Explore every episode of the podcast On the Clock

We clock in with Cheryl Fields Tyler, award-winning researcher on the future of work and Founder and CEO of Blue Beyond Consulting. Our conversation builds on a popular topic: how to hire and retain Gen Z workers.

Cheryl discusses what Gen Z workers are looking for in their jobs, and the things you can do today to increase retention among this group. We also discuss how Gen Z has influenced what other age cohorts expect from their employers, and more.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylfieldstyler/

https://www.bluebeyondconsulting.com/our-perspective/

We clock in with Preston Sharpston, People Operations Manager at MWB Restaurants, a fast-growing Whataburger franchisee. Preston chats with Workstream’s Emily Hancock about his strategy around vetting and implementing HR technology.

He also shares how much time and money HR automation has saved his group over the past year, and what specific features set them apart from other restaurants competing to hire the same pool of potential employees.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/prestonsharpston/

This episode brings you the audio from a recent webinar with Terese Fogleman, an Operator at Chick-fil-A Boone FSU in Boone, North Carolina.

Terese discusses why embracing Gen Z is a key recruiting strategy, how she has achieved a retention rate 3X higher than the national average, and often overlooked things that hourly workers are looking for.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/terese-fogleman-b881912b9/

This episode brings you the complete audio from our recent conversation with Kerri Swope, chief customer officer at Check. We discuss the important features and offerings that all modern payroll platforms *should* have, despite the fact that many unfortunately don't.

https://youtu.be/mGDJ86xwsfY

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerriswope/

We clock in with Wendy Hull, Senior VP of HR at the Salad collective. The Salad Collective is a franchisor of 64 fast casual restaurant locations across three different brands.

We discuss how she’s embraced technology in her role in order to make hiring and employee management easier for franchisees, the power of integrations for accomplishing HR goals, and more.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-hull-phr-b253b94/

We clock in with Larry Kruguer, former Chief Operating Officer at Wingstop, VP at Wendy’s, and an advisor for several exciting food and beverage ventures.

We discuss what he learned from being at Wingstop during a period of expansion, why automation is so important to the success of franchise restaurants, the top factors that encourage employee retention and more.

We clock in with Jasmine Patel, CFO at Scarlet and Gray Hospitality. She discusses the challenges her company was facing with hiring and retention, and how automation was the fix that they were looking for. We also discuss why operational efficiency is so important for their Ohio hotel group, and more. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-patel-b0031a65/

We clock in with Scott Taylor, former President and CEO of Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux.

We discuss how he successfully scaled the restaurants he was in charge of, what a good relationship between franchisors and franchisees looks like, and how to instill an awesome culture in restaurant employees. 

He also talks about his current position as an adjunct professor at the university of Florida, and more. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-taylor-cfe-8641783/

We clock in with Dok Kwon, President and COO of Cupbop. If you haven’t experienced Cupbop yet, you’re missing out! The Korean quick-service restaurant currently has 57 locations in the U.S. and 170+ locations in Indonesia.

Dok discusses how they’ve created such a special culture, and the unique ways that they screen applicants to reinforce their fun, playful brand. We also chat about his experience being on Shark Tank, and how starting as a food truck was so important to Cupbop’s success.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dok-kwon-19354628/

Bojangles franchisee Rajiv Dinakaran shares how he prioritizes culture at his 41 locations, and what he's doing to change the perception about working in a quick-service restaurant. 

We clock in with Dr. Kathy Gosser, Director of the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence at University of Louisville. Kathy shares what the data points to as the number one reason that quick-service workers leave—and how you can avoid it.

She also discusses why franchising is one of the most powerful ways to create generational wealth, and more about her work at the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence.

Listen to Kathy's podcast: https://business.louisville.edu/learnmore/franchiseu/

Connect with Kathy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleen-gosser-ph-d-aa971510/

We clock in with Jean Grossman, President at Merry Maids, and Laura Scavone, Chief People Officer at Smoothie King.

We discuss the factors that create a good relationship between franchisees and franchisors, and how technology fits into the mix. We also talk about how franchisees and franchisors can better collaborate around hiring and retention.

