Current Restaurant Leadership Jobs

Here is a list of current restaurant job openings I need to fill for my clients. If you're in the market, send your resume to bbruce.linkedin@gmail.com .

Boise, ID - General Manager, Quick Serve $32-40k, plus huge bonus potential

Detroit, MI - Franchise Consultant $65-80k plus $40k bonus

Detroit, MI - Fast Food District Manager $50-55k plus $20k bonus

Charleston, SC - Multi-Unit Manager, Fast Food $55-65k, plus bonus

Atlanta, GA - Multi-Unit Manager, Fast Food $55-65k, plus bonus

Duluth, MN - Director of Ops for new franchise group $50-70k plus $50-75k profit sharing

Atlanta, GA - General Manager, Quick Serve $30-$36k plus $20k in bonus

Greensboro, NC - Managing Partner, $18k + $40-80k bonus

Virginia Beach, VA - Managing Partner, $18k + $40-80k bonus

Fort Wayne, IN - General Manager, Quick Serve $45-65k plus bonus, high volume

Seattle, WA - Franchise Consultant $65-80k plus $40k bonus Read more!

Fast Food Franchisee Newsletter 6/23/09

I hope this edition of the Fast Food Franchisee Newsletter finds you profitable! This newsletter’s design and intent is to keep the professional fast food franchise owner informed of industry trends. In this edition, we will take a look at effective marketing strategies. Are you getting all you can from your marketing?

Today's Restaurant Marketing Strategies: From Discounting to Delivering Value

In recent conversations with restaurant marketing leadership, I heard mostly familiar themes when discussing their marketing strategies. There are those smaller concepts that have found some success with a "Name your own price" promotion and other unique efforts to drive sales that have received quite a bit of media attention. But the majority of restaurant people I spoke to were sticking with more traditional strategies, with the occasional "toe in the water" when it comes to attempting less tried-and-true methods of increasing market share. Read more

Wage Hike Set To Squeeze Fast-Food Restaurants

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Fast-food chains will see another round of margin pressure as the latest minimum wage increase sets in next month - and this round may be more difficult to absorb.
While job cuts may be on the table, some analysts said lean operating models will make it difficult for fast-food companies to slash their work forces without affecting customer service. They're likely to look elsewhere - training and employee retention programs - to cut costs, according to the National Restaurant Federation.
"Most companies are very careful of balancing the relationship with customers," said David Tarantino, an analyst from Robert W. Baird & Co.
On July 24 the federal minimum wage is set to rise 11% to $7.25 an hour. Read more

Brian Bruce, blogger and author of multiple articles published on many websites and several industry trade publications, has been cited in multiple news stories as an authority in Executive Restaurant Recruiting. He can be reached at bbruce.linkedin@gmail.com
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Today's Restaurant Marketing Strategies: From Discounting to Delivering Value

In recent conversations with restaurant marketing leadership, I heard mostly familiar themes when discussing their marketing strategies. There are those smaller concepts that have found some success with a "Name your own price" promotion and other unique efforts to drive sales that have received quite a bit of media attention. But the majority of restaurant people I spoke to were sticking with more traditional strategies, with the occasional "toe in the water" when it comes to attempting less tried-and-true methods of increasing market share.

Most common among the marketing strategies some restaurant leadership shared with me is discounting or limited-time-only promotions. Jean Smoke, Director of Marketing for the 550+ unit TacoTime concept, told me her concept has a "limited time addition to their World Famous line of Crisp Burritos, a Crisp Pork Burrito at a discounted price of $1.99." They've found this offering is bringing in their current Crisp Burrito fans as well as new customers for an exciting new item. Frank Day, Chairman and President of RockBottom Restaurant and Brewery, said his concept has "built traffic and created some excitement with consumers by running a variety of promotional specials, some supported by media but mostly promoted within the four walls of his restaurants". Marc Geman, President and CEO of Spicy Pickle, a 40+ unit deli and sandwich concept, said his brand will be, "rolling out a Picklenomics menu that will offer a build your own section as well as half sandwiches with soup or salad, a drink and chips that will combine their high quality product with favorable pricing."

