Focus on Employees

One of the first things I learned about Chick-fil-A is the concern that the operators have for their employees. This comes directly from the top (pay close attention to this . . . this is neither the first nor last time it will come up in this book) of the organization. They realize that the majority of their employees are young and not going to be lifetime employees. What they attempt to do, then, is to make the employment experience at Chick-fil-A meaningful for the workers’ future employers. Yes, you read that correctly.

While most fast-food companies feel that the way to help the store is to focus on training aimed at the store and its improvement, Chick-fil-A feels that the way to help the store is to help the employee first. For example, I learned that there is a focus on training employees in such disciplines as money management. The focus, then, is the employee, not the store. Helping one, the employee, improves both.

The fast-food industry is notorious for having to recruit high-school and lower-paid employees in order to stay competitive. As a result, these companies suffer from high turnover and poorly trained employees. Chick-fil-A, however, has chosen to mentor the people it hires, and as a result it has offered scholarships to over 16,000 employees. This focus on employees is part of what sets the company apart.

I interviewed a Chick-fil-A operator during the course of writing this book. I learned a lot about the values that make Chick-fil-A and its employees different from other fast-food companies. The operator I interviewed had previously worked for another fast-food operation, a household name. He told me that in the ten years that he worked there, he had met the president of the corporation twice. During his first year as an operator at Chick-fil-A, the president of the company, Dan Cathy, called him on Christmas Day to wish him and his family a Merry Christmas. “How do you think that made me feel?” he asked me.

I also learned that Chick-fil-A operators are not allowed to own more than one or two stores (one is the norm). Unlike most competitors, operators don’t own territories, they own stores. The result is a presence in the store of the operator, where his or her principles and values can be observed by employees. Chick-fil-A carefully screens potential operators regarding their representation of the values of the company. You can imagine the impact on young employees who observe values of dignity, respect, courtesy, and kindness at work exhibited every day in the stores by the operators themselves. You won’t see a hands-off boss giving orders to a staff of people. You’ll see an eager operator picking up trays, speaking to customers and employees alike, and setting an example for the staff to follow.