Simplify The Business And Make It Fun Again

Upon being named CEO of Chili’s parent company Brinker InternationalEAT
in May, Kevin Hochman’s priority was to embark upon a systemwide listening tour to get a strong pulse on the business from its operators and employees.

The tour unveiled an enthusiastic workforce filled with people who have been there for decades, many of whom call themselves Chiliheads.

“I love talking about the listening tour because I found this is a very interesting workforce of people who love serving our guests. We have a lot of managers and above-restaurant people who started with an hourly job here,” Hochman said during a recent interview. “We’ve been hearing for months how much they love working at Chili’s and that they feel like they’re family. When Chili’s was at its best, it was a very energetic time for guests and employees.”

“Was” is perhaps a strong word here. No doubt Covid-19 took a particular toll on “energetic” sit-down concepts like Chili’s and the company continues to work its way back to pre-pandemic traffic numbers. Hochman believes a quick way to get back there is by simplifying the business.

In the early days of the pandemic, for instance, Brinker added two virtual brands–It’s Just Wings and Maggiano’s Italian Classics. The delivery-only concepts were especially effective when dining rooms were closed, providing an added revenue stream for operators and an added option for consumers anxious to venture too far out.

Now, the virtual brands make up about 6% of the company’s sales.

“And they add a lot of complexities. There are new items to learn, two different stations and a significant amount of training on both those lines,” Hochman said.

To better optimize those lines, Brinker has started adding virtual items to its brick-and-mortar locations. It’s Just Wings sauces are now offered on Chili’s chicken tenders, for instance, while its wings/fries combo is available on the Chili’s menu starting at $7.

“We can’t just ignore this part of the business, but we were spending more time and resources than what that small percentage maybe needed, so we’re in the process of making both brands work easier in our restaurants,” Hochman said. “Now, they’re getting access to a bigger part of the business, and we expect that to continue to grow and have a higher impact.”

Beyond integrating virtual menu items into Brinker’s flagship brands, Hochman and his team are also simplifying operations–removing several items from the menu and looking at product builds to find efficiencies.

“Some of these things we’ll test, some we’ll just remove. We’re also looking at the complexity of our recipes. We have a burger that has 14 different things on it. It has jalapenos that are separately roasted and that’s just one ingredient. Is it necessary or can we make that burger with more focus?,” Hochman said.

Much of this process is based on employee feedback from that listening tour. Employees told Hochman, for instance, they have to portion shrimp and broccoli each morning.

“One hour of that prep every day is about 46 years of labor we’re paying for every year. That’s millions and millions of dollars. And it’s demotivating. There’s a better way to do that. Counting shrimp is not helping our guests. These are the things we’re working on getting better at doing,” Hochman said.

Brinker is also exploring equipment efficiencies, such as clamshell grills, which are currently in test in dozens of Chili’s restaurants. So far they have proven to speed up the cooking process. Medium-well steaks take about 6 minutes to cook in a clamshell grill versus about 15 minutes in a traditional grill, Hochman said.

“We’re bullish about this equipment. Assuming the test goes well, we have a systemwide plan in place,” he said.

Of course, technology is at play to achieve efficiencies as well, but Brinker is reining in some of its more ambitious rollouts in favor of less flashy solutions. For example, Rita, the robot server who bussed tables and interacted with guests, is being pulled out of the lineup.

“Our young guests enjoyed Rita, but operationally, it didn’t do the things we needed it to do. We’re going to focus on other things that add value. We’re using technology to take care of administrative tasks in the back of the house, like counting inventory or moving things that were done with a pencil and paper onto a tablet,” Hochman said. “One of the things that is now clear to me is we have to make it easier to work at a Chili’s and that means taking out things that don’t add value.”

With the simplification process underway, Hochman is also focused on “making Chili’s a fun place to work again.” That means getting back to some of the brand’s signature promotions and events that were paused during the pandemic–things like Give Back Nights where restaurants can host all-day fundraisers for local organizations, or Chili’s expanded food and beverage happy hour program.

Chili’s also recently held a promotional event for Nicki Minaj fans that kicked off with a “Chili’s is for the barbz” tweet and featured $5 “Barbarita’s.”

“We had a ton of impressions on social media and our guests loved it. We were slammed, but everyone was having a good time. It felt like old-school Chili’s,” Hochman said.

This is the type of stuff that fits directly into the former marketer’s wheelhouse. Prior to Brinker, Hochman is widely credited with leading KFC’s return to positive same-store sales and unit count driven by the chain’s years-long marketing campaign featuring different celebrities portraying The Colonel.

He understands the significance of making things easier and more fun. Not only does such an environment bring in more guests, but it also entices employees to stay. Indeed, turnover in the industry continues to hover near all-time highs and Chili’s has not been immune. Turnover also happens to be very expensive, costing about $6,000 per employee.

“Pre-pandemic, we were way ahead of the industry on low turnover. We’ve lost some ground and haven’t caught back up yet, but we know tenured team members are more productive,” Hochman said.

Therein lies the equation Hochman is trying to solve in these early months on the new job. Integrating efficiencies and simplifying operations will create more productivity. He bets culture will, too. Both have been achieved before at Chili’s and both are attainable again.

“What I’ve heard across the board is employees want things to be easier and more fun. It all comes down to getting rid of stuff that doesn’t delight guests,” he said. “We’re working on those fundamentals to make sure our guests feel special in a fun, inviting atmosphere. I think if we execute on this, we’ll grow share.”