenge.

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More than 7 in 10 restaurants are single-unit operations.

Nine in 10 restaurant managers started at entry level.

Source: Upserve

6 Eight in 10 restaurant owners started their industry careers in entry-level positions. flavor WINTER 2021

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n today’s day and age, trends are moving toward more usage and incorporation of technology. As you run errands, human interaction is becoming a thing of the past and isn’t necessary to get every day-to-day task done. Consumers are ordering food from kiosks and touch-screen computers; shopping for clothes, groceries and other items online; and using third-party delivery systems and skipping the dine-in experience.

But at the end of the day, you can’t beat human interaction and quality customer service. Sure, new technology is cool and fun to use, but technology sometimes fails. Face-to-face interaction with an employee is something genuine that robots can never touch. Hospitality and the way consumers feel when they go into a restaurant and interact with staff members is what makes them come back.

Hospitality and the way consumers feel when they go into a restaurant and interact with staff members is what makes them come back.

Last February, QDOBA Mexican Eats® franchisees, system suppliers and brand representatives met in Orlando, Florida, for two days of educational sessions at the Qdoba Franchisee Association convention. During the convention, QDOBA’s Tim Wurdack and Mike Bradley, Roaring Fork Restaurant Group’s Abby Hansen, Qdoba Oregon’s Bill Nelsen and Flavors West’s Michael Scott participated in a panel discussion about hospitality and how important it is to the brand.

During this panel discussion, the four pillars of hospitality were outlined. To have the standard of hospitality for which QDOBA is known, you must be sure that you and your team exhibit the pillars by being ready to serve, greeting with energy, serving with positivity and always earning the return.

Here’s a closer look at QDOBA’s four pillars of hospitality:

Ready to serve.

by Rachel Jackson

Greet with energy.

After you have ensured that you and your team are ready to serve, you must be confident that your staff will consistently follow the second pillar of hospitality and always greet guests with energy. “Greeting guests with a positive, sincere energy will set the tone of their entire visit,” said Nelsen.

According to Nelsen, there are two kinds of energy that are important to exude: visual energy and mental energy. Visual energy means staff members are smiling, attentive and maintaining eye contact with guests, have positive body language and are always in uniform with a fresh, clean appearance.

Mental energy refers to habits that include staff members greeting guests sincerely, listening to guests’ needs clearly, being friendly and consistent, and always saying thank you. “It’s important when greeting any guest that you are able to recognize their needs or any expectations,” said Nelsen.

When it comes to hospitality and earning the return of guests, greeting the guest should be top of mind. “Always face the guest once you have greeted them, and once you have greeted them, give them your undivided attention,” he suggested.

Nelsen also advised that the leadership of the restaurant should be responsible for selecting the staff member who will be the greeter. “The employee that is greeting the guest should be a very select individual as this is the person who will make the first impression on your guests,” he said. The greeter is the first person a customer interacts with when they enter a restaurant and is therefore the first indicator of how the dining experience will go. If a customer is greeted warmly with a kind smile and attentiveness toward meeting their needs, the guest will feel like their experience was one of quality and will be sure to return. If the customer is not greeted at all and feels as if the employee is annoyed by taking their order, the guest will remember that and more than likely not return.

“It’s important when greeting any guest that you are able to recognize their needs or any expectations.”

“The first of the four hospitality pillars – ready to serve – sets the table for a great throughput,” said Wurdack. Having a ready-to-serve expectation leads to many benefits and increased profits in your restaurant.

– Bill Nelsen, Wurdack suggests always having a team member on the Qdoba Oregon service line, gloved up, forward facing and eager to serve guests; always keeping the service line stocked, cleaned and ready for amazing throughput execution; and But following proper protocol is not limited to only staff and always taking pride in your brand by consistently being team members. To teach the proper techniques for hospitality, in uniform and looking crisp and professional. Positive leaders must set an example and show how it’s done. Hospitality is guest experiences lead to more transactions, which lead a technique learned from watching others and following their lead. to an increase in sales.

If employees see you enter the restaurant, not greet anyone and go You can’t move on to the other three pillars straight to the back office, they will take that as permission to do without mastering the first pillar that is the foundaContinued on page 10 tion of hospitality. flavor WINTER 2021 9

Brand and franchisee leaders discussed the importance of hospitality at last year’s convention.

