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QSR operational excellence: 5 steps to put your brand's 'pedal to the metal'
The route to a well-oiled operational machine for your QSR is through data that is captured from, and shared with, all systems and processes simultaneously. These five steps will help you establish the process and ultimately build true operational excellence.
November 2, 2018 by Terry Dolan — Head of Solutions, WorldAPP
Today's restaurant franchises are treated to an all-you-can-eat buffet of tech solutions. A single restaurant might run a dozen different services at once, each one serving a distinct purpose. Unfortunately, the scope of these solutions is limited. They are purpose-built to focus on day-to-day operations rather than long-term improvement.
While it's possible to generate benchmarks by manually comparing data from disparate systems, it's a time-consuming process that forces QSR operators to constantly chase an unending paper trail. In fact, to maintain continuous improvement and achieve operational excellence or just OpEx for short, you need to capture reliable, thorough data.
"Get ready to roll up your sleeves because you can't sleepwalk your way to operational excellence. It takes a rigorous system of data collection from inspections, audits, and walkthroughs in order to take shape."
But, as your QSR grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain consistent performance measurements and compliance data across all locations. Across everything from disconnected systems and paper-based forms, to monolithic spreadsheets, little is provided in the form of reliable and actionable data. And, the only way to build a well-oiled operational machine is through the use of data that is captured from, and shared with, all systems and processes simultaneously.
But, get ready to roll up your sleeves because you can't sleepwalk your way to operational excellence. It takes a rigorous system of data collection from inspections, audits, and walkthroughs in order to take shape. The following steps will help you cultivate continuous improvement by managing everything from safety, quality and brand compliance, to customer experience, employee training and feedback.
Establish a baseline for performance
This starts by clear identification of your most vital performance metrics, as well as the completion of a companywide audit of your processes, employees and locations. With a centralized platform that draws data from all your systems, you can ensure that the audit results are reliable, consistent and current. Unifying your data collection process will make it easier to measure each location against the overall standards for the brand, as well as quality and safety.
Additionally, by ensuring your data are bi-directionally synced, you are simultaneously updating data models whenever they're modified to ensure the whole organization is working from "one version of the truth." Later, these measurements can be used to design training materials, determine where to focus inspections, and make strategic decisions for your QSR.
Aggregate data collection on one platform
Data aggregation simplifies the collection, analysis and ultimate action the brand takes on measured benchmarks. Integrate audits with your other systems to streamline the collection process and provide your operational leads with real-time insight to train and strategize at every location.
It's nearly impossible to guarantee that brand standards, performance measurements and suggested corrections are clear at all levels of your organization, especially if you have to contend with multiple, disparate databases. A good way to know whether your current system is carrying its own weight is to test how broad and specific you can get before consulting a different program.
Ask if it allows you to visualize regional and global performance. Likewise, make sure you can see these measures for individual locations and employees.
"The true key to driving real change is systemwide acceptance of your initiatives. To achieve this, you need to accept input from all channels and collaboratively work through any 'speed bumps' to implement your OpEx program. That means following that other 'golden rule'— 'Show. Don't tell.'"
Make more informed decisions with data analytics
Regardless of their size or scales, the brands that really care about process improvement are constantly analyzing, revising and refining their current practices. Process optimization and improvement aren't just about broad strokes and sweeping strategies; they're also concerned with the small, but significant ones. Data analytics provides unique insights into which regions, locations and processes meet expectations, and which ones need more hands-on direction.
To thoroughly streamline processes and improve efficiency, you need reliable analytics that are centralized in an easy-to-understand user interface. More importantly, your data solution should give you the ability to automate processes based on the data you collect, while also triggering alerts and assigning tasks when certain conditions are met. These tools help you enforce your OpEx program by staying nimble and remaining responsive to trends over time by making on-the-spot course corrections that make the difference between QSRs that push ahead and those that stay stuck in the mire of less-than-optimum performance.
Keep everyone on the same page
Spreading a consistent message is tough. The more your franchise grows, the more likely it is that critical directives will be misapplied or missed entirely. Spotty communication is especially damaging when your organization rolls out promotions with specific instructions and marketing materials and one or two locations mistakenly omit or incorrectly apply elements of the initiative.
This can seriously hurt your reputation. When brands don't regularly audit franchisee campaign execution, the damage has often already taken place before leadership realizes the missteps when, perhaps, a disgruntled customer makes it public on social media. Miscommunication at this level not only affects the customer experience, but it also has a significant impact on your bottom line, not to mention how reliably you can measure the success of a promotion.
Align company culture with continuous improvement
The true key to driving real change is systemwide acceptance of your initiatives. To achieve this, you need to accept input from all channels and collaboratively work through any "speed bumps" to implement your OpEx program. That means following that other "golden rule" — "Show. Don't tell."
Visibly demonstrate your best practices to reinforce your brand standards instead of simply dropping a binder of rules and reminders in your franchisees' laps. But remember, aligning franchisee behavior with your vision takes time, patience, and a lot of course correction.
Anyone can point out bottlenecks and inefficiencies, but tackling them across an entire enterprise requires that you understand why those issues occur in the first place. You'll know your operational excellence machine is running smoothly when you make a data-driven decision and all locations improve--not just the few that managed to get the message.
A few last words
At this point, you might be wondering how to be certain an OpEx program is worth the time and effort it takes to get everyone on board, not to mention the time and effort it takes to implement. The good news is that OpEx programs themselves are measurable. When setting benchmarks for operational excellence, remember to consider internal and external factors to measure against, including:
- External Benchmark —Have you met or exceeded your competitors' growth rate? If that growth trend continues, will it offer a competitive advantage?
- Internal Benchmark — Does it take more or less time to address issues than it did before your OpEx program? How much value has been generated by driving operational improvements?
There are countless data points that you can measure against your OpEx program, but don't let that draw your attention away from the core facets of continuous improvement. It requires a constant cycle of confirmation, calibration and investigation. If you're aiming for long-term success, you have to prioritize and organize based on long-term analysis.
Photo: iStock
About Terry Dolan
Terry Dolan is head of solutions for WorldAPP, developers of Form.com. For more than 13 years, he had worked with technology companies to define the changing needs of enterprises customers and help shape product offerings to solve complex business challenges and add value. In the last six years, Terry has been focused on mobile and offline applications that improve safety, quality, and operational excellence through observational audits, forms automation, task management, and analytics.