Along similar lines of marketing by discounting, Pops for Champagne in Chicago, is offering a Low Fare Promotion. "From 3-7pm weekdays, guests receive 37% off any food item ordered.", Tom Verhey, owner of the nation's longest running champagne bar shared with me. Dan Beem, President of Cold Stone Creamery, was pleased with the results his concept had when they brought their new ice cream cupcakes to market at an introductory price point. "The response was so great that our stores were hardly able to keep the cupcakes on the shelves and our sales spiked as a result." Paul Damico, President of the Tex-Mex concept, Moe's Southwest Grill, said the goal of their $4.99 Joey Jr. Bundle was two-fold. "First, we wanted to offer our guests a right-sized portion. Second, we wanted to give our guests a meal option under $5. This strategy was a success and we plan to continue expanding our menu in a similar fashion during these hard economic times." In response to Subway's $5 promotion, Jeff Warfield, Chairman, President, and CEO of Submarina, a California based deli concept, has rolled out a $5 value meal that includes 6 inch sub, soda and chips. "Our 6-inch sub has as much meat as a Subway 12-inch, and we use fresh-made bread.", claimed Warfield.

Fewer restaurant concepts had much to share with me in the way of marketing strategies beyond offering discount pricing and limited time promotions. One avenue some did touch on was improving their online presence. TacoTime recently revamped their website to offer more interactivity to their customer base. They have some online promotions coming soon, including a "look-alike" contest. They and Cold Stone Creamery are also looking into building their online presence through ever increasingly popular social marketing methods such as Facebook and Twitter. Josh Richman, CEO of Happi House, said, "Our most targeted strategy is the establishment of an email club for our guests. Each new address collected online or at the restaurant gets a free meal for joining, a free offer on their birthday, and monthly promotional messages." Happi House is able to track message views, printed redemptions, which offers are most successful, and who their most loyal members are.

Other restaurant concepts are focusing on staying relevant to their customer base. For example, Submarina and Spicy Pickle both are marketing the healthy aspects of their menu offerings, not only the nutritional information, but the absence of enzyme/preservative/filler content in their ingredients. Pops for Champagne is appealing to the generosity of their guests with their Toast on Tuesday Promotion. Guests are encouraged to find something to celebrate and visit Pops to toast that with specially priced glasses of champagne. Pops will donate $1 from each glass to the Chicago Job Council, an organization that helps people living in poverty find career opportunities. According to Megan Winters, Marketing Manager of Port City Java of North Carolina, they are "making environmental, economic, and social differences through its Fairganic coffees." In response to the increasing receptivity to "green" efforts, Port City Java uses only organic beans cultivated in a way that has low environmental impact.

While most restaurant concepts have made some type of marketing strategy adjustment in response to the market, there are a few I spoke with who feel they are positioned in such a way that they are simply going to continue to do what they currently do. Jeffery Bank, CEO of the New York based Alicart Restaurant Group, had this to say of one of their concepts, "Carmine's has been around for over 19 years and is the original Italian family style concept. It is extremely value driven...It is a perfect brand in this economy and that is why our sales are up, not down." In this case, "if it's not broken, don't fix it" seems to be working.

While there are variations on the theme, there's no doubt that current conditions call for restaurant concepts to make sure their marketing strategies are effective and sustainable until the market improves.

Brian Bruce, author of multiple articles published on many websites and several industry trade publications, has been cited in multiple news stories as an authority in Executive Restaurant Recruiting. He's an Executive Restaurant Recruiter with Premier Solutions in Oklahoma City and Blogger. He can be reached at 877-948-4001, by email at bbruce@psokc.com , or on his blog at http://www.restaurantmanagerresources.blogspot.com/ . Read more!

Is Pizza Perennially Profitable?

While many segments of the restaurant industry are struggling to stay afloat, pizza concepts in large part seem to be well positioned to weather the current economy. There seem to be at least three distinct reasons for this – sales don’t appear to be slumping as much for pizza outlets as in other segments, commodity prices for pizza staples have adjusted very favorably, and the value-centric focus of today’s dining customer meshes well with pizza’s market positioning.