We speak to Aziz Hashim, Managing Partner at NRD Capital. Aziz shares he how he’s re-inventing the relationship between franchisees and franchisors with his new endeavor call "Experiential Brands." We also discuss how franchising can be such an incredible opportunity for those looking to build wealth, the important role of technology in the quick-service restaurant industry, and more. 

As we look forward to 2024, it’s natural to try and figure out ways to increase recruiting efficiency in the year to come. Luckily, there are ways to do so without spending six figures.

Nicole Phommanorat (former Director of Talent Acquisition at Salad and Go) shares cheap or free tactics to automate important recruiting tasks, which tools and platforms deliver a positive ROI, and how to convince leadership that specific solutions are worthy of investment.

Today's episode brings you the audio version of one of this year's most popular posts from the Workstream blog. This covers why employee recognition is especially important among hourly workers, how to launch a recognition program, and how to get your entire team's buy-in on recognition efforts.

Today we’re sharing a conversation all about payroll with Jim Kohl, Head of Payroll Operations at Check, and Brett Spusta of Workstream.

With just a couple months left of the year, it's not too early to start preparing for 2024’s payroll. I chat with Jim and Brett about things you can do right now to make next year’s payroll as smooth as butter.

We discuss how you can maximize efficiency, which payroll goals you should consider setting, and more.

We clock in with Jackson Rogers, General Manager at Jersey Girl, a restaurant in Wildwood, New Jersey. Jackson discusses the unique opportunities that come through being affiliated with an amusement park, and the challenges of staffing a restaurant that’s only open six months out of the year. We also talk through their highly successful retention bonus system.

Today we clock in with four experts who share tips and tricks for attracting, training, and managing seasonal employees.

The group includes Jada Davis, Manager of Talent Engagement at fast-growing convenience chain Foxtrot, Joe Matar, VP of marketing at hiring event software company Brazen, Cisco Mireles, Director of HR at Grove Automotive, and Scott Benedict, a seasoned consultant with decades of experience at Walmart and Sam’s Club.

They discuss optimizing seasonal job descriptions, making the most of technology to move quickly, how to incorporate seasonal employees into your existing team, and more.

We clock in with Crumbl franchisee Christian Bankhead. Christian shares three actionable ways that he has improved his screening and onboarding to encourage longterm retention.

We clock in with Brian Charyn. Brian is the Director of Operations at Sheridan Investments, a franchisee of 12 Five Guys Locations in New Jersey and Florida.

Brian shares how they achieve a retention rate that’s above the industry average, and what it means to not give his managers "homework." He also discusses how they’ve adapted to an increasing minimum wage, and how Workstream has helped them expand their hiring efforts beyond Indeed.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-charyn-152199a/

Today we clock in with Anne Miller of BCS Northern, a franchisee of 30 Smoothie King locations. We chat about some of the challenges she’s experienced as HR Manager with sourcing and retaining employees, and why company culture is so important to both.

We also discuss how to encourage quality communication when working remote, and how automation has given her more time to spend on high impact tasks.

Today's episode brings you highlights from a recent panel discussion with Anna Khan (General Partner at CRV), Ericka Garza (Advisor and Former President of Au Bon Pain), and Bo Li (Head of Product Integrations at Workstream).

We had the privilege to chat with these experts about the impact of AI on the hourly workforce. If your job has anything to do with hiring, managing, and retaining hourly workers, and you’ve been wondering how AI might impact your role, there’s a lot to learn from today’s episode.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericka-garza/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/annahrk/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bo-li-40683b2/

We clock in with Isaac Abramovici, Outreach Director at Community Home Care in New York City. Isaac shares his tips for attracting applicants, and how he gives employees a sense of belonging even though they work across different locations. He also shares his recommendations for screening automation and job descriptions.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/isaac-abramovici-9b5084143/

We clock in with Jacob McKay, HR Director at Point Meadows, a healthcare facility in Lehi, Utah. Our conversation touches on many important topics, like how to create a culture of belonging, how the applicant experience influences employee engagement, and a program Jacob created to increase retention called the "90 day challenge."

