Leveraging Training to Achieve Operational Results (Panel Recap)

At the recent Workforce Management in Fast Casual and QSR Summit, this panel of CHART training pros dove into how training can drive operational results. Specifically, how to design training that directly impacts key performance indicators and supports business goals. This lively Q&A discussed how to partner with operations to improve retention, enhance engagement, and reduce turnover.

Moderator Corban Nichols, Vice President of Restaurant Excellence for Piada Italian Street Food, with panelists (left to right):
Matthew Steele, Manager of Training and Development for Wienerschnitzel, Ashley Helkenn, Senior Director of Training for Bonchon, James Frank, CHART Board Member, and Lisa Holloway, Director of Global Learning and Organizational Development for CKE Restaurants.

Moderator, Corban: One of the biggest challenges in our industry today is creating training that truly competes for attention. We're not just up against short attention spans—we're also competing with the endless entertainment and information available at employees' fingertips. So, how do we make training engaging enough to hold their focus?

Q: Can you share some practical approaches you've used to make training more fun and impactful?

Ashley: I’ve always believed that training is internal marketing. To truly support our operators—who, in turn, serve our guests—we need to treat our teams like guests, ensuring our training reflects the same messaging and energy.

As a primarily franchise-based organization, voluntary engagement is our biggest challenge. We prefer positive reinforcement (carrots over sticks), but with language barriers, literacy challenges, and time constraints, we have to be strategic. Most franchisees are both business owners and restaurant operators, so their time and attention are limited.

To respect that while driving results, we partner with marketing to create internal “commercials” that generate buzz—just like we would for a big product launch. This makes training visually engaging, easy to share, and exciting before it even rolls out. By building anticipation upfront, we can focus meetings on content rather than hype, making the experience more efficient and impactful. As a result, engagement has increased, initiatives gain traction faster, and we can now predict success rates within the first week of launch.

Matthew: Building on that, as a 100% franchised brand with no company-owned locations, our biggest challenge is getting store-level employees to engage with training. We can provide materials to franchisees and managers, but ultimately, it’s up to them to implement it—and joint employer concerns limit our ability to require participation directly.

To work around this, we focused on incentivizing employees directly. We gamified our LMS by assigning points to every interaction—logging in, completing training videos, finishing compliance modules, and more. But points alone aren’t enough, so we introduced a branded swag store where employees can redeem the points for exclusive merchandise and hot dog-themed gear they can’t get anywhere else.

The result is a surge in engagement. Employees now proactively seek out training, ask when the next video is coming, and even request specific swag items at regional meetings. Some have even become “points hoarders,” strategically saving up for their favorite rewards. By making training fun and rewarding, we’ve turned it into something employees genuinely want to do—without having to push it through franchisees or managers.

James: We rethought the traditional hire/train someone new in front-of-house vs. back-of-house divide by introducing a zone-based training approach. Instead of just completing training, employees earned rewards as they gained hands-on experience in each zone.

After logging a set number of hours in a zone, they’d receive a piece of swag. As they progressed, hitting 900 hours in a zone came with a pay increase. The best part? They could train in one zone while actively working in another, keeping the momentum going. This system made learning more engaging, created a sense of achievement, and encouraged cross-training in a fun, rewarding way.

Lisa: We’re just stepping into the world of digital badges—for instance, when employees complete station training, they earn a badge that pops up right when they log into the LMS. It’s a small but visible way to recognize progress instantly.

I love the idea of swag, but for us, speed is key. Training needs to be quick, engaging, and something that grabs attention immediately. If we can make training feel that exciting, that’s the goal.

Corban: It’s inspiring to hear how you're building these programs, driving engagement, and forming strong partnerships. It’s not just about great content—it’s about creating a dynamic journey where Ops and Training truly collaborate to build a lasting culture.

Of course, we know that partnership doesn’t always happen naturally—it sometimes needs a little nudge. But these approaches are helping bridge that gap.

Q: Can you share an example of how you’ve driven the shift from a compliance-driven, “have-to-do” mindset to a culture where training is something employees are excited about and actually want to do?

Matthew: We launched the Wiener Olympics—a playful, high-energy way to make mandatory re-certification more engaging. Inspired by Inspire Brands’ Blazing Games, we set out to transform training from a “have-to-do” into a “want-to-do” experience.

With an upcoming conference in Hawaii, we gamified the process by offering free travel and hotel stays as prizes. Across 22 regional meetings, employees competed in three key challenges:

1. A quiz straight from the operations manual (because, of course, everyone keeps that by their nightstand).
2. A portioning challenge—this exposed a major issue with under-portioning sauces, leading to real operational improvements.
3. A build challenge, where employees had to assemble menu items in the correct order and portions.

The top 20 competitors were flown to HQ for the finals, and the results spoke for themselves—stores that participated saw a 2–4% sales increase, while guest service metrics jumped by 5% or more across the board.

Some who didn’t attend cited labor and scheduling costs, but with that kind of revenue and service improvement, can they really afford not to participate? The key was partnering with Operations—they were there every step of the way, judging, scoring, and reinforcing the value of training. In the end, it was a win for everyone.