When I asked several leaders in the pizza segment their observations on sales trends, there were varied responses. Art Hurteau, President of A&M Pizza, a franchisee of Domino’s with 14 stores and 3 seasonal venues in Missouri, told me that, “While 2008 was rough, as it was for most, 2009 has started out much better for us, though not as good as 2007.” Rick Barsness, President of Incredible Pizza Company, is “hoping to have even comps…no ups, no downs…and that is where we are so far this year.” That is a preferred position for most in the industry compared to where they are. Ron Berger, Chairman of the 125 unit Figaro’s Pizza franchise group, sees a mixed bag of sales trends from his franchisees. “Since the start of 2008, we have some stores up 30-40% in sales and some down equally as much.” The variations in trends were seen to be “geographically sensitive” in Berger’s view. Not everyone in the pizza business is as positive or neutral in opinion though. Jim Fox, President of Fox’s Pizza Den, says that while he’s not a “doom and gloom guy”, he sees 2009 as a “total disaster for the whole food industry.” While he has many leads for franchisees to help him grow his brand, Fox noted that the banks have “dried up” on financing and that people he used to be able to help get financed are no longer qualified. Though varied, the general mood of the pizza segment seems to be less dire than many other segments in the industry when it comes to sales trends.

Commodity prices have affected every restaurant in the nation. Of late it seems that a correction in several product prices that matter considerably to pizza-makers has offered them some relief. Cheese and flour, which makes up a large portion of a pizza’s cost, has come down in cost in recent months. Hurteau noted that he’s “seen commodity prices improving” as “cheese and flour were as high as 50% up in 2008.” Barsness says Incredible Pizza has “already seen that” when asked about their cheese prices coming down. Berger of Figaro’s had checked cheese prices the day we spoke and saw the price at $1.20 per pound, compared to a 2008 price he recalled to be as high as $2.40 per pound. Berger does expect the price to rise somewhat in the near future as “that price is simply not sustainable for suppliers to maintain indefinitely.” While many commodity prices are starting to or have already come down from 2008 high’s, pizza producers in particular appear to be enjoying major price improvements on the largest staples of their product.

Another trend pizza seems to be benefiting from is the customer’s current laser-focus on value. Pizza has always been a value driven product, with coupons a driving force of a major portion of sales for many. The price point of pizza, when coupled with a coupon, seems more attractive to the consumer than ever right now. Barsness told me, “Mom wants a deal and is looking for the coupon.” Hurteau has noticed a change in customer choice, driven by price point. His group has seen a good response to Domino’s oven-baked sandwich, even after the promotion ended. He told me that research indicates the customer “likes the flavor profile and the price.” Figaro’s seems to be benefiting more than some concepts as they offer both baked pizzas and a Take ‘n Bake product, a freshly prepared, uncooked pizza which typically sells for $1-$2 less than the baked version. Berger says the lower price is attractive to many consumers. “Since the Take ‘n Bake pizzas can be delivered and qualify for government assistance programs, we see about 10% of our business coming from this demographic right now.” Berger believes his franchise is currently the only to offer both baked and unbaked pizzas.

It appears that while none in the restaurant industry will come out of the current market downturn unscathed, the pizza segment appears, broadly speaking, to be in a position to avoid much of the pain many other types of restaurants are feeling.

Brian Bruce, author of multiple articles published on many websites and several industry trade publications, has been cited in multiple news stories as an authority in Executive Restaurant Recruiting. He's an Executive Restaurant Recruiter with Premier Solutions in Oklahoma City and Blogger. He can be reached at 877-948-4001, by email at bbruce@psokc.com , or on his blog at http://www.restaurantmanagerresources.blogspot.com/ .
Read more!

Change Management in the Restaurant Industry

There is no doubt that in the face of current market conditions, leadership in our business most likely will not sustain and grow their groups by maintaining the status quo. Change management must have a high priority in any Restaurant CEO’s or President’s vision. The question lies in how that leadership responds to the challenges of rising commodity prices, consumers who are less willing to part with their dollars, and a lending industry wary of where and to whom they make loans. There are those in the restaurant industry in executive positions who not only embrace change but who initiate the change necessary before the situation demands it, particularly in three key areas, Attitude, Focus, and People.

