WASHINGTON National Restaurant Association is working to recast the image of the foodservice industry in the eyes of the American public as it promotes participation and profitability within the restaurant community. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
Addressing the challenges facing restaurateurs as they move into the next decade of the 21st century, the newly unveiled plan seeks to chart a more ambitious trajectory for the industry’s largest trade organization, state restaurant associations and the industry at large. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
“The industry is at a critical juncture,” said Dawn Sweeney, the NRA’s president and chief executive. “We need to work harder and smarter and in different ways than we have before.” —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
The five-year plan addresses such areas as the relationship between the NRA and the independent state associations, the need to take a more proactive stance on local political issues, the public’s perception of the foodservice industry and its value as a career path, and the development of products and services that will help operators run their businesses better. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
Michael Kaufman, chairman of both the NRA board and the plan’s steering committee, said it “sets out a vision and series of aggressive goals, not only for the NRA, but for the NRA Educational Foundation and the state restaurant associations to transform the way we think about and how we represent and serve the industry.” —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
The plan reflects a closer alliance between the NRA and the state restaurant groups, which worked together on its development. The NRA and state associations are collaborating and working at a higher level than ever before, said Pat Conway, chief executive of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association and president of the Council of State Restaurant Associations. Not only did all participants involved in the process provide input, he said, but the state associations also contributed $125,000 to help fund the 10-month project. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
The new connectivity also is expected to help the industry focus on anti-business issues at the state and local levels before they have a chance to spread to other jurisdictions. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
“There are more than 80 people across the country [in the NRA and state associations] who spend all their time focused on issues,” Kaufman said. “We will create mechanisms for them to be more powerfully aligned. It will enable us to leverage all professional talent and stay ahead of the issues.” —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
In addition, the plan provides a new business model to deliver ServSafe products and services to the state associations. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
“Previously, we were the buyer and they were the seller,” Conway said. “It is now a more seamless program. We will be true partners with the NRA in delivering these products to the industry.” —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
In the future, he said, the new mechanism could encompass other value-added products that help operators run their businesses, like a credit-card-processing program or even insurance programs. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
All such programs will work through the NRA Solutions division, which is led by executive vice president Mary Adolf, who previously ran the Educational Foundation. The NRA has begun a search for her replacement at the NRAEF. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
As part of the plan, NRA Solutions also is expected to generate new products, services and best-practices studies that will help members run their businesses more profitably and efficiently. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
“We could offer products that would help with labor scheduling or with menu and prep,” Kaufman said. “We might look at best practices studies that give guidance to operators on energy and water use.” —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
He said the NRA also is looking at insurance products that address areas like health or liability. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
“A number of things are teed up for examination,” Kaufman said. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
Pivotal to the five-year plan is a shared vision statement for the NRA and NRAEF that says, “We will lead America’s restaurant industry into a new era of prosperity, prominence and participation, enhancing the quality of life for all we serve.” —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
“What we’re saying is that we want to help the industry to create greater profitability,” said Sweeney, who recently celebrated her first anniversary as head of the NRA. “We also want to get the industry a lot more recognition for what restaurateurs have been doing. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
“We’re such a huge employer, and we make a difference in communities across the country. We tell ourselves stories that inspire, but we’re not telling the world. The industry enhances the quality of life for people. We want Americans to appreciate that.” —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
The plan addresses the public’s long-held perception that some industry jobs “are the least desirable jobs in the workplace,” Sweeney said. “We must change that.” —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
Part of the responsibility for reversing the public’s negative perceptions about the industry’s career opportunities will be assigned to the NRA’s newly reconfigured Educational Foundation. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
“Its new path will be to focus on jobs and careers,” Sweeney said, likening its mission to a multimillion-dollar campaign launched earlier by Johnson & Johnson to alter the public’s perception of the nursing profession. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
Part of the motivation, she said, “is to close the employment gap.” —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
“We are expected to have a huge deficit of workers, and we want people to choose the restaurant industry for careers,” she said. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
The NRAEF also will promote the industry’s charitable efforts. “The work restaurateurs do is remarkable, but they’re not getting attention for it,” Kaufman said. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
The five-year plan also plots a course to increase NRA membership by 50 percent by 2013, and spells out five ways the organization can show prospective members it creates value: advocacy and representation, tools and solutions, education and networking, research and insights, and responsible stewardship. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
“We have enormous resources across the NRA and state associations,” Sweeney said. “But they’re not always deployed where the value can be seen.” —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
To help further refine the NRA’s mission, the plan sets out to categorize the industry’s key issues and challenges under four headings: jobs and careers, food and healthy living, sustainability and social responsibility, and profitability and entrepreneurship. Over time, the NRA would integrate virtually all of its products and services under those “imperatives.” —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
The plan also would enable the NRA to appraise its success within those four areas by conducting studies. “We want to set up certain benchmarks and measure ourselves every year,” Kaufman said. “It would let us see how we’re doing in helping the industry in those four critical areas.” —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
For example, he said, the NRA might look at the food and healthy-living imperative, and measure whether Americans believe restaurants are safe places to eat. “These goals would help us hold ourselves accountable,” Kaufman said. —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
While there is no concrete plan to make structural changes to the NRA’s organization at this point, Kaufman said, “we will be looking at it to study how we can align it better to achieve our goals.” —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
See also “Shifting political landscape leads NRA to broaden view of issues, seek new allies,” —With the launch of a new five-year plan, the