Serve with positivity.

The Four Pillars Continued from page 9

the same. On the other hand, if employees see you come into the restaurant, greet guests, clean up, help where needed and interact with your team, they will follow suit.

“Alignment comes from believing that the values of the organization are important, and then practicing those values – even when it’s not convenient.”

– John G. Miller, author, “Outstanding! 47 Way to Make Your Organization Exceptional”

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“Positivity is my favorite pillar,” said Scott.

Greeting with energy and serving with positivity go hand in hand. “Hospitality is a differentiator in our fast-casual space,” said Scott. “It is easy to just ask, ‘Black beans or pinto?’ with no hint of hospitality or positivity.”

It is just as easy to serve with positivity. “Positivity is the factor that sets the standard for the other three pillars,” said Scott. Serving with positivity can be expressed in many subtle ways: • Direct eye contact.

• Tone of voice (a smile on your face and a smile in your voice).

• Body language.

• Meeting individual guest requests.

• Finding ways to get to “yes” instead of ways to get to “no.”

• Recognizing a first-time guest and sharing our passion for flavor as we guide them with positivity.

You must create a culture of positivity. “Hospitality and positivity must be the culture of the entire brand,” said Scott. Interview

flavor WINTER 2021

“Be a positive influence in your restaurant. Positivity has the power to influence our guests … and change the behaviors of our team.”

– Michael Scott, Flavors West

for positivity, hire for positivity, train positivity and reward positive behavior.

To create a unified culture of positivity across an entire brand, you must have alignment.

“Alignment: It’s all about getting the values – sometimes called ‘guiding principles’ – that are espoused by the organization in sync with the actions of its people,” wrote John G. Miller in his book, “Outstanding! 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional.”

“Alignment comes from believing that the values of the organization are important, and then practicing those values – even when it’s not convenient,” noted Miller.

Having this specific alignment and outlook when entering the restaurant every day will help you feel more positive about the work you are doing and influence positive behavior in the staff around you.

There are many ways to promote positivity within the restaurant. You can: • Show gratitude in every little thing.

• Use positive language.

• Practice thankfulness.

• Celebrate the small victories.

“Be a positive influence in your restaurant,” advised Scott.

Focusing on the positive lifts employees and makes them feel better and more eager to serve guests. “Positivity has the power to influence our guests … and change the behaviors of our team,” he added.

In his book, “Empty Out the Negative,” Joel Osteen wrote, “Everywhere you go, make positive deposits rather than negative withdrawals. You can be a people builder.”

Earn the return.

Without the other three pillars of hospitality, it would be next to impossible to earn the return of every guest in the restaurant. However, if you are reinforcing with your team members the need for always being ready to serve, greeting the guest with energy and serving with positivity, earning the return will be a walk in the park.

Another way to earn customer loyalty is through proper training and emphasizing the importance of training not only team leaders and those at higher levels, but also team members. “Team members are our front line and need to be fully confident about changes to our app and rewards,”

said Bradley.

Appreciating guests by ensuring they’re familiar with the QDOBA Rewards program will also help build guest loyalty. “This will drive positivity by providing help to guests with opportunities to earn free food by signing up for rewards,” said Bradley. Guests educated and excited about the new rewards program will return more frequently.

“Celebrate with your guests when they earn free food,” added Bradley. “Our most loyal guests feel appreciated and rewarded for their support.” Using items like bells to alert surrounding guests and celebrating along with them when they’ve earned free food helps to create a fun and enduring environment.

Having rewards cards at the register and always offering the Forgotten Card Codes that print with every order are some more small, yet significant ways to make your guests feel appreciated.

“Look for the small and large opportunities to enhance a guest’s visit,” urged Bradley. Opening a door, refilling a drink, pre-bussing a table, helping the guest with downloading the app and being patient with a first-time guest are all little details your customers will appreciate.

Earning the return starts with being ready to serve by focusing on people and guests. To do it, you must have a commitment to hospitality. These four pillars of hospitality build off one another.

