I have been at Federal Heights FSU since mid-August. As you can imagine, I have been pretty busy getting settled here. Now that I have finished the Transition Checklist, the Smallwares Checklist, the One-on-One Team Member Meetings, the initial Vision Planning, etc… I decided that I would spend some time blogging about my Interim Manager experience here at Chick-fil-A at Federal Heights.
Recap
My first month here has been AMAZING! The team is very hospitable and friendly. It has been such a smooth transition.
Denver is beautiful. Driving to work everyday with the Rocky Mountains in the background is like living in a dream.
Observation/Assessment
I decided from the beginning that I was simply going to observe the restaurant for the first week I was here. This store has endured quite a bit of leadership change and I wanted to be sensitive to that. So unless a critical issue arose (i.e. food safety), I initially remained fairly hands off, observing all facets of the restaurant.
After the first week, I sat down with all of my notes and assessed what I believed to be the greatest areas of need at Federal Heights. More than anything I want to leave this restaurant better than I found it, so I chose to focus my efforts on a few critical areas of need as opposed to fixing every little issue I came across.
Vision Plan
To provide the next Operator of Federal Heights with the best restaurant possible – with unsurpassed food quality and customer service - by using and measuring specific, timely goals.
Goals for Vision Plan
-To ensure that food quality standards are met
-To serve each individual guest with honor dignity and respect
-To heighten cash security/accountability
-To address the gaping labor cost gap
-To continuously develop the leadership team
-To increase sales by 10%
Implementation
I quickly found the need to establish systems in the store in order to establish sustained growth. I have created a number of systems- including a new playbook, opening and closing checklists, boards checklists for all times of day, manager roles and responsibilities, and a cash accountability system.
I have also been conducting training sessions for all areas of the store, with an emphasis on food quality and service. A number of employees have worked at Chick-fil-A for years and were in need of re-calibration. It has also been encouraging to explain the “why” – not only teaching the correct way to do things but also the reasons why we do things.
Leadership development has also been a primary focus of mine. Federal Heights only has two managers, but a number of Team Members have the potential to step up and make a difference for the restaurant. My leadership team has weekly meetings where we discuss the business’s statistics, basic “housekeeping” issues, and focus on key areas from the vision plan. I have also started a book review, Patrick Lencioni’s "The Three Signs of a Miserable Job", where we analyze a section of the book and discuss how to apply what we read to Federal Heights specifically. One of my leaders has enjoyed the book so much that she has already finished the book and we are only halfway through!
I am fortunate enough to have a great Unit Marketing Director that participated in Project IF this summer. She gets our store involved with what's going on in our community. We have been able to put on a number of great Marketing events in my short time here at Federal Heights. We had a huge presence at the Westminster Faire with food, cows, and event tents; we have hosted a number of Kid's Nights and Spirit Nights; we've held a Spirit Challenge Week between two local high schools; and have participated in a local "Tribute to Heroes" promotion on September 11th. Also on 9/11, we were able to raise $2500 for Joe Grein, a local firefighter who is battling cancer.
