Ask Jill! How restaurant culture plus value can equal growth and profitAsk Jill! How restaurant culture plus value can equal growth and profit

We’re swiftly moving into 2025. Can you believe it’s already mid-February? It seems the busier we are, the faster time flies. Everyone always starts out the new year with their predictions and “trend” stories. Now that we are firmly into 2025, I want to address where we see developing your company culture in the landscape of other big trends like technology, heavy use of AI, and a strong emphasis on value.

I have recently had multiple conversations with various business leadership in multiple sectors of the hospitality and restaurant world and this question always comes up. Let's break down what “value” actually means to help us be sure to deliver it for greater growth and revenue, while having more productive employee and customer experiences, central to creating value.

Before we begin, I want to remind you to be a part of this conversation! We all learn from one another, so please send your thoughts and questions to [email protected] so they can be included in future month’s articles.

Let’s start with the definition of value for our industry. Value in the restaurant industry has traditionally been tied to the tangible product — mostly the quality of food, portion sizes, pricing, or deals like BOGO or $5 meal combos. Customers often equated value with getting the most for their money: fresh ingredients, generous servings, and consistent taste.

Related:Policy on the Menu: How DEI pushback is reshaping the restaurant industry

However, as the industry evolves, thank goodness, value now encompasses more than just what's on the plate. It has expanded to include the human experience, affecting both employees and customers (in reality, both are customers, with employees being the owner/leadership’s first customer). This broader definition recognizes that:

For customers:

For employees:

Related:What is missing from the mobile order pickup experience, according to customers

This dual approach to defining value, is the core of my EX2CX® philosophy. It reflects the industry's fortunate shift toward a holistic understanding that balances product excellence with meaningful human interactions. It sets the foundation for how technology and culture can coexist to create growth, loyalty, and long-term success.

I believe the restaurant industry is at a crossroads, with the fusion of cutting-edge technology, and evolving definitions of value, shape both employee and customer experiences. While AI and technology streamline operations, the heart and soul of the restaurant — it’s people — remains the key to sustainable growth. Learning to balance innovation with a strong company culture is pivotal for enhancing productivity, fostering loyalty, and driving revenue. With the strong adoption of the ever swiftly evolving AI, redefining value from perspectives of both employees and customers, will define the future of the restaurant culture.

To know where we are going, we must first clearly know where we are currently.

Related:State of the industry: How much does technology really improve restaurant operations?

AI and automation: For example, AI-driven ordering systems utilized currently by Starbucks, McDonald’s, and others, as well as robotic kitchen assistants. The operations impact is faster service, reduced human errors, and optimized labor costs.

Tech-enabled customer experiences: For example, self-service kiosks, mobile ordering apps, personalized marketing, etc. The operations impact is convenience and speed, but also potential loss of personal touch and creating a transactional environment.

Restaurants must be agile and adaptable to not just survive challenging times but also to thrive and scale, which is why we are redefining “value” from price and quantity to experience. And, from only customer service to include (and start with) employee experience leading to customer experience, EX2CX®!
1. Premise: Price → Experience
A shift from purely cost-based value to experiential value — ambiance, service quality, and emotional connection. Starting with prioritizing your employees and their experiences will be your value-differentiator.
Chick-fil-A is an example of a brand emphasizing customer experience to largely be their differentiating value (along with speed and efficiency). According to aiexpert.network, Chick-fil-A has utilized AI to monitor food freshness and detect potential cases of foodborne illnesses from social media mentions, enhancing both safety and customer trust.

2. Premise: Employee Wages → Employee Value
Competitive pay is definitely important, and it is just one factor. Employees seek purpose, growth, and recognition. They want to be contributors to the big picture. We’re seeing restaurants offering more flexible schedules with technology-aided methods to make this easier to juggle. They offer a broader picture of career development, and some have even incorporated wellness programs. A study by Deloitte emphasizes that cultivating employee engagement can help restaurants create positive customer experiences and reduce costly turnover.

The Human Element is your differentiator! It is your secret sauce! The integration of this human-centered culture approach with tech trends is crucial. There are challenges of course; the fear of job replacement and reduced human engagement in the workplace. This is a real possibility. Warning! If you allow your tech to supersede human engagement, you run the risk of disengagement leading to high turnover costs. If you want to see exactly what your restaurant’s true costs are due to disengagement, I invite you to input your unique numbers into the Employee Churn Cost Calculator.

So how is the human element pivotal in how company culture creates and shapes growth amid tech trends? It hits the challenge of fear of job replacement and reduced human interaction in the workplace straight-on. By upskilling employees to work congruently with technology and cross-training (discussed in December 2024’s “Ask Jill! Why you should cross-train teams”), it will foster empowerment. Empowered employees are loyal employees who will go above and beyond. Similarly, there’s the challenge of losing the human connection with your customers with the over reliance on tech alienating customers seeking personalized service. Blending tech with the human hospitality touch is the solution. Teach staff to enhance the delivery of great customer experience with tech, not replacing it. It should create more time to interact personally with your guests to meet and exceed their personal desires with a personal touch and a smile. Pragmatic.digital did a case study on conversational AI in restaurants providing a comprehensive understanding of its benefits, challenges and the future implications for the industry. It supports all of the above.

At the end of the day, it must all lead to drive growth and productivity creating revenue. The study found that creating and achieving greater positive morale in the workplace is absolutely necessary to reduce employee turnover and increase productivity. They go hand in hand. Shake Shack’s culture of inclusivity and empowerment is a great example of it leading to both employee satisfaction and business growth. And with regards to the customer, loyalty is created through authentic experiences. Let's face it, we all return to places where we feel valued, not just served. This expression of valuing our customers comes through personal interactions, not the quantity or price of products being sold. This is why I emphasize that we must “Transform Transactions Into Interactions™” for growth and profit. Happy employees are engaged employees. And, engaged employees help create engaged customers. This engagement is pivotal if you want to increase your revenue. This is one way local restaurants continue to thrive against large franchise competitors. They create a strong sense of community, value of patronage and repeat business, and provide personalized service.

KPMG did research saying, “The restaurant industry is facing significant challenges and opportunities.” Per their 2025 restaurant trends, they confirm what you always read and hear me say: Creating a positive work culture and offering competitive benefits and career development opportunities are essential for attracting and retaining top talent in the restaurant industry.
It is really that straightforward and important.

In summary, it's a balancing act between innovation and tradition. The most successful restaurants find harmony between leveraging tech and nurturing a people's first culture. Restaurants that focus on employee empowerment and experience we'll see how it impacts customer relationships and thus will outperform those that prioritize tech at the expense of culture. The best strategy for long term benefits of reduced turnover, stronger teams and sustainable growth, is to invest in your people. Invest in cross training continuous learning and leadership development to build agile and adaptable teams. While technology and AI certainly drive efficiency, it is ultimately the restaurants culture-centered on employees and customers-that fuels lasting success. The future, and heart of restaurants, lies not in choosing between technology and people, but through weaving them together to create meaningful, valuable experiences for everyone.

Please share this article with those who will benefit. And don’t forget, email me at [email protected] to have your culture-related questions featured in the next Ask Jill! Develop Your Company Culture article.