You need to master one to conquer the next which, ultimately, will lead to higher customer satisfaction and return rate, more upbeat and positive employees, and an overall better atmosphere in your stores. l

“Celebrate with your guests when they earn free food. Our most loyal guests feel appreciated and rewarded for their support.”

– Mike Bradley, QDOBA Mexican Eats

RACHEL JACKSON is the QFA associate director of communications/event production. You can reach Jackson at 678-540-6209 or rachelj@qdobafa.org.

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Employment Challenges Continue in COVID-19’s COVID-19 ’s Wake

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by Sean Ireland

ne of the biggest problems employers, including franchithe economy. Others remain leery of working sees across many brands, experienced with their businesses closely with the public in a restaurant as the before the coronavirus pandemic began last March was pandemic continues, afraid for their health or hiring and keeping quality workers. Now, nearly a year later, one the health of loved ones despite the stringent of the few things that has not changed during the pandemic is safety procedures brands and franchisees that franchisees are still challenged with finding and retaining have established. Those fears may be keeping employees. potential employees away and pushing current Before the pandemic, a historically low unemployment rate ones to seek other opportunities. across the nation was the culprit, with restaurants struggling to find Whether it’s those issues, child care dilemmas caused by enough workers to meet the demands of high standards of guest school or day care closures, or because of workers being exposed to service in their day-to-day operations or to staff new locations. coronavirus and required to quarantine, the employment rosters of Since March, the situation has been equally, if not more diffirestaurants have been in a state of flux for months. cult. While unemployment is higher across the nation because of “Overall, the industry is going through a transitional period the business closures caused by the pandemic, there are significant dealing with the reality of a very difficult time staffing and retaining barriers to hiring and keeping employees. Workers who lost jobs their employees,” said Lenny Crouse, vice president of national received extra compensation in unemployment benefits over the sales for TraitSet HIRE, a company that provides workforce past year as part of the congressional relief packages passed to boost management solutions for businesses.

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Individual restaurant operators, with no exception to QDOBA Mexican Eats® franchisees, are living that trend up close. Fifty-nine percent of restaurant owners say hiring, training and retaining restaurant staff is the biggest challenge they face, HubSpot research indicates. Yet in the churn of this employment environment, it is less expensive and requires less effort to keep current team members than it is to find, hire and develop new ones. HubSpot research estimates that the average cost of replacing a restaurant worker is $5,684 when combining recruiting, selection, orientation and training, and productivity loss.

For the restaurants that get it right, culture can be the most important factor in the employment picture. A strong, positive management culture leads to higher engagement with individuals, making them less likely to look for a better opportunity. It also creates an atmosphere that potential employees investigating the work environment will find inviting.

Culture is brought to life through each restaurant’s leadership effectively engaging with employees with frequent, two-way communication that includes accountability, kindness and respect.

Each restaurant’s management team must always be willing to stay connected with employees through things like weekly one-on-one check-in meetings. Each interaction with an employee is a touchpoint and should be positive.

As part of this communication, employees should understand the why of the policies and procedures they are expected to follow, and leadership’s actions should align with their words. All standards of performance should be clear and fairly applied, with poor performance addressed immediately. Regular performance reviews can be supplemented with mentoring sessions that help guide team members and demonstrate that their growth and happiness is a priority of the business. Employees want to know that they are being treated equally and that their employer cares about them.

Employees also want to feel appreciated, and leaders can demonstrate it in many ways. Some companies, like Starbucks, awarded bonuses and boosted pay for employees who continued to work during the pandemic. If financial incentives aren’t possible, there are other ways, such as providing meals and gift cards or offering opportunities to attend training sessions on career development and advancement. Recognition for on-the-job achievements and personal milestones like birthdays and graduations are other forms of positive outreach that fit the bill.

Opportunities for advancement are also important drivers for retention. If employees see a path to advance beyond their current positions into roles with more responsibility and compensation, they are more likely to stay. It’s even better if they see examples of managers and other leaders who began their careers in entry-level positions who can be relied upon as mentors.

It takes time and consistent leadership to build this culture, but it pays dividends for the restaurant both internally and externally. Crouse noted that an organization’s reputation in its community, not just inside its doors, also plays a role in both retention and hiring new workers. “Those operators that have a bad image or bad leadership team in the community in which they operate have created additional barriers to finding people to work,” he said.

