Staffing

QSR execs reveal how COVID-19 has changed leadership styles

The last pandemic-stricken year has levied a literal cascade of slings and arrows at QSR leaders, which has seriously altered the way they are doing their jobs, according to executives from Taco Bell, Golden Chick, KFC, Edible, A&W and Krystal.

The punches landed in 2020 have changed QSR leaders for the better. (Photo: iStock)

December 29, 2020 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

Editor's Note:This is the second of two parts on what QSR leaders learned, lost and gained over the past year of unprecedented industry upheaval. Read part 1 here.

As we embark on 2021, one thing is certain about most QSR leaders: They aren't the same business people they were one year ago. They have changed — sometimes dramatically — but we mean that in a good way.

"We have been blown away by the generosity and heart our people have shown throughout this year," said Taco Bell CEO Mark King. "From our team members on the frontlines, raising nearly $4 million for No Kid Hungry when the pandemic hit — to our franchisees feeding essential workers across the country — to our corporate employees turning our HQ into a Truck-Thru.

"I have learned that even during a time of such struggle and hurt, you can count on the Taco Bell family to do good for its communities, which is extremely humbling and motivating to me as a leader of the brand."

At Golden Chick, Stevens said simply, "We have a strong culture that carried us through this crazy year. People rallied and we didn't furlough or lay off anyone. This reassured us that we have been on the right track and could continue forward."

Reassurance was one of the qualities that KFC has always provided to Americans through its familiar red-and-white buckets, said CMO Andrea Zahumensky.

Andrea Zahumensky(photo provided).

"KFC has always been known for bringing the family together for a meal over our famous buckets," she said. "As people sought that sense of familiarity and comfort, alongside ways to combat cooking fatigue and even consolidate trips out of the house, our world-famous buckets became more relevant than ever before. …

"This year shed a light what makes KFC such a resilient family and moving forward, I look forward expanding our support for the communities where we live and serve our world-famous fried chicken through real solutions supporting families and those in need.

At Edible — a brand that's been a virtual fount of new products this year— President and COO Cheikh Mboup credited the company's employees with keeping that idea machine bubbling forth.

"I've learned that our people perfectly embody some of the characteristics we value most as a nation: persistence and perseverance. …" he said. "Beyond that, I've learned how much I depend on my inner circle, and how much I crave being in an environment that allows for brainstorming as a team.

"We've lost so much face-to-face time with one another this year, so I and the rest of my team have had to train ourselves to utilize the screen to create the same positive and collaborative experience we'd have in the office. As much as I miss the old ways of doing business with everyone in the same room at the same time, it's great to see how effectively a business can still run despite whatever physical distance exists between team members."

At A&W, CEO Kevin Bazner found the same kind of wealth of people-power, which has inspired the chain to invest more in employees.

"2020 has shown us our investments in this culture are paying off big time. We need to accelerate our investment in the development of our most valuable asset, our people." he said.

A far better defined road forward

No one would wish a pandemic on any place or industry, but this past year of extreme economic stressors has, if nothing else, delivered the kind of gut-punch that makes even the most jaded restaurateur sit up, take notice and clarify what they're doing. As a result, we wanted to know what course corrections they're making.

Golden Chick said innovation — both technologically and around the QSR's products — would take centerstage in 2021. Meanwhile, Taco Bell's Mark King went into more detail, explaining the brand's three-pronged priority list for the year ahead.

Mark King(photo provided).

"Having successfully made it through a year of challenges and change in the face of the pandemic, the Taco Bell brand can confidently step into 2021 with a renewed focus on," he said, adding that path forward includes three priorities:

Working toward making 50% of transactions digital.
Creating a "holistic experience" from the Taco Bell app to restaurant design and conceptualization.
Unlocking personalized value offerings with continued innovation in menu items priced from $1 to $5.
Providing new options for all tastes and lifestyles, as well as employee development opportunities and environmentally sustainable business choices.

Meanwhile, Krystal's 2021 "to-do list" prioritizes culture, talent attraction and employee retention in overall business strategy, President Thomas Stager said.

"To be successful and considered a relevant brand that is growing we will focus on the following:

Hire and retain talent.
Drive sales.
Improve profit.
Improve operations.
Be a company people want to be part of.

Stager said the brand will also apportion a substantial amount of energy to growth, as well as "improving our prototype."

Kevin Bazner said that at A&W in the coming year, customer experience in the increasingly important drive-thru portal will get added attention, including the brand's plans to test a fully integrated digital menu board solution, along with continued emphasis on COVID-era safety precautions and other such changes that he said just make good sense going forward.

At Edible, where the company had great success with menu additions like cookies and flowers this year, it will use the common traits of those initiatives — empathy, innovation and agility — to drive success in the year ahead.

"Empathy is the reason why Edible started COVID testing at headquarters, covering its cost for associates and their family members," he said. "Empathy also allowed us to craft products that people needed during this time of crisis, such as the fresh produce boxes we launched in March.

"Aggressive innovation is the reason we introduced BakeShop and FruitFlowers this year, and we plan to introduce many more new product categories in 2021. Furthermore, our agility has proven that we know how to act quickly when an opportunity presents itself, and we'll continue to welcome change and evolution on a daily basis."

Leadership Coronavirus / COVID-19 StaffingA&W Restaurants Edible Brands Golden Chick KFC Krystal Taco Bell

About S.A. Whitehead

Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.