When I asked their approaches to managing change versus initiating it, here’s how some in the quick casual segment put it. B.J. Dumond, CEO of J&H Foods, a franchisor of the 240 unit Simple Simon’s Pizza, told me his attitude has to remain flexible. “You’ve got to be practical and have a common sense approach. But don’t be afraid to get outside the box.” Dumond told me. Seth Salzman, SVP of Corporate Operations for Stevi B’s Pizza sees his concept in a favorable position, given the consumers’ focus on value right now. “For the first time in company history, we’ve hired an advertising agency and we’re launching a system-wide marketing campaign.” Mike Shumsky, CEO of Dallas based la Madeleine sounded prepared for the current struggles when he told me, “You’ve got to get your organization right, lean and productive, regardless of the economic climate.” While the attitudes vary, the theme seems to be one of proaction and not reaction.

Focus is another area I asked them about. Shumsky said his group started making realignments back in February of 2008. One area of particular attention was to “maximize what we already have and use.” Shumsky went on to share how his group is rolling out a new web page for the company’s website to emphasize the franchising opportunity with la Madeleine. Salzman informed me that Stevi B’s marketing, which has in the past been mostly geared to highlight value, will change emphasis. “With everyone pushing price and value, we’re shifting our focus to quality in our marketing message. Everyone already knows the value we offer.” Dumond, of Simple Simon’s, who has seen an increase in the number of franchising agreements when compared to two years ago, is focusing on maximizing those increased inquiries from potential franchisees interested in taking control of their careers through ownership. “We’ve always found the most success swimming upstream of the market.”, Dumond told me. An increase in concentration on specific areas of opportunity seems to be paying off for those who recognize the needs and make appropriate and timely changes.

The people piece, which seems the most sensitive subject, also revealed different methodologies from restaurant leadership. Salzman’s immediate take is to “move people and shift or expand their roles for now.” “We need to be ready to bring the right people on board as soon as we can though.” Shumsky has a different strategy. The focus here is on where they invest in the people piece, and not so much the amount they’re investing. “We were pretty heavily weighted on the accounting, financial, and processing side as far as staffing was concerned. We automated many of those processes and focused on investing in marketing and service.” This is apparent by the $1 million increase in both the marketing and labor portions of their budget. Both strategies are a result of restaurant leadership understanding the need to manage and initiate change in the best interest of their companies.

So, as the restaurant industry moves through this time of economic flux, the most successful concepts will both manage and initiate many changes. Those leaders who have successfully managed change to take advantage of the opportunities available will find themselves in a much more enviable position than those who do not. As James Yorke put it, “The most successful people are those who are good at plan B.”

Brian Bruce is an Executive Restaurant Recruiter with Premier Solutions in Oklahoma City and Blogger with 23 years operations experience. His vast knowledge of the industry comes from many years managing in national concepts, small start ups and restaurant ownership. He understands the day-to-day challenges from both sides of the equation, as a client trying to find quality operations candidates and as a management candidate trying to find a quality employer. He can be reached at 877-948-4001, by email at bbruce@psokc.com , or on his blog at http://www.restaurantmanagerresources.blogspot.com/ . Read more!

Differing Leadership Strategies in the Restaurant Industry

As I talk with restaurant industry leaders around the country, I ask them how they are responding, in terms of growth and staffing, to the current market climate. What I've discovered is that there are primarily three schools of thought on the matter. One reaction I'm hearing is some concepts, out of necessity, are making cuts in many areas to insure they weather the storm.

Mitchell Moore, Vice President of Operations for Nestle Cafe, told me, "We cut about 12-15 positions in the corporate office to lean up the outgoing costs. We will need to replace these positions at some point as we are still planning aggressive growth in 2009." Carl Howard, CEO of Fazoli's, whose concept is taking advantage of improving commodity prices and investing in quality in their menu, told me his concept "Made the necessary cuts back in October, 2008 as we saw what was coming." Fazoli's will be changing about 40% of their offerings starting 2/16/2009.

