National Restaurant Consultants has long placed an emphasis on company culture—and as we watch the American working culture make a shift around a labor crisis, our consultants continue to say: happy employees come from a stable, employee-centric environment, and this lends itself to happy customers.
While a labor shortage sweeps the nation, many businesses, especially in the restaurant industry, are creating innovative solutions to attracting high-quality employees who are happy at work. One such interesting campaign is Denny’s recent “now hiring #friendployees” push. Advertised at “bring your bestie to work”, with an added bonus of a weekend getaway sweepstakes, Denny’s hoped for a “twofer” when it came to new hands on deck, says this Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN) article.
“The Bestie campaign was all part of an effort by Denny’s to hire 15,000 #Friendployees. It launched in May, and a contest through June 17 offered an expense-paid weekend vacation for the two friends ended in June,” writes NRN.
Of course, the obvious benefit was the doubled labor pool to draw from, but this idea touches on an aspect of workplace culture that is important to the restaurant industry: camaraderie and fun. Creating an emphasis on friendship out the gate signals the collaborative nature of the positions for which Denny’s was hiring.
And it isn’t just all fun and games: by hiring employees happy to work together, Denny’s creates a sense of accountability. A sort of, “I’m on my way to work, are you?” mindset. As stated in the NRN article, “Denny’s said at the outset that part of the reason was because “we know that friends who work together stay together.”
An added benefit of getting creative: the campaign garnered much attention, especially on social media, using messages on Instagram and other channels, such as, “ If you’re with your bestie — is it really work? Yes, it is — it’s just more fun. Apply with your besties and enjoy flexible schedules.” The forward-thinking and employee-centered concept caught the attention of the internet, and #friendployees hiring push quickly worked its way through online networks.
In the hospitality industry, people always matter. It’s not just the customers and the guests you serve, your employees matter too. Creating a favorable work environment is the first step in making a great experience for everyone. Our restaurant consultants are experts in hiring and training employees for a collaborative workplace culture. Get in touch with us and we can help rally your team around a shared goal.