Dive Brief:
- Chili’s Grill & Bar once was struggling to keep management level employees from leaving – an expensive problem. In the restaurant business, turnover is an especially challenging HR and talent issue. For example, overall turnover rate in the restaurants-and-accommodations sector was 66.3% in 2014, up 10 percentage points from the recent low of 56.6 percent in 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- 3 years ago, according to an article at Full-Service Restaurants online, Chili's got serious about turnover, by teaming up with OutMatch (formerly known as Assess Systems/Chequed.com). The results to date are impressive, as the article reports that Chili’s has saved more than $34 million through the use of assessments to improve candidate selection and predict the success and longevity of new hires.
- Apart from the aforementioned $34 million in overall savings, Chili’s saved approximately $21 million annually through reduced turnover and generated an additional $13.5 million in sales through improved server selection, according to the article.
Dive Insight:
With those eye-popping results, Jennifer Hartley, vice president of PeopleWorks for Chili’s, is gung-ho about using a tech-based assessment tool to determine competency, skill set and talent development. She told FSR magazine that OutMatch challenged the company to "think differently" about its talent. It also helped the chain build a customized tool that works for all types of employees, from hourly to management to executive talent.
With all the talk with in the HR world about raising employee engagement and lowering churn, especially in the typically unstable restaurant business, this case study exemplifies the power of expertly applied tech in solving the problem.