Training and marketing manager Katie Brower used to have a 10-minute commute to the Chili’s Grill & Bar where she worked in Jacksonville, N.C. Today, she still lives close to work, but she’s a long way from home.
Brower is in Singapore helping franchisee Grandko Restaurants PTE Ltd. prepare to open a new Chili’s restaurant there in June. She is the first of a new team of about 20 restaurant managers who are slated to assist in overseas store openings for Dallas-based Brinker International.
“Working globally for Brinker has been life-changing, incredible, an adventure, a learning opportunity and so much fun,” said Brower, who will spend three months in Singapore and then return to Jacksonville.
Brinker owns or franchises more than 1,700 casual-dining restaurants, under the Chili’s, On the Border and Maggiano’s Little Italy brands. The company now has 200 international locations and plans to open up to 500 overseas units in the next five years.
Brinker International, parent of Chili’s Grill & Bar, has 200 international units and plans to open up to 500 overseas units in the next five years.
With restaurants in 27 countries, Brinker always has sent U.S. managers overseas to assist franchisees with store openings and training. Earlier this year, however, the company formalized the program by creating a special team of managers to help foreign operators get up and running. The program not only aids the company in its expansion goals, but also helps with recruiting and retaining managerial talent, Brinker executives said.
“Some of these folks are high-potential managers who are ready to be GMs, but if [locally] there are not new restaurant openings and their GM is not leaving, what can we do to retain?” said Becca Pollock, director of global operations support for Brinker. “Here is a way to keep them engaged and develop them as better leaders.”
International franchisees benefit as well, she added.
“A lot of the franchisees need someone to help with brand standards,” Pollock said. “A lot of the requests we get are from restaurants getting ready to open and starting to develop their teams.”
Brower is the first manager to travel under the new program, after the franchisee in Singapore requested assistance. Other requests are pending from franchisees in Canada, Ecuador and El Salvador, Pollock said.
The international team currently is focused on Brinker’s more than 1,600-unit Chili’s brand. The company also owns 156-unit On the Border and 45-unit Maggiano’s Little Italy.
To better respond to franchisees’ needs, company officials earlier this year formalized the process of selecting and sending American managers out to assist, Pollock said.
“We would sort of put a call out and hope someone answered,” she said, “but we did not have a ready bench of people identified.”
The global operations division created criteria and sought recommendations from general managers and area directors. Potential candidates are talented restaurant managers who are enthusiastic about the Chili’s brand, work well with others, and can coach and influence others, Pollock said.
Knowing a second language is not a requirement, but previous international travel experience is needed.
“We did not want to get an applicant who does not have a passport or has never been out of the United States,” she said. “They need to have experienced what it’s like to be out of the country, to know that the world is different. We have to be sure that they will be OK being in a different part of the world and that they will be successful.”
Brower studied globalization and cultural studies in Africa, Asia and South America when she was in college. She is currently working on a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in international business. After attending a Brinker leadership forum for women, Brower learned she could shadow people in the company’s global business development division. The exposure helped her win a spot on the international managers team.
Brower does not speak Chinese, but English is spoken in Singapore. She lives in an apartment that is about a 20-minute walk from work and can take public transportation just about anywhere. On her days off, she’s taking site-seeing trips. She plans to visit the Chili’s in Malaysia and possibly ride elephants in the jungle.
“I love the people, the food, the location and my job here,” she said. “I don’t really dislike anything about Singapore, but I would have to admit that it’s very hot and humid.”
The Chili’s in Singapore, which is opening in a mall in the city’s center, is the first unit to open in Singapore in several years. Like most foreign units, the menu has some modifications for the local market.
Although the franchise company has been a franchisee for Subway, the company does not have experience running a casual-dining operation. Brower is assisting with training for the June opening.
“The leadership team here is doing an excellent job of communicating our company mission, vision and goals to new Singapore team members,” Brower said. “Brinker has opened so many doors already for me, and this is the icing on the cake.”