“Start with the mirror test. Have each manager on the leadership team ask themselves if they would want to work for you.”

Even with the best retention programs, there will always be a need to hire new employees. With applicant streams thin during the pandemic, Crouse warned against simply hiring warm bodies to meet staffing needs. Companies should not change what they

seek in job candidates. It’s better to be shorthanded than it is to hire someone with poor behavioral signs or no heart for customer service, which leads to constant upheaval. “Those operators who have a culture of hiring bodies in the traditional ways without much focus on quality have been affected more trying to keep their staffing levels up to stay open,” Crouse said.

“We are finding that operators who placed an emphasis on hiring quality versus snagging bodies to fill slots are not having the extremes some operators are dealing with today,” Crouse noted.

“The competitive advantage operators can leverage today more than ever are resources that use a prescreening behavioral assessment to review job seekers. It allows each hiring manager to add great employees to their rosters.”

“Start with the mirror test.

Have each manager on the leadership team ask themselves if they would want to work for you.”

– Lenny Crouse, vice president of national sales for TraitSet HIRE

Organizations need to widen their horizons to ensure they can find the quality candidates that Crouse recommends. It’s important to look to nontraditional resources for leads – contacting and recruiting through schools, chambers of commerce, sports coaches and other community leaders. Some companies offer current employees a bonus if they refer someone who ends up being hired, and the new employees receive a retention bonus for staying on the job for a predetermined time, say six months or more.

When interviewing potential employees in the current job market, it’s also important to think in terms of selling candidates on the job just as much as they are selling employers on their skills and attitudes. If a good culture has been built in the restaurant, current employees can talk to candidates about the fun, team-based work environment that they enjoy. If the environment in the restaurant is wrong, with current employees appearing unprofessional and unhappy, job candidates will notice. Of course, it’s also important for hiring managers to know the local market.

Competitive pay and benefits are a must.

In the last 12 months filled with challenges, finding and keeping employees has been one of the biggest, and it will probably remain so for the foreseeable future. “If you are losing the war on staffing, don’t give up,” Crouse said. “Create a plan and stay the course. You can’t change the road map overnight. Partner with a staffing company that will help each manager build an applicant flow into a high-performing machine and transform your business into a four-walls mindset based on community outreach and being known as a fun place to work.” l SEAN IRELAND is the QFA director of communications. You may reach him at seani@qdobafa.org or 678-797-5165.

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Win Customer Loyalty Even in Challenging Times

T

he world is in the midst of one of the most challenging times we can imagine. The impact on health, on families and on businesses is staggering. At the very least, your business has changed dramatically. People all over the world are dealing with massive challenges that they’ve never dealt with before.

One of the questions I’m being asked from many of my clients is: What can we do right now to make sure that we’re increasing the likelihood that our customers will stay loyal to us now and in the future? So, I want to offer an approach that works very well in creating a great customer experience and for engaging your team in the process. Keep in mind you’re going to have to tailor this approach to your own situation.

In a meeting with members of your team – either virtually or in an appropriately socially distanced setting – come up with three things you would want your customers to say or think about their experience with you in this crazy time. Focusing on three things makes you think about and define what’s truly important to your customers right now. For example, three things you might want your customers to say could be: 1. They were easy to do business with during this confusing time.

2. They were extra appreciative of our business right now.

3. Their employees were highly knowledgeable or knew exactly where to find the answers.

My guess is that if your customers could make those three statements about you, they’re going to be loyal now and in the future.

Again, your statements might be different, but I’m sure you get the idea. Once you have identified those three things that you want customers to say, the next step is to discuss what needs to happen for your customers to feel that way.

by Dennis Snow

For example, if you want customers to say that you were extra appreciative of their business right now, behaviors like: • Sincerely thanking customers for being loyal during this challenging time.

• Asking if there’s anything else you can do to make it easier to do business with you.

• Offering an add-on at no cost.

Again, it’s a dialogue to have with your team, but you do this with each of the three things that you want your customers to say about you.

