Bucking the Odds
According to the National Restaurant Association, 40 percent of all new restaurants fail within their first three years in business; half of those fail in the first year. With an industry failure rate that high, it's an accomplishment for a start-up to survive let alone expand. In just five and a half years of existence, West Dundee, Ill.-based Emmett's Tavern & Brewing Co. has beaten the odds, growing from one to three locations. According to CEO Andy Burns, the company has been successful because they operate considerably differently than the majority of the businesses in their industry, particularly in how they deal with their workforce.
"Some of the things we do might not seem earth shattering if you were to compare us to a nine-to-five, service-based company, but they are quite unique for our industry," says Burns.
For example, Emmett's provides employees with their own individual mailboxes. While this may not be uncommon in an office environment, it is relatively unique in a high-turnover industry like food service. The mailboxes have proven useful by ensuring that everyone is kept up to date on important developments within the company.
Emmett's has always had an extensive employee handbook, so that everyone understands the company's policies and procedures. The company also publishes a bi-monthly employee newsletter and holds regularly scheduled meetings. These include weekly all-staff meetings at the West Dundee location and daily pre-shift meetings with servers and bartenders at each of the individual restaurants. The meetings are used to review calendars, customer comments and inventory issues, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
This emphasis on communication has served the company well as it has grown from one location to three. "One of the biggest challenges when you expand is consistency," says Burns. "Things like the newsletter and the meetings have helped us maintain that consistency."
The company understands that open communication must go both ways. Each year they administer an employee survey and follow that up with a representative focus group. Employees are also included in the decision-making process for operational issues such as menu changes.
The company invests more in training than the average restaurant, which has further helped it maintain the consistency of their products and service. All new hires go through an orientation with Burns. The training begins with an overview of the company, its history and its vision before moving on to job-specific instruction. The job-specific portion of the orientation lasts four to five days and consists of 40 percent classroom instruction and 60 percent shadowing of an experienced employee.
"No one is asked to go on the floor until they are ready," says server Mary Wenzel. "In my past jobs, I was just thrown into the fire."
As a result of the company's extensive training, Emmett's has been able to eschew a cookie-cutter approach to service. Their servers and bartenders have a lot of leeway in how they do their jobs, which engenders an environment of trust and respect. For example, Emmett's gives employees broad decision-making authority over how to handle customer complaints.
"We train on expectations, but we don't dictate how to meet those expectations," says Burns.
Management has helped engender a sense of "we're all in this together" by pitching in on the frontlines. Emmett's is a family run business and it is not uncommon to see one of the Burns family members bussing tables or tending bar on a busy night. In addition, the company recognizes personal milestones such as birthdays and anniversaries at weekly staff meetings and takes the time to ask employees about their lives, all of which helps foster teamwork and a family environment.
Assistant General Manager Beth Howard has been in the food service industry since she was 16 and says that Emmett's is far different than her past employers. "I never really felt like I was a part of the restaurants I've worked at," she says. "They were just jobs. I am treated like a member of the family here."
It is this environment that convinced Howard to remain with Emmett's. When she began with the company, she was pursuing a teaching degree at Northern Illinois University. Howard finished her degree, but rather than go into teaching, she chose to remain with the company. She has since gone from being a server to overseeing Emmett's banquet business to assistant general manager.
Burns cites keeping key employees like Howard as one of the benefits of their people practices. Emmett's turnover is 57 percent. Estimates put the average industry turnover at anywhere from 75 to 130 percent. And this steady workforce has helped Emmett's excel at customer service, a must for any young company.
"High turnover negatively impacts the guest experience," says Burns. "It leads to inconsistency and disrupts the remaining employees."
Unfortunately, many restaurants come to expect high turnover as being part and parcel of the food service industry. It is a transient profession with people coming and going as most employees are dedicated to outside interests. Nevertheless, Burns believes that the restaurant business need not be any different than other businesses when it comes to managing people. It all begins with following one universal rule: "Make a commitment to running a professional workplace."
Company: Emmett's Tavern & Brewing Co.
Web Site: www.emmettstavern.com
Industry: Restaurant
Location: West Dundee, Ill.
Employees: 70
Sales: N/A