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobdmckay/

We clock in with Terese Fogleman, owner and operator of Chick-fil-A in Boone, North Carolina. Our conversation is an excerpt from a recent webinar with Terese, in which she shares three tactics for increasing retention among Gen Z employees. Her perspective is battle tested, yet rooted in empathy. If you’d like to listen to the other half of that discussion, you can watch the complete webinar for free at this link:

https://wrkstrm.us/genz

We clock in with Michael Hartley, Director of Operations at Golden Ticket Cinemas. Golden Ticket operates 19 locations across 12 states. Michael explains how things have changed among the movie theater workforce over the past few years, why it’s so important to create a positive employee experience, the power of listening to your team and more.

Oh, and we also chat briefly about his favorite movie of all time.

We clock in with Bryce Porter, Chief Strategy Officer at Covenant Care. Covenant Care operates 29 skilled nursing and home health care locations, with more than 5,000 total employees.

We discuss the unique hiring and retention challenges faced by the healthcare industry, why operational efficiency is essential when hiring, high impact retention strategies, and more.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/porterbryce/

We clock in with Susie Gordon, Director of Human Resources at one of the largest Massage Envy franchise groups in the country.

Susie recently made the jump to HR after starting her career as a registered nurse, and she shares some interesting ways that those positions overlap. We discuss why company culture is so important, little tweaks to her hiring strategy that have made a big difference, how to resolve conflicts among employees, and more.

We clock in with Sara Wasserteil, Managing Director at Cara Collective. Our conversation is an excerpt from a recent webinar, and it’s all about sourcing employees through community based organizations.

Sara shares why CBOs are such a great way to find hourly employees, how to identify the right organizations to partner with, how to assess the effectiveness of your partnership, and more.

Sara's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarawasserteil/

Watch the complete with with Sara: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBynjQFt9s0

We clock in with Delesa Brokamp, HR and Talent Manager at Prime Hospitality Group. PHG employs close to a thousand hourly employees across 15 locations in four states.

Delesa discusses why it’s important to never lower your standards when interviewing, and why hiring fairs are worth a shot. We also chat about the components that make up employee engagement, and more.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/delesa-brokamp/

We clock in with JP Lachance, CEO of Equator Coffees. Equator has 9 cafe locations in and around Marin County, CA, as well as a bustling direct to consumer business. We chat about Equator’s groundbreaking history, and how their commitment to a positive culture helps with their hiring and retention efforts. JP also discusses sustainability (in hiring and ingredient sourcing), and more.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jp-lachance-7b63395/

https://www.equatorcoffees.com/

We clock in with Alejandra Mier, part of the management team at Coupa Café. Coupa Café is a quick-service restaurant chain with eight locations in the Palo Alto, California area, and was also Workstream’s first customer!

We discuss the most important factors for hiring and retaining employees, why Alejandra recommends researching the pay and benefits of competing businesses, and how Coupa Café uses data to embrace a proactive hiring strategy.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alejandra-mier/

https://www.coupacafe.com/

Jim Mizes’ impressive career includes contributing to Taco Bell’s expansion in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, serving as VP of Operations at Jamba Juice, and spending 6+ years at the helm of Blaze Pizza.

Jim discusses what he’s learned in his 30+ year career, specifically in regards to the hourly workforce. We also talk about the importance of building efficient systems for hiring and training employees, and some of his predictions for the future.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-mizes-6272806/

We clock in with Michael Rodriguez. Michael is the owner and franchisee of 11 Subway locations in central North Carolina, 8 of which were added in the last 13 months!

Michael discusses the challenges he’s faced with rapid growth, how culture complements compensation, and his appointment to the Subway FAF National Advisory Board.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-rodriguez-59365312/

We clock in with three talented HR leaders to discuss the topic of onboarding. The audio comes a recent webinar we co-hosted our friends at Checkr, and includes Gia DeMichele from Culture Amp, Jamie Dyra from Workstream, and Jacob McKay from Pointe Meadows Health & Rehab.



The group weighs in on getting leadership buy-in, being data-driven in your onboarding strategy, making sure that the onboarding experience reinforces company values, and more.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gia-demichele-phd/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiedyra/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobdmckay/

https://checkr.com/resources/webinar/improving-onboarding

We clock in with Jet Brown, Assistant Operations Manager at Wilkinson Companies. Wilkinson owns several hotel properties and convenience store locations in and around North Platte, Nebraska.