Another response from restaurant leadership that I'm hearing is to "wait and see". Some concepts are, for the most part, maintaining the status quo. David Newman, President of BP Newman Investments, who oversees 33 Church's Fried Chicken units, put it this way, "Let the economists say what they're going to say. We're going to control what we can control." David is using some of this time to "sharpen the saw" of some of his key people by sending them to leadership training. "This is a time to invest in my people." According to Mitchell Moore, there's a lot of "wait and see" from Nestle Cafe franchisees as they look for loans to become more accessible before they open additional units. That being said, "We're aggressively growing 25-30 units in 2009.", according to Mitchell. Sam Beiler, President and CEO of Auntie Anne's had this to say, "In alignment with our focus on careful management of expenses in 2009, we are taking a conservative approach when it comes to the creation of new positions.”

Probably the least touted and most enviable position some concepts find themselves in...being financially sound enough to take advantage of the current market conditions in the restaurant industry to grow their units through acquisition and attractive real estate terms from landlords who are currently much more willing to make concessions. Leon Irons, President of Churpeye's, a Sonic and Church's Fried Chicken franchise group, said he's "Adding stores this year and should increase the total number of units for our restaurant group by a third. (They currently operate 53 Sonics and 33 Church's.) Lance Benton, CEO of the 100% franchised Buck's Pizza, is very optimistic about their position and says they're getting many inquiries about their concept right now. "I don't like to hear about people being out of a job, but those people have to replace their income with something and many are looking at our franchise opportunity to do just that." Sam Beiler of Auntie Anne's continues,“Based on the cyclical nature of the economy that historically shows that for the past 100 years, we experience a downturn every 7 to 10 years, we began to prepare for a soft economy over 18 months ago." "Over the past few years, we’ve experienced strong same store sales comps and specifically in 2008 we had a strong year which has nicely poised us for continued growth in 2009. We anticipate opening 42 domestic locations and 53 international locations, adding to our over 980 store total in 20 countries.”

These same restaurant companies are also able to take advantage of the current candidate pool to make "upgrade" hires from talent that hasn't typically been available. Mike Hamra, CEO of Hamra Enterprises, which operates 27 Wendy's and 47 Panera Bread locations, indicated his group's stance this way, "We are strategically reviewing opportunities to improve the quality of our staffing and are upgrading consistent with our growth plans and attrition." President of Wendy's of Missouri, Chuck Ocarz, told me that while the next 3-6 months are a concern for him, he is definitely "taking advantage of the availability of the talent that is out there to upgrade my team." Tim Cullers, Vice President of Restaurant Operations for Timberlodge Steakhouse is "taking a very aggressive approach when looking at talent" and sees the potential for his restaurant group to grow in this market.

While there may be differing strategies for successfully navigating the current stormy market, some things remain constant. Fiscal responsibility is wisdom in every aspect of business, as is upgrading the talent piece on your team when that talent is available.

Brian Bruce is an Executive Restaurant Recruiter with Premier Solutions in Oklahoma City and Blogger with 23 years operations experience. His vast knowledge of the industry comes from many years managing in national concepts, small start ups and restaurant ownership. He understands the day-to-day challenges from both sides of the equation, as a client trying to find quality operations candidates and as a management candidate trying to find a quality employer. He can be reached at 877-948-4001, by email at bbruce@psokc.com , or on his blog at http://www.restaurantmanagerresources.blogspot.com/ . Read more!

Restaurant Recruiter Reveals Best Hiring Practices in a Tough Economy

With the current market negatively affecting the restaurant industry on several fronts, some concepts are cutting back on their recruiting efforts and many managers are hoping to ride it out with the concept they are currently with. The perception is often that the “sky is falling” and neither restaurants nor restaurant managers should make a move. “In some ways, this is the best time for a quality restaurant manager to make a change,” says Brian Bruce, an executive restaurant recruiter for Premier Solutions in Oklahoma City. “During uncertain times, restaurants need strong leadership from managers who can produce. My search practice is as busy as ever because the client restaurants I choose to recruit for don’t want to waste their time talking to restaurant manager candidates who can’t produce. Most of those can be found answering ads in the paper or on the internet.”

Recruiting and hiring great managers is a critical component to any restaurant’s success. And that means bringing in “A” players. The issue here is that high quality candidates tend to already have good jobs. How can a restaurant concept go about finding this caliber of candidate and get them onboard? “The most qualified and talented candidates are generally going to be passive candidates. In other words, they won’t necessarily be looking at other opportunities but will listen should something superior come to their attention,” says Bruce.

