A fast growing restaurant company was having challenges selecting hourly staff and was experiencing high turnover.

In fact, turnover on an annual basis was 113%. Adding to the challenge was a limited selection process and a lack of assessment tools to identify potential high performers. The lack of a uniform process resulted in inconsistent screening and continued high turnover.

SOLUTION

With over 30,000 hourly staff we were able to identify a large enough sample of high and low performers to begin our proprietary Benchmarking process. The anchor and focus of this benchmark analysis was our Thinking Style Assessment. After completing the initial analysis and developing a benchmark pattern which differentiated the high and low performers, we determined that we would be able to identify the high performers with only the Thinking Style assessment tool. This decision streamlined the process and reduced our client's overall cost without having any significant impact on the accuracy of the rating.

We supplemented the assessment profiles by identifying the key competencies of high performers in the various roles with the hourly staff. The key competencies allowed us to create specific Behavioral Interview Guides with emphasis on distinguishing the key competencies differentiating between staff that worked in the front of the restaurant from those that worked in the kitchen. The competency modeling and Thinking Style assessment allowed recruiters to be better prepared in the interviews and more efficient during the selection process.

The screening process was simple in that it allowed each restaurant manager to submit an assessment completed by a candidate and immediately receive a report with the results. The Thinking Style report identified whether the applicant was a high (red), moderate (yellow) or low (green) risk to succeed in the hourly role. By identifying the risk, the manager had a better understanding of where to focus during the interviews and which behavioral questions to ask the candidate.

RESULTS

By providing the restaurant manager a candidate's assessment score and risk level, prior experience and Behavioral Interview Guides, the screening process was simplified, made more efficient and turnover was reduced.

Within 12 months the hourly staff turnover was reduced 35% from 113% to 74%.