The company is making ’30 distinct changes’ in the back of house
One case study illustrating the growing trend of designing restaurants for a better employee experience is Popeyes. The chain announced last year that it is making “30 distinct changes” in its kitchen to make it easier for employees to run. The company has added new equipment that automatically batters chicken, for instance, which is less labor intensive and frees up employees to perform other tasks.
Popeyes is scaling this test with plans for a systemwide rollout this year. Josh Kobza, CEO of parent company Restaurant Brands International, told analysts last year that the main benefit is an improvement for team members, which should translate to a better guest experience.
Jourdan Daleo, chief operating officer of Popeyes U.S. and Canada, said there are four key areas the company is focused on to help make its restaurants easier to run:
The layout of the kitchen, workstations, and packaging counter. “Changes to the kitchen layout can improve speed, efficiency, and the balance of work across the team,” she said.
Updated equipment will help team members deliver quality products consistently, according to Daleo.
Integrated technology will be standardized. “It will help us both maximize total throughput across various ordering channels and enable more effective packaging procedures, reducing the complexity for a team member,” she said.
And finally, updated processes to make sure team members are focused on “a new, easier way of working.”
“We absolutely prioritize our team members, alongside our guests, when making operational changes. We care about how we ask our teams to use their time in a day, where they are positioned, and how they are trained, how easy it is to prepare, cook, and package our food, and how we interact with guests to make the overall Popeyes experience a great one,” Daleo said. “Today’s employees want a workplace that’s thoughtful, tech-friendly, and makes their jobs easier, not harder. By making the workplace more enjoyable and easier, we are able to provide our team members and our guests with a better experience all around.”
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
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