Bruce believes the best candidates aren’t generally on the job boards. The ease by which these candidates are accessed increases the risk when a concept puts them in the hiring process. “Looking past the potential performance issues that put these candidates on the job boards to begin with, a restaurant opens itself up to other risks inherent with hiring someone from an internet source. These candidates will still be receiving calls from other restaurants long after you’ve hired them, improving the likelihood that you’ll be back to square one trying to fill the position again should they leave.” “I know placing ads is popular methodology, but an unproductive one. Why should a restaurant company spend that kind of capital to advertise their need to ‘the masses’, spend the time filtering through the stack in hopes of finding a decent resume, and not even guarantee to have a viable candidate result from all their efforts?” “I’ve seen hiring authorities try to make a questionable candidate ‘fit’ in order to justify the money they’ve already spent. That will come back to bite them every time. A good recruiter who works on a contingency basis won’t require any financial investment until the right candidate starts working for the company. That makes a lot more sense (and cents)!”

“You want to hire the candidate who’s next in line for a promotion. And that means contacting them directly.” This is where Bruce is called in by his client companies to pursue such candidates directly, making first contact, pre-qualifying the managers who are interested and properly motivated to make a change, and presenting them to his clients, already interested in making a positive impact for their concept.

Bruce also writes a blog for restaurant hiring authorities and restaurant managers who are considering making a career change. He meets some of his best candidates and clients through his writing there. “In my search practice, I use my communication skills to quickly develop rapport with quality prospects. I can often secure the interest of the most passive quality candidate because of how I approach them on the phone. And that’s what sets apart a good recruiter, bringing high-performing producers to the interview table and providing the information necessary to bring those producers aboard.”

Brian Bruce is an Executive Restaurant Recruiter with Premier Solutions in Oklahoma City and Blogger with 23 years operations experience. His vast knowledge of the industry comes from many years managing in national concepts, small start ups and restaurant ownership. He understands the day-to-day challenges from both sides of the equation, as a client trying to find quality operations candidates and as a management candidate trying to find a quality employer. He can be reached at 877-948-4001, by email at bbruce@psokc.com , or on his blog at http://www.restaurantmanagerresources.blogspot.com/ .
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Restaurant Manager Interview Guide

I've found that a considerable number of hiring managers are often lacking a purposeful direction during their restaurant manager interviews as evidenced by the questions they ask. Upon review of a candidate after an interview, some hiring managers have no concrete fix on whether the candidate can achieve the results needed in the position. For this reason, I have assembled the following guide to assist hiring managers to ask the questions that will leave them with something more than a good or bad feeling after an interview:

INTRODUCTION

1. Ask questions to help the candidate feel at ease about the interview, such as where they live, what activities they enjoy, upcoming holidays, and the weather.
2. Tell me about your current place of employment.
- What type of work do you do/title?
- What are your general areas of responsibility?
3. What are the three things in a work place that are most important to you?

DISCOVERY

4. Tell me specifically what you have accomplished in your current store:
- What are the three most important results you have achieved this year?
- How about last year?
- How about at your last two places of employment?
5. Draw an organizational chart of your current place of employment:
- Who do you report to?
- Tell me about your colleagues.
- Tell me about your direct reports.
6. Give me an example of a major problem you had to solve with your company.- What was the issue?
- How did you resolve it?
- Who did you ask to help?
- What was the result and outcome? What was its significance?
- What were your three biggest obstacles?
7. This is what I am looking for you to achieve with this company (share with the candidate the top three performance outcomes of the position, in terms of measurable results).
- How would you go about accomplishing these outcomes?
- What resources would you need to do it?
- How would you measure your progress along the way?
- What action steps would you take?
8. Compensation: Where are you at? What range are you looking for?

CLOSURE

9. Based on what I shared with you, do you feel you can do the job?
10. What is your interest level, on a scale of 1 to 10, in this position?
11. What time frame are you looking at starting? When will you give notice?
12. Where else are you interviewing? Do you have any offers? How do you feel about them?

