IHOP uses QTrac to get off turnover treadmill

Bradley Savoy December 2, 2007

I’m proud to say that QTrac was recently featured in this article highlighting the work we’ve done with IHOP to dramatically reduce their turnover by 31% in one year.

Employing a tactic that peers nationwide could readily borrow, an IHOP franchisee here has dramatically reduced worker turnover by using anonymous online surveys to find out what newly hired employees are thinking.

“It’s as if you were a fly on a wall, getting a look at a new employee’s life,” said Joe Scripture, president of Southern Restaurant Management, an 11-unit IHOP group he operates with partner Jose Rodriguez in the metropolitan Atlanta area.

By confidentially learning employees’ candid opinions about their hiring experience within 30 days of employment, SRM’s restaurant managers have been able to adjust training and orientation methods and reduce turnover by 31 percent at five IHOPs in a pilot program, Scripture said

“We got feedback we had never had before—in aggregate,” Scripture said. “Usually when people get hired and then leave, we’re left sometimes scratching our heads as to why.”

The survey data revealed some weakness in the employee orientation process and areas where managers could make improvements, he said. “A curious thing happens: What you measure tends to improve,” he said.

Joe nails it of course, and we’ve discussed this many times before. You can’t improve what you can’t measure. With QTrac Joe and his team had a catalyst to gauge employee perception. They then listened to their people. We worked with IHOP to craft in depth initiatives that could be implemented real time. The results speak for themselves.

Posted in Human Resources Analytics, Employer Branding, Recruiting, Retention, Workforce Planning, Workforce Management