The Fast Casual Future: Millennials and Employee Engagement

I couldn’t be more impressed with the enthusiasm, pride, and excitement that top-level restaurant executives, owners, and franchisees displayed for their brands at the 2013 Fast Casual Executive Summit in New Orleans.

The conference kicked off with James Carville and Mary Matalin weighing in on the gridlock in D.C. with some interesting insights, but most of the speakers, roundtables, and sideline discussions focused on two key topics that the fast casual industry is facing:

1. Millennials - Customer Insight and Mobile Technology
2. Employee Engagement

Millenials - Customer Insights & Mobile Technology

Currently, there are over 80 million Millennial consumers that have an annual direct spending power estimated at $200 billion and represent 25 percent of the population in the United States. Research has shown that Millennials:

• Eat out 4 times per week
• Utilize their phones for everything (referrals, YELP ratings, word of mouth, coupons, social media, etc.)
• Are looking for an exceptional customer experience
• Are expecting restaurants to know who they are and what they want

It boils down to the fact that consumers, especially Millenials, want to be in charge and have a customized experience. So what does that mean for restaurant operators?

1. Create a mobile strategy that engages and interacts with their customers.
2. Develop an overall interactive methodology that caters to this audience.
3. Continue to interact with customers to identify their expectations and examine their experiences.

Employee Engagement: The Key to a Great Customer Experience

Because employees are in front of your customers at all times, the service they provide is paramount to enriching the customer experience and driving customer loyalty.

How can restaurant operators ensure an exceptional service culture and create brand ambassadors throughout their organization?

Step 1: Hiring Smart

Eric Chester the Founder for the Center for Work Ethic Development made two great points:

• Hire for attitude – train for skill
• Find employees with a strong work ethic, which he defined as knowing what to do and doing it

Step 2: Employee Engagement

Employees want to be recognized and feel like they are an integral piece to success. They need to be engaged from the beginning as the customer experience really lies in their hands. Every point of customer contact must be consistent with an organization’s vision. High involvement from all levels, especially leaders and supervisors, is critical. An unwavering commitment to a solid action plan with understanding of the expectations and ownership of the results are the only ways that a cultural change will occur to support a successful transformation.

Step 3: Tools to Measure Outcomes

Proper methodology for measuring results is a critical component of the transformation process. The ability to point to a scoreboard at select intervals in time and say, “Hey, look! It’s working. We’re winning!” is important, because celebrating those successes is what will drive and reinforce the commitment needed from the organization. Presenters at the conference mentioned a myriad of tools that they use as the “scoreboard” including surveys, mystery shops, rewards/incentive programs, profit sharing plans and many more.

Final Thoughts

As a provider to the restaurant industry and not a restaurant owner, I was amazed by the leadership and sharing that occurred during the conference. So many of the leaders within the industry started as bussers, dishwashers, servers, etc. and worked their way up the ladder through hard work, dedication and innovation. The Fast Casual Industry is thriving, and I can’t wait to see and taste what is next.