Cooking Up a Holistic Employee Experience at Restaurant365

One leader shares how the company fosters an encouraging culture that allows every employee to bring their best self to work.

Written by Brigid Hogan
Published on Feb. 05, 2024
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Every great dish starts with the right combination of ingredients and flavors. 

The recipe for building a successful team starts with a strong vision for how leaders will guide and support employees as they thrive.

Restaurant365’s Senior Vice President of People Jill Burke has a refined palate when it comes to identifying exactly what the organization needs in order to ensure every individual is able to maximize their strengths and contribute to the business’s core initiatives.

“Giving opportunities to try new things creates pathways to develop and grow,” she told Built In. “Creativity is essential, and a well-considered communication strategy supports positive team dynamics and helps our employees understand key business priorities.”

Burke may not be aiming for a Michelin star or James Beard award, but she is cooking up exciting possibilities for the new year.

“We are supercharging a high-performing and engaged team for 2024,” she said. “We have come together to define our purpose, roadmap and key pillars on how to serve the organizational needs.”

We are supercharging a high-performing and engaged team for 2024.”

 

Built In sat down with Burke to learn more about how her team empowers every Restaurant365 employee to flourish at work.

 

Restaurant365 employees sit in group inside a square meeting pod in their office, forming heart shapes with their hands.
Restaurant365

 

Share your vision for the Restaurant365 team.

Image of Jill Burke
Jill Burke
SVP of People • Restaurant365

People want to find the right job in the right environment for the right reasons, and are looking for that job to offer the right package, balance and culture. We, as employers, have to get that right. 

People want to be holistically valued, acknowledged and supported throughout all aspects of their lives. Work is just a part of that. Employers need to lean into this concept and invest in the whole person, through a nurturing nature. If we ignore this particular trend, the entire employee lifecycle will have a negative impact. Employees want to bring their best self to work. Let’s invite them.

Employees want to bring their best self to work. Let’s invite them.”

 

How do you build team culture?

Team culture is built on trust, work ethic and tenacity. Our culture is modeled from the top down, and all of our employees embrace the passion of our mission of helping restaurants thrive. Specifically on the people team, open communication, reliance on each other and having that shared bond of commonality is our secret sauce of success.

Our people team exists to partner, guide and elevate the employee experience, empowering others to learn, grow and thrive. As a leader, showing confidence in individuals as their skill set is imperative to their success. Providing guidance and the autonomy to do their best work allows for deeper employee engagement and increased intrinsic value. 


 

Small group selfie of Restaurant365 team members at an overlook
Restaurant365

 

What is the employee value proposition for those thinking about joining Restaurant365?

Our team strives to build the best employee experience from before day one. We listen, we engage, and we ensure the right people share in our passion in helping employees thrive. In doing so, we want the right people with the right talent and an unmatched passion to be their authentic self.

 

 

Responses have been edited for length and clarity. Images provided by Restaurant365.