Lisa: At Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., we’ve turned brand staples—biscuits and burgers—into high-stakes competitions that drive both engagement and excellence.

On the Hardee’s side, it’s all about the biscuit. Everyone loves a warm, fluffy biscuit, but ensuring every location serves them just right takes skill. Enter the Biscuit Baker Competition, open to both corporate and franchise restaurants. To qualify, participants must first complete the latest biscuit training. From there, they compete in regional rounds, judged by a mix of IHFA and corporate representatives, leading up to a national showdown.

On the Carl’s Jr. side, burgers take center stage. The competition follows the same model—franchise and corporate employees battling it out for burger supremacy. Winners in both categories receive $2,500 and an all-expenses-paid trip to compete at the finals.

But the real magic? This isn’t training-driven—it’s ops-driven. While training plays a role, Operations Excellence leads the charge, ensuring full buy-in across the organization. When ops and training are truly aligned, the impact is undeniable. We’ve experienced fewer guest complaints, higher customer satisfaction, and increased sales.

James: Waste is always a topic when it comes to Operational results. Instead of focusing on individual efforts to achieve minimal waste, we created routines on how to focus on this with the employees on the shift (a team). Everyone’s role ties into reducing waste, and we keep things fun by rewarding the team, like a WWF-style Champions Belt, so they can be rewarded and celebrated. It’s amazing how focused they get when it’s a team effort!

Ashley: Our food is deeply rooted in Korean culture, so training can be challenging, especially with non-Korean trainers or operations teams. Our teams need to understand that we want to showcase Korean food in its true light. Gaining trust is key—how can we tell them the food is right if they’re skeptical? To bridge this, we’ve enlisted a Korean quality check and created TikTok-style videos with updated recipes and quality identifiers. These allow us to showcase correct preparation and involve both Korean and non-Korean trainers in judging the dishes. Trust is the foundation: once that’s built, everything else moves faster. This approach has led to a 5% increase in food quality scores and improved consistency ratings, showing how passion and respect for culture can drive better results.

Corban: Chiming in here - Piada operates 60 restaurants across seven states, so we don’t have the same resources as some larger franchises. But it’s all about the mindset—recognizing, rewarding, and gamifying to give that extra push. At new openings, trainers or long-time team members can forget how the food should taste. But when it’s done right—properly built and portioned—they have that 'wow' moment. That’s when they can go back and share the experience with their teams, which is the ultimate goal.

Now back to the panel - We’ve discussed how to make training engaging and shift it from a 'have to' to a 'want to.' But beyond that, we know the hospitality industry faces a lot of uncertainty ahead. While the challenges are constant, one thing is sure—people will always need to eat. So, what’s next? How do we keep moving forward?

Q: What are your plans for evolving training in your sector to meet the exciting programs of today and the unknown challenges of tomorrow?

Lisa: My team is small but mighty, supporting both corporate and international programs with only 20% of our restaurants being corporate-owned. Last year, I told my team never to write their own first draft. Instead, we leverage AI technology to move faster and better serve our restaurants. This shift has allowed us to quickly assess whether an issue is training-related or needs a different approach. Now, my team asks the right questions, enabling us to focus on solutions, not just drafting content. We also track performance closely, using tools like BBI to monitor franchise and corporate performance. By moving quickly and meeting guest needs, we’ve made a real impact, especially with franchises, where trust is crucial. We’ve proven our ability to provide both return on expectation and return on investment.

Ashley: Language is a big challenge for us, especially since English is the fifth most common language spoken in our restaurants. We don’t have the time or resources to translate everything, and nuances in translation can lead to confusion—like 'lightly toss' turning into 'lightly drizzle.' To overcome this, we use iconography to communicate universally. Whether you're in the front or back of the house, icons like 'wash your hands' or 'keep it hot' ensure everyone speaks the same language. This saves time and builds trust, especially with our franchise community, where every dollar counts. While we still use language for clarification, visual communication through videos and images is our go-to. It's helped boost engagement and improve our metrics, and while AI can write agendas, we still rely on visual translation to make it accessible for everyone.

Lisa: We translate materials to Spanish for our 44 countries, especially since Carl's Jr. is big in Mexico. I love the iconography idea and recently introduced a QR code with our Hardee's brand. We weren’t sure how it would go, but we decided to pay for the printing and include it with our bill charts. The QR code led to a simple, no-speaking video with a star-rating system for feedback. It was a huge hit! The team loved it, and it showed that sometimes the simplest ideas can have the biggest impact.

James: Sometimes, it's not about overhauling training, but making simple tweaks. We noticed our hypo program was too complicated, so we streamlined it. Instead of a lengthy process, we introduced an assessment that helps individuals gauge their readiness. The program has three levels, with levels one and two focusing on current competencies. Once they've mastered that, they’re reassessed and move on to leadership training in level three. This shift has greatly increased interest and built a stronger bench of people ready to move up.