The next step is to communicate and reinforce the outcome of those discussions with everyone on the team. It’s important for everyone to be on the same page. There’s just too much at stake right now to leave customer perceptions to chance. So, here’s something to think about: What are three things we want our customers to say or feel about their experience with us? What has to happen for them to say those three things? l

DENNIS SNOW is the president of Snow & Associates Inc. 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 Snow at 407-294-1855 or visit his website at www.snowassociates.com.

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Stumbling Into Proficiency:

Four 3 Ways

Mistakes Can Improve Your – Richelle E. Go author Productivity American

e w t a h w , s e im t y “Man r o r o r r e n a s a e iv e perc . t if g a y ll a u t c a failure is ally, we find that And eventu ned from that lessons learg experience discouragin of great worth.” prove to be odrich,

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E

by Laura Stack

xperience sets veteran workers apart from novices and is a large part of what makes them attractive and important to any organization. Most veterans aren’t necessarily smarter than their younger colleagues or more talented. They have much more experience, wisdom and better connections. More significantly, veteran workers know what they’re supposed to do, how to do it and have done it so many times it’s become ingrained habit.

But here’s their real advantage: Veterans not only know what to do – they also know what not to do and when not to do it.

As a new employee, you may learn how to avoid pitfalls if you have excellent documentation to work with or, better, a mentor to show you the ropes. But most of us learn the boundaries of our functions and our jobs best by, well, screwing up. Most schools don’t teach this aspect of business well, except through their tests.

Rarely do you see courses like The Greatest Mistakes in Business History or Things Never to Code in LISP in formal curricula, much less How to Learn by Failing.

I’d argue that occasional mistakes, when taken to heart, hone your productivity to its keenest possible edge. Here’s why:

1

Mistakes close off nonproductive paths. Legend has it that

Thomas Edison tried thousands of possibilities before he invented effective, long-lasting light bulbs. When asked about it, he declared he had not suffered thousands of failures, he had just found a lot of ways that didn’t work. Every false trial taught him what not to do. The same happens whenever you make a mistake; you learn what not to do in a particular situation, ultimately increasing your productivity over time.

2 3

Mistakes refine your routine. Work, like all of life, requires

trial-and-error sometimes. Some things you try will work great; others will prove abject failures. Let go of the things that don’t work and keep trying new things until you’ve smoothed out your routine to something simple and consistently successful.

Mistakes teach you your limits. When you hit a wall and fail, or simply make a goofy error, ask yourself tough questions about what happened and why. If you’ve been stretching yourself to use a new statistics program you don’t entirely understand, and you utterly fail to get decent results, you’ve met a personal limit. It doesn’t have to be permanent; you can always take a class on using the program effectively or hire someone else. Some limits may prove inherent; if you disastrously fail to juggle your projects while working a 70-hour week, but do fine with a 45-hour week, you’d best pull back to the shorter workweek.

4

Mistakes often include seeds for future success. The old saying, “It’s an evil wind that blows no good,” encapsulates this concept. Even if an idea or attempt fails catastrophically, not only will you learn not to do it again (a worthwhile nugget of wisdom in itself ), you can reflect upon it and see what parts did work and how you can put them to use for something else. For example, Silly Putty was originally invented as a substitute rubber during World War II, but the military passed on it because it wasn’t a good replacement. After realizing its stretchy and bouncy properties, the inventor marketed it as a children’s toy – and it became one of the bestselling products in history.

When It’s All a Mistake …

You can’t completely avoid making mistakes at work. Modern business life is just too difficult for that to be possible.

While I’m not here to tell you to learn by deliberately failing, I am here to tell you to be willing to try and fail so you can learn from your accidental errors. You’ve heard the advice before: fail fast, fail forward.

Some of us are afraid to risk anything, for fear of losing a job or career. But let’s face it: Most work failures are “puppy” mistakes, really. Do you send a puppy to the pound just because it made a mess once or twice? No, you show it the error of its ways and let it try again. Eventually, it’ll catch on. The same is true of employees.

Canny supervisors know you’re going to fail occasionally, not just early on but also later in your career.

So, when you make a mistake, learn from it. Take whatever bricks remain of your failure and start rebuilding something new. It may end up being your personal Taj Mahal. l

Occasional mistakes when taken to hear , hone your productivt, to its keenest poss ity ible edge.

