Fast-casual restaurant chain b. good was founded 12 years ago with a simple mission to serve their community high quality food quickly, and create an environment where employees wanted to come to work everyday. In a recent Harvard Business Review article, co-founder Jon Olinto discusses how he made it his mission to treat his team of 500 employees more like a family than a group of workers:
- Higher than average pay. All employees are given a starting hourly wage above the industry standard, and all general and district managers receive stock grants.
- Put employees first. When b. good launched their new ordering app, employees were thrilled to see the landing pages of each location featured pictures of them, and not the food.
- Autonomy. Employees have the freedom to give random free smoothies to any customer, or donate food to a charity partner of their choosing. They are encouraged to do right by the customer, no approvals required.
Although these benefits may not be “disruptive” or revolutionary, they are small gestures that add up to satisfied employees who stick around longer. Out of the 15 original employees, a third of them are still around 12 years later, and have risen in the ranks to leadership positions because they are proud to be ambassadors to the company.
If you’re looking to improve employee retention on your own team—especially if you don’t have direct control over pay—make it a priority to actively seek out opportunities to show gratitude to your own team and give them freedom to act independently at work.
To improve employee retention and satisfaction, make sure you’re hiring the right way and measuring employee engagement.