--- title: "Words of Wisdom: Hiring and Retaining Employees" url: https://burnaze.com/article/9742fe2b-0e49-44cd-9cd7-0c6ff650db75 source: "Franchising.com" original_url: https://www.franchising.com/articles/words_of_wisdom_cost_of_doing_business__government_regulation.html author: "Multi-Unit Franchisee" category: "Bakery & breakfast" industry: "Restaurants" segment: "Bakery & breakfast" topics: ["Operations"] published: 2016-12-06T11:30:00.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T03:18:10.385Z image: https://imgs.franchising.com/art/articles/3307_plate.jpg --- # Words of Wisdom: Hiring and Retaining Employees **TL;DR:** Mara Fortin, CEO of Nothing Bundt Cakes, discusses employee retention strategies, including offering healthcare and bonus programs. The company handles rising employee costs by incentivizing the team with a new bonus program and managing labor costs precisely. *By Multi-Unit Franchisee, originally published in Franchising.com on 2016-12-06. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/articles/words_of_wisdom_cost_of_doing_business__government_regulation.html).* ## Story What are you doing to take care of your employees and how are you handling rising employee costs? We do a lot. We offered healthcare well before Obamacare was on the horizon, in order to keep our talent. We try our best to fit people's skill level with the correct position, and we're willing to move them around with extra training so they can achieve more. We offer an expansive bonus program, a retail bonus program, a referral fee program. If a straight-A student brings in another straight-A student, they get $200. If anyone on the team scores 100 percent on mystery shops or any type of review, they get $100. How are you handling rising employee costs (payroll, minimum wage, healthcare, etc.)? What we do is a combination of biting the bullet and incentivizing our team with a new bonus program. If they keep labor costs under a certain range, they get a bonus. We're trying to be more efficient - we don't throw things away that have a dollar amount attached to them. We have to manage so much more precisely now that if someone is not performing at $13-$15 with paid insurance, we have to let them go. - Get Started in Franchising - Franchise Rankings & Awards - Franchise Sales & Development - Featured Franchise Stories Franchising.com is produced by Franchise Update Media. Franchise Update Media has its finger on the pulse of franchising with unrivalled audience intelligence and market driven data. No media company understands the franchise landscape deeper than Franchise Update Media. 1201 New York Avenue NW, Suite 300A Washington, DC 20005 PH. (408) 402-5681 - Franchisee Financing & Lending - Site Selection & Real Estate - Supply Chain & Procurement - Annual Franchise Development Report - Multi-Unit Franchising Conference - Franchise Growth & Marketing Conference - Franchise Leadership & Development Conference - Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine - Franchise Update Magazine - Franchise Update Franchisor Report - Franchising Express Report - International Franchise Report - Multi-Unit Franchisee Report The multi-unit franchise opportunities listed above are not related to or endorsed by Multi-Unit Franchisee or Franchise Update Media Group. We are not engaged in, supporting, or endorsing any specific franchise, business opportunity, company or individual. No statement in this site is to be construed as a recommendation. We encourage prospective franchise buyers to perform extensive due diligence when considering a franchise opportunity. ## Entities - Franchising.com (publication) - Restaurants (sector) - Multi-Unit Franchisee (person) - employee retention (topic) - labor costs (topic) - Nothing Bundt Cakes (company) - healthcare (topic) - bonus programs (topic) --- Originally reported by Multi-Unit Franchisee, Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/articles/words_of_wisdom_cost_of_doing_business__government_regulation.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/9742fe2b-0e49-44cd-9cd7-0c6ff650db75).