Nation’s Restaurant News: How A&W Operators Find Ways to Increase Retention Among Their Workforces

By 2030, the U.S. is expected to lose $430 billion due to employee turnover. Restaurants must focus on boosting employee engagement, satisfaction, loyalty and retention to combat these challenges. A&W Restaurants , the 500-unit franchise, is doing just that by offering work bonuses, tuition assistance and other retention tools.

"There is no silver bullet, one answer for everybody," says Rona Lascano , Director of Training at Lexington, KY-based A&W Restaurants . "We know that the rising minimum wage exists; we're just going to have to accept that" and "look at our labor budgets differently."

Lascano’s A&W University, an educational resource center featuring classroom settings and hands-on experience to master A&W's operational standards, evolved this year, moving from eight days to 12. The company requires a minimum of two managers to be certified for any new restaurant, and any incoming owners must also go through the course. The expansion allows for participants to discuss effective tactics to increase retention.

"We just recently had attendees from five different locations sharing their practices and the things that have worked for them," she said. "Attendees have been able to write down ideas, and it's been really, really beneficial to them."