Hurricane Idalia may have truncated the inaugural Prosper Forum agenda earlier this week in Amelia Island, Fla., but plenty of value was derived, nonetheless. The event was conceived to pull together many of the top leaders in our industry – from heavyweights like Yum Brands and Inspire Brands to emerging chains, vendors and nonprofits – to share ideas and ensure long-term success by intentionally creating a diverse talent pipeline. As several speakers noted, it is prudent to have decision makers in place who reflect our customers and our workforce. Putting such leaders in place, Prosper Forum Co-Founder/CEO David Jobe said, is not only good for business, but also a competitive advantage.
“There is no need to debate nonsense. This is an industry everybody should want to be a part of,” Jobe said. “Diverse outcomes are better for our business.”
“Nonsense” was a consistent theme throughout the event, with speakers encouraging attendees to ignore such “nonsense” in reference to recent pushbacks against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
“Our industry is where cultures are built, so step away from the noise and focus on the need,” said Hattie Hill, Prosper board member and former CEO of the Women’s Foodservice Forum. “We need everyone at the table more than ever.”
James Fripp, chief equity and inclusion officer at Yum Brands, reiterated the need for leadership to reflect the industry’s workforce and customers, both of which are increasingly diverse. Consider CivicScience data that shows Hispanic Americans eat at quick-service restaurants more frequently than non-Hispanic Americans, or CDC data showing that African American adults have a higher rate of quick-service food consumption than non-Hispanic whites. On the employment side, 49% of restaurant and foodservice employees are minorities, compared to 38% of employees in the total U.S. employed labor force.
“We know there are going to be challenges, but we need to solve for the need to have leadership that reflects all of our customers,” Fripp said. “This work is a business imperative, not a political statement.”
Denny’s DEI imperative
One restaurant company that has long embraced the business imperative of DEI is Denny’s. The family dining chain committed to improving its practices in 1994 after settling a discrimination lawsuit and continues to evolve and expand its efforts today.
Denny’s CEO Kelli Valade, who joined the chain in June 2022, provided an overview of this work to Prosper attendees, noting that the playbook is “very clear and best in class.”
“The numbers stand for themselves. We have eight business resource groups, each has their own budget, an executive sponsor, a chair. We do countless things for our communities. Our board is 62% people of color and 62% women,” she said. “(The work) is wide, it’s deep and it is a part of what we do every day. It’s incredibly inspiring to see what we’ve been able to do. But there’s more to do.”
Denny’s also has programs in place such as Denny’s Together, a 30-day immersion program where employees practice on-the-job application of its DEI policy. Employees are also tasked with learning Denny’s “Rules to Live By,” through eLearning, videos and more. This is just a glimpse of what is offered, and the leadership team is very much involved in all of it.
“The leaders’ role is to be accountable for everything that happens and also to be a role model, to set aggressive and achievable goals, recognize when that happens, and constantly think of ways to innovate like you would innovate anything else in your business, the menu, beverages …” Valade said.
Valade added that this work is more important than ever because the pandemic exacerbated systemic inequalities among marginalized communities.
“If those are our customers and that is our workforce, we have to be willing to do the work,” she said. “The need has never been more apparent to me.”
And the work continues to change. Valade said Denny’s is now sharpening its focus on mental health, for instance, and the company is starting an app-based subscription that helps employees and their families find a coach, support group or therapist within 20 minutes to help them through a crisis.
“I think the mental health crisis has reached such a fever pitch and I don’t think anyone is doing enough about it. The 18-to-24-year-olds is the most lonely of any generation right now. Those are our employees. If we can’t get them whole, then it won’t change for any of us,” Valade said.
She pointed to a statistic showing that 60% of young Americans said they were lonely before the pandemic, and that number is even higher for African Americans and Hispanics.
“Then we come out of the pandemic and we’re not more connected, we’re more divided. Restaurants are a place where people can come together and unite. Why shouldn’t we be talking about this? If those are our employees, customers, franchisees, what are we doing for that?” she said.
Valade believes more progress can be made if the industry comes together and is inviting other brands and their employees and customers to join Denny’s for a mental health summit Oct. 10.
“For this industry, if we can tap into young individuals and keep them whole, we can change the conversation about this. The number one leadership quality right now is empathy and creating calm spaces for all. People are stressed and wouldn’t it be great if we can just create those calm spaces and conversations that are meaningful?” Valade said. “Business leaders can make a difference in this.”
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
