By 2017, On The Border became the biggest and highest performing Mexican casual restaurant in the country. Their motto “Any Excuse to Fiesta” was a hit – customers loved the notion that any day could be a party with a margarita and fajitas from scratch. Yet, somehow, OTB struggled to retain employees.
Like most multi-unit restaurants with a distributed workforce and centralized corporate headquarters, operations, HR and marketing all had opinions on the issue, but lacked clarity and consensus on how to recruit and engage top talent.
Employees were lost. OTB’s internal communication methods were confusing and outdated. Like, 1996 outdated. Employees didn’t know how to do the basics, like enroll in health benefits… Let alone make good on the lofty promise of turning every day into a party. Without a consistent and compelling rally cry, they lacked a sense of purpose.
Further, employees did not see the company’s mission, vision or values manifesting in their daily work. The communications reaching them (often tribally) were devoid of language connecting them to the company’s purpose.
Employees needed to know their daily work was important. That, for a brand who stands for “Any Excuse to Fiesta,” the employee is the citrus squeeze that wakes up a dish and turns a regular visit to OTB into an unforgettable party.
In addition to connecting OTB employees to the brand’s purpose, there were several other goals for the employee experience, including:
- Increasing enrollment in the health plan
- Decreasing safety claims
- Increasing engagement between the restaurants and the corporate office
- Increasing donations to a for-employees-by-employees relief fund called Do The Right Thing
To help them see that, we shaped the employee value proposition and supported the organization through a multi-year transformation marked by change management and completely reinvigorated employee experience. The effort included:
- Redefined mission and values, including new culture documentation and reimagined training programs.
- Upgraded training materials in an all-new LMS, which aligned employees’ actions with the expectations of the target customer.
- A modern intranet, which tied the employment journey together: training, announcements, recognition, sales data, shift calendars – all in one branded platform called LimeLife.
These initiatives encouraged employees to infuse celebration into their everyday actions, creating fiestas for their customers. The work also led to:
- An average of 144 Recognition posts per day, over 40 User contributions per month and an average of 35 videos per month uploaded by LimeLife users
- A 33% decrease in customer safety claims expenses
- And thanks to the new communications strategy and tools, an annual internal fundraiser generated an entire year’s donation goal from employees in a single day.