I hope this is helpful to hiring managers as they strive to improve their restaurant manager interview skills.

Brian Bruce is an Executive Restaurant Recruiter and Blogger with 23 years operations experience. His vast knowledge of the industry comes from many years managing in national concepts such as Chili’s and Joe’s Crab Shack. He understands the day-to-day challenges from both sides of the equation, as a client trying to find quality operations candidates and as a management candidate trying to find a quality employer. He can be contacted at bbruce.linkedin@gmail.com . Read more!

Employee Background Checks More Important than Ever

As I reflect back on my 23+ years in the restaurant business, I’ve seen a necessary trend slowly taking place. Restaurant companies are increasingly making background checks part of the hiring process as courts are increasingly holding employers liable for "negligent hiring," or failing to check the background of a prospective employee. An employee of a major restaurant chain sexually assaulted a 3-year-old customer on the property of the restaurant in Ohio. And in Nebraska, a delivery driver for a major pizza chain raped a woman after delivering a pizza to her home. In the Nebraska case, the pizza chain was ordered to pay $175,000 to the victim.

In both cases, the employees had previous sexual-assault convictions on their records. And in both, a simple background check could have prevented a personal attack and the litigation that followed.

In the past, some restaurant concepts would argue that a background check is too expensive. But I would argue that the litigation that comes as a result of not having done their due diligence and having been negligent in their hiring process can be far greater.

Along with turning up convictions for crimes such as sexual assault, a background check can show if a job candidate has been convicted of stealing from a previous employer. A check of a candidate's driving records can show convictions for drunken driving or other traffic violations.

Such information could save a restaurant owner thousands of dollars by avoiding a bad hire. And at a cost of $50 or less for a basic criminal records check, the cost argument carries little weight. All it takes is one theft issue and you can pay for a background screening.

A background check can generally be performed in three or four days for a cost as low as $9.95 for a basic check.

Even if a bad hire doesn't result in a lawsuit, bad publicity can destroy a business. It is important to know what kind of employee you are getting. If you are building a business, you don't want to be in the press because of something negative that happened with one of your employees.

While there is no sure-fire way employers can protect themselves from the occasional dishonest employment candidate, they can operate with the most due diligence possible.

A basic criminal background check can incorporate state records, county records or both, and can include information such as any felonies or misdemeanors a person has, or whether a person is a registered sex offender.

Motor vehicle reports generally have an instant turnaround time and return three-five years' worth of a driver's history. Information includes speeding tickets and other driving violations, such as drunken driving or whether a person is driving with a suspended license.

Social Security Number verification also can help uncover employee skeletons, experts say. SSN verification reports give a person's state and residency history. They also give a history of where the person has lived and if the SSN the person provided is valid.

Often, simply informing a job candidate that an employer will conduct a background check can serve to discourage bad apples.

And finally, always let job candidates know that a background check will be part of the employment process, or that you employ a company to do thorough background checks. That generally encourages them to self-disqualify if there's a problem.

Brian Bruce is an Executive Restaurant Recruiter and Blogger with 23 years operations experience. His vast knowledge of the industry comes from many years managing in national concepts such as Chili’s and Joe’s Crab Shack. He understands the day-to-day challenges from both sides of the equation, as a client trying to find quality operations candidates and as a management candidate trying to find a quality employer. He can be contacted at bbruce.linkedin@gmail.com .
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Testimonial from Buddy Mizner

A restaurant manager I just placed just sent this testimonial of the work I did for him. I have to tell you, it's because of things like this that I absolutely love my job!

Brian,

“My perceptions before I decided to use your services, I wasn't real sure about how things worked I have not had to look for a job in 21+ years so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was not reluctant because I’m willing to try anything once and I’m very happy that I did because once I talked to you on the phone I immediately knew your intentions were to do your best and look for the best options for me and my goals.

The solution that I was seeking at the time you were hired, I needed to find an opportunity in a short amount of time that fit my career goals. I did not have a lot of time to spend looking around because I was currently employed, have a family to take care of and those things took up most of my time. After talking to you I knew that I could still concentrate on these things and not have to worry about involving more of my time or changing my lifestyle to fit looking for new