Jet talks about a program they use to understand the communication styles of their hourly team members, and how it has made a positive impact on retention and advancement opportunities. We also talk about seasonal hiring challenges, shifting hiring from reactive to proactive, and more.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jet-brown-98776476/

http://workstream.us/community

We clock in with Jonathan Lawrence, Recruitment Manager at Chick-fil-A Bush River Road in Columbia, South Carolina. Jonathan has been with Chick-fil-A for 14 years, and is nicknamed “the relationship guy" because of his involvement within the community. We discuss the importance of prioritizing customer service above all else, building an effective employee referral program, the many benefits diversity, and more. 

• http://workstream.us/community
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-lawrence-992140226/
• https://cfabushriver.blogspot.com

We clock in with Angie Figueredo, Director of Talent Acquisition at the Dhanani Group, which employs an incredible 20,000+ hourly workers across 13 quick service restaurant brands. During our conversation, Angie discusses the most successful things she’s done to attract new employees, how she’s shifted her strategy from hiring to retention, and how she’s planning to rely upon automation to win at hiring in 2023.

Watch the full webinar with Angie: https://youtu.be/40JzU6Slirs

We clock in with Dave Repass, owner of Meineke Car Care Center in Lewes, Delaware. Dave discusses the unique hiring challenges faced by the auto repair industry, what makes personalized scheduling a key tactic for retention, and why always-on hiring is always a good idea.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-repass-9b335212/

We clock in with Ben Little, owner of 14 Zaxby’s locations in the southeast US, including some of the top performing stores in the country. Ben discusses the importance of maintaining consistency while scaling, why you should always invest back into the business, how to identify potential leaders with your organization, and more.

Connect with Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-little-46204923/

Connect with Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TRUmav

Explore the On the Clock back catalog: https://www.workstream.us/podcast

We speak with Ann Falzone, COO of Artemis Wax, which has 52 European Wax Center locations across 7 states. She discusses the unique hiring challenges faced by her industry, the most impactful changes Artemis Wax has made to their hiring process, why culture is so important in attracting hourly employees, and more.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-marie-falzone-1399a316/

http://workstream.us/podcast

We speak with Jeff Weinstein, whose impressive background includes running the company that was the largest Jamba franchisee. He discusses the most overlooked component of hiring hourly employees, what those in the hospitality industry can do to not just survive, but thrive, and a program he rolled out that made a huge difference in employee retention.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-weinstein-97840b4/

https://www.workstream.us/podcast

Sara Wasserteil of Cara Collective joins us to discuss the disconnect between what hourly employees want from their job, and what employers *think* that they want. She explains what the data says about making open roles more appealing, which overlooked segment of the potential workforce punches above their weight, and more.

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarawasserteil/
• https://caracollective.org
• https://www.workstream.us/podcast
• https://youtu.be/k_v5CFUUzlA

Today's episode brings you a triple feature! We speak with Donald Terry, Jimmy Washington, and Andy Brunetz. Together they oversee the hiring efforts of Malco Theatres, a chain with 1,500 employees across 40+ locations. The trio discusses the unique hiring challenges faced by the movie theater industry, the seasonality of their staffing efforts, and how to appeal to potential employees.

Seasoned entrepreneur Frank Klein shares his perspective on sustainability, and how it applies both to hiring AND ingredients. He also discusses how to find employees that are "bought in" on your company's mission, hospitality trends worth watching, and more.

https://www.fkrestaurants.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankpklein/

Today we clock-in with Luke Godwin, Owner and General Manager of Godwin Motors in Columbia, South Carolina. Luke discusses the hiring and retention challenges he's faced, and the important lessons that he's learned along the way. Anyone wanting to improve at hiring and retaining hourly employees—whether you're in the auto industry or not—will appreciate Luke's unique perspective.

https://www.godwinmotors.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-godwin-934767169/

We speak with Gary Occhiogrosso, Managing Partner at Franchise Growth Solutions, about the three things that quick-service restaurants can do to prepare for a possible recession. Gary talks about menu engineering, the importance of customer experience, how to get team buy-in, and more.

https://www.franchisegrowthsolutions.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-occhiogrosso/