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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Should You Require Employees to Take a COVID-19 Vaccine?

A

s this article is being written in late October 2020, various COVID-19 vaccines are in third-stage trials while infection and death rates are rising across the United States and much of the world. Will there be a safe and effective vaccine at the time this article is distributed? I certainly hope so, but if not, make sure to save this for when there is one (although you should read it now to start planning for when a vaccine does come out).

Even if a vaccine is out and available, the current thinking is that the 18

by Douglas H. Duerr

available doses will be prioritized for first responders and other high-risk groups such as the elderly and medically fragile.

That said, at some point, a vaccine will become generally available, and you will be faced with the question of whether you require your employees, as a condition of continued employment, to take it.

Why would you need to consider this question at all? After all, as an operator of a retail business catering to the general public (i.e., not a health care setting) you likely do not require your employees to take any vaccines as a condition of flavor WINTER 2021

employment. For example, although the seasonal flu is common and infects a fair number of people each year causing tens of thousands of deaths annually in the U.S. alone, you probably do not require a vaccine.

In fact, although people (customers and employees) infected with all types of diseases enter your establishment, there is seldom, if ever, any traceable infection of another customer or employee as a

result. (OK, admittedly, I am leaving out the common cold, which can sometimes go through your employees like wildfire, but that is more of a nuisance. And I am getting to the point.)

Present science, however, indicates that 40% of COVID-19 cases are traceable to indoor spaces, that COVID-19 is not that hard to catch (particularly when compared to another airborne disease like tuberculosis) and is more serious than the flu in terms of hospitalization and death.

Consequently, because of these somewhat unique risk factors, you might be inclined to consider whether a step such as a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine might be prudent to avoid potential liability to the co-workers and customers of an employee who might become infected.

Now that you have considered the risk of allowing infections to occur when there is a potential preventative measure in the form of a vaccine, can you require vaccination, and if so, what are the risks of doing so? Stated succinctly, the answer is generally a “yes” you can require a vaccine, but (you knew that “but” was coming, right?) just because you can does not mean that you will be able to require all employees, including those being hired, to be vaccinated as a condition of starting or continuing employment.

There are two primary exceptions to any vaccination requirement: The individual has a condition that may require you to excuse the requirement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (or equivalent state law) or has a sincerely held religious belief that requires you to excuse the vaccination requirement under Title VII (or equivalent state law). As many employers have already experienced with COVID-19 itself, many individuals have been able to obtain medical opinions that they are at a higher risk of the disease and, therefore, should receive an accommodation from interacting with customers or co-workers.

Given the anticipated speed of development and regulatory approval of a vaccine, it is not unreasonable to assume that individuals will be able to obtain medical opinions that they should not be vaccinated because of the risk of an adverse health result. While perhaps with time such opinions may become less common as more becomes known about the COVID-19 vaccines, such medical opinions are nonetheless a critical

consideration when determining whether an individual is disabled within the meaning of the ADA and, if so, whether a reasonable accommodation in the form of a waiver of vaccination is required.

Because of these somewhat unique risk factors, you might be inclined to consider whether a step such as a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine might be prudent to avoid potential liability to the co-workers and customers of an employee who might become infected.

Can a waiver of vaccination be a reasonable accommodation even during a pandemic? Maybe.

Not only do public health experts consider less than 100% vaccination sufficient to prevent a significant public health event, but there may be other measures that might be available when a small portion of your workforce is not vaccinated, including job modifications to eliminate or reduce exposure to others, requiring use of N95 masks (make sure you comply with OSHA requirements) or the like. The same is true for someone who claims a sincerely held religious belief that they cannot be vaccinated against the virus; you may need to accommodate that person as well.

Thus, you are not likely to be able to require everyone to get a vaccine.

Even if none or very few of your employees have a condition requiring waiver under the ADA or a religious belief flavor WINTER 2021

likewise excusing them from a vaccination requirement, should you require a vaccine? There are many considerations that need to go into that decision, such as the availability of doses in the community. Who will pay for the vaccine, and if it is the employee, does that cost count as a deduction from wages that takes the employee below the minimum wage for that week? Is the vaccine’s efficacy and the amount of time for which it provides protection worth the cost and side effects?

