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Panera Bread SVP: 'Mission matters, purpose matters'
The complexities of operational excellence in the omnichannel environment are challenging restaurants, and employers are challenged more than ever to unlock employees' potential, according to Karen Kelley, senior vice president and chief restaurant operations of Panera Bread.
October 14, 2019 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times
No one in the commercial foodservice industry needs to be told the importance of attracting and keeping good employees. Hence, the keynote presentation at this year's Fast Casual Executive Summit, "Why companies that innovate on people and talent win," by Karen Kelley of Panera Bread, naturally drew an overflow audience at the JW Marriott in Austin, Texas Sunday evening.
While there are no easy answers to the labor problem that continues to hammer the foodservice industry, Kelley had her listeners hanging on every word as she described her efforts to cultivate talent as a leader of one of nation's most successful chains. Kelley joined Panera Bread as senior vice president and chief restaurant operations officer in 2018, after spending more than 30 years in leadership roles at Tatte Bakery & Café, Sweetgreen and Drybar.
Kelley readily admitted that although onboarding employees successfully is difficult, it is incumbent upon managers to demonstrate their organization's values.
"The hard part is you've got to live it," she said. "Managers need to understand the core values of their company and practice them on a daily basis, and the values have to be demonstrated at every level."
Ongoing education
Despite her extensive experience, Kelley made it clear that her education has been ongoing. Her youngest daughter, who recently graduated from college surprised her by insisting she was going to relocate to a city of her choice (Portland) and find a job that made her happy.
"The lesson I leaned from her is how important happiness and joy in the workplace means," she said about her daughter, who found that fun job that even "allows her to bring her dog to work every day."
It also reminded her how hopes and aspirations of young people have changed since she herself entered the restaurant industry. She took a job at Taco Bell in 1981, because it offered her work hours that could accommodate her work and sports schedule, not because it sounded fun, which is what many young people are looking for in a job these days.
"As she puts it, my daughter is living her best life," Kelley said.
Mission matters
Kelley also discussed how the complexities of operational excellence in the omnichannel environment are challenging employers to unlock their employees' potential.
"Mission matters, purpose matters," she said. "Mission-driven companies attract great talent, and it is up to leadership to nurture and grow that talent."
Kelley gave anecdotes from some of her experiences to illustrate the key lessons she has learned.
While serving as president a Sweetgreen, she came across a resume of a job applicant who seemed overqualified. The applicant was a Harvard graduate with a Stanford MBA.
What she learned in the interview, however, was that besides being smart, the applicant was deeply committed to Sweetgreen's mission and wanted the job. Kelley took the chance of hiring this person under the stipulation that she undergo a four-month training program that included a lot of mundane jobs. The young woman rose to the challenge and "made a massive impression on the organization," she said.
A lesson in diversity
Diversity is another buzzword business people hear a lot, but Kelley learned its true meaning from a Panera employee.
When she decided that the company needed regional vice presidents, she was apprised of one manager who had improved his market's performance in a short time period. This manager, "Ross," told her that the company did not understand how to recognize diverse talent. Using his own ideas, he assembled a diverse team of employees from different backgrounds and different experiences who were able to work together well.
Ross, now a regional vice president, taught her how important it is to evaluate the company's HR processes and find people who recognize the importance of individual accountability.
Restaurant managers often place a lot of importance on restaurant experience, she said, when the person's willingness to learn and be accountable is actually more important.
Customers and employees
Another key discovery for Kelley was that customer and employee challenges are very similar. By reducing friction for the employee, she was able to improve the customer experience.
Kelley learned that general managers in the organization were getting more than 200 emails per week, which created a lot of confusion. Hence, she introduced a process for managing the emails so that they received fewer emails, and she received more than 350 thank you messages from these employees.
"It was a reminder for how much the simple things make a difference," she said. "When we do it for them, they in turn will do it for their customers."
"Technology is only part of the equation," she said.
Knowledge versus intelligence
Kelley then came to one of her most important lessons: "A lack of knowledge is not equivalent to a lack of intelligence." This requires managers to pay close attention to their employees as individuals.
She learned this lesson from an employee who was anxious to improve his position in life but was discouraged by the fact that he did not feel he came form a good background. She advised him to learn as much as possible about his job. The young man rose to the occasion and within a year was considered for a management position. He had taken copious notes on his computer, had sought input from customers and had taken management courses. He is now one of the company's top managers.
"We need to find people's hidden talents and motivations, and look everywhere for where that talent may lie," she said.
Every hire doesn't work out, Kelley acknowledged during the question and answer period. But even if the employee doesn't succeed, they can still feel good about leaving if the process was fair and transparent.
Interviews with job candidates are important. During the question and answer session, Kelley said interviewees often make the mistake of doing most of the talking and giving the interviewees the answers to their questions. "For me, it's more about the process rather than the questions," she said.
The subject of millennials naturally came up, and Kelley volunteered that millennials want to be challenged.
"You've got to love millennials," she said. "They are hungry and they know what they want, and they're challenging leaders to be better, and don't you want that?"
"Retention of great talent and customer loyalty is an output you can be really proud of," she said.
About Elliot Maras
Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.
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