Lisa: Our multi-unit leader program is built around providing growth opportunities. With 3,800 restaurants, we want to create chances for people to become multi-unit leaders. While they may be great at making burgers, managing shifts, and customer service, leadership competencies are a different challenge. Leading multiple stores requires a different set of skills. So, we reach out to key operators first to gather input on what’s lacking in current leaders and what they need. They help us shape the program, and we leverage AI to speed up the process and ensure quality. This collaboration helps us build impactful leadership development.

Matthew: I love that you mentioned involving the field. We’re creating a master class for multi-unit leadership for franchisees, and by franchisees. These individuals all have unique stories and experiences that led to their success; our goal is to capture those and allow others on a similar path to learn from it.

Lisa: We don’t have an internal AI system like some organizations, so we rely on external tools. But we’ve set clear guardrails—don’t use our company name or include any metrics. There are limits on what can be input, so we make sure to avoid those.

Matthew: We’ve implemented a closed language model using MeetCody, which is a customizable, secure chatbot. It allows us to upload documents and link live webpages, which helps make sure the knowledge base stays current. The chatbot is integrated into our franchise portal, accessible to all team members in both English and Spanish. To improve accessibility, we also developed a private Alexa skill within the chatbot. Employees can speak commands like “How do I build a chili cheese tamale?” in either language, and it responds in their native language. This makes information available in real time, directly where it's needed, helping employees without them needing to pull out their phones, which can be pretty difficult when working on the line.

Ashley: We often filter feedback through ChatGPT to gain fresh insights, especially from an operator's perspective. While we may focus on basics like flavor or food, AI helps uncover deeper concerns, like fear, that might be underlying. It’s about asking the right questions and documenting the stories that emerge. By truly understanding the operators' pain points—like the financial pressures they face—we can better meet their needs. AI helps us translate those insights into practical solutions, ensuring we address what really matters to them, whether it's cost concerns or operational challenges. It’s fascinating how much we can learn and refine with this technology.

Lisa: We use ChatGPT to refine our learning personas, ensuring they truly reflect our employees. Last year, I fed our existing personas into ChatGPT, combined with feedback from training surveys and operator insights. What came back was different—but spot on. When we verified it with operators, it was clear: That’s our back-of-house employee.

Speed to market is key—getting training out faster means reaching guests sooner, leading to satisfied, repeat customers. And when training drives business results, franchisees see the value. It’s not just about creating great training—it’s about understanding what operators need and making an impact on their P&L. If we’re not doing that, we need to go back to the source and listen.

Ashley: COVID showed just how essential training is—because the need for training was undeniable, and then the dollars backed it up. And trust? It’s everything. The opposite of trust is fear, so we asked: What are people afraid of? When you acknowledge fear and meet it with trust, you can move mountains.

And trust isn’t just a feeling—it’s measurable. Engagement, buy-in, emails, phone calls—these all correlate directly with sales, profit, and turnover. The key is to learn what people fear, meet their fear with trust, and then do the hard work to build that trust. That’s how real impact happens.

Corban: What’s amazing about this training work is the passion behind it. So many people are in jobs they don’t love, even to the point of wanting to disconnect entirely—there’s a whole Apple TV show about it! But we’re lucky. We get to be in an industry we love, where connection matters, where we thrive on serving others and building trust.

Thank you all so much! We have time for some Q&A—does anyone have a question?

Q: Just curious what type of culture content are you all creating to get that engagement that you're looking for?

Ashley: We focus on creating a “culture record” - capturing and sharing real stories from the field to build engagement. Our trainers and ops teams collect snippets that get people excited, and we make training mirror real tasks. Employees can upload photos or videos, and we reward and promote their successes. While joint employer rules require approval for some sharing, we encourage peer-to-peer recognition. We also track engagement metrics—whether through LMS courses or shared materials—and analyze their impact on profitability, labor, and costs.

Matthew: Like Ashley, we start with heritage and culture. We use interactive, digital drag-and-drop training that lets employees build products virtually—no wasted ingredients, no time on the line—so they gain confidence. We're also working on linking training outcomes to business results by connecting user data to individual stores. The goal is to track how many certified employees are in each location and measure the impact on performance.

Ashley: In addition to iconography, we avoid using sound in training videos since kitchens are noisy, and earbuds can be a safety risk. This applies to all content, including music. Our longest video is just six minutes to keep training concise and effective.

James: I recommend focusing on making training engaging from the start. Instead of a paperwork-heavy orientation, incorporate interaction and culture into the restaurant experience. Spread training out over multiple days with a mix of videos and hands-on activities to keep new hires excited.

Lisa: We use a mix of short micro-videos in our LMS, followed by interactive drag-and-drop exercises. After watching a video with some guided clicks, learners practice by assembling the product, selecting correct portions, and reinforcing what they’ve seen—like a hands-on, digital Mr. Potato Head.

Ashley: Training should reflect the restaurant's culture and energy. If your teams are fun and engaged, your training should be too. It’s about creating an experience that mirrors what you want guests to see—lively, engaging, and reflective of your brand.