How will this intrusion in the private medical decisions of your employees impact morale? Will the requirement help or hurt recruitment for open positions?

What will the impact be of having some employees required to get vaccinated while others are excused?

Yes, you can have a vaccination requirement. No, you might not be able to apply it to everyone. Is such a requirement worth it? Definitely maybe.

So long as there is a pandemic and substantial risks to vulnerable individuals and your business, mandatory vaccination against the virus should be given serious consideration; however, when making a final decision, there are many issues to consider.

Thus, while as of the writing of this article (and likely even when it is published) there are still many unknowns about the virus and any vaccine, this is an issue that will (hopefully) soon be front and center. Consequently, as I mentioned at the start of this article, now is a good time to begin thinking about what your decision will be. l

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

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BUILD THE

Fellowship Quest OF THE

by Dan Coughlin

L

eaders don’t achieve anything.

Whenever I read that an NFL or NBA head coach won a championship, I just smile. No NFL or NBA coach could actually play in a game during the season. They would get run over on the field or on the court. The players won the championship game.

The head coach influenced the other coaches and the players to produce a performance that won the championship.

I think the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mohandas Gandhi and Mother Teresa are three of the all-time great leaders in history. None of them achieved anything. What they did was influence literally millions of people to sit in, stand up, march, boycott, pour soup and wake up millions of other people to try to solve massive societal problems. Those people who were influenced changed history.

What’s the Secret to Nurturing Relationships With the People in Your Fellowship?

Leaders Build the Fellowship of the Quest

Relationships. Focus. Effort. Communication. Sacrifice.

This is not new news. It is the age-old journey that all leaders go on. It is NOT you by yourself. It is you in fellowship with other committed people to fulfill a purpose. You don’t achieve anything.

You influence people to work toward the fulfillment of that purpose and the realization of the fellowship’s goals. l

When I was 12 years old, I read the three-book series called, “The Lord of the Rings.” Now 44 years later, I just finished re-reading “The Fellowship of the Ring,” which is the first book in the series. This is the story of a group of people who worked together on a long and dangerous quest to destroy an all-powerful and dangerous ring to keep it out of the hands of the enemy. Frodo Baggins by himself could not travel across the country, deal with goblins and orcs and other such monsters, and destroy the ring. He needed a fellowship.

Mother Teresa needed other people to set up soup kitchens around the world to feed the poor.

King and Gandhi needed other people to protest in a nonviolent way to change the world.

You need a fellowship to fulfill the meaningful purpose and achieve the important goals of your quest. You will not do it by yourself. Let me repeat that: You will not do it by yourself.

Time.

Time is the secret.

Invest time with people. Listen to them. Turn off your cellphone and really listen to them. Work to know them and understand them. Talk about what is important to them. And then talk about the quest, the purpose of the group, the goals the group is trying to achieve and the journey it will take to get there.

Conclusion

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.

Nurture Relationships I’m not saying you should go party with your employees. Actually, I’m encouraging you to not party with your employees. Those folks do need time to party together, but that’s separate from you.

What I am encouraging you to do is to nurture relationships.

Get to know each of them on an individual basis. Get to know them on a group basis. Understand what they are thinking and feeling, and then respond appropriately. Understand the nuances of the individuals, and the nuances that are created by the group.

That is empathy, and it is critically important.

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Call for Franchisee News We want to highlight any news or events associated with QDOBA franchisees. If you have ideas for potential stories, please email communications@qdobafa.org or call 678-797-5160. Our editorial staff can assist in writing the story for you.

Supporting you through the good times and the bad Some years are better than others, and 2020 was certainly a challenge for most. With all the change and uncertainty, there is no better time to ensure you have the right business insurance in place.

Like always, co-brokers Lockton Affinity and Elevanta are here to support you—whatever 2021 looks like for your business. In addition to servicing your insurance needs, we offer complimentary policy reviews and risk management tools.

Get support at Elevanta.LocktonAffinity.com or by contacting Lockton Affinity at Elevanta@LocktonAffinity.com or (844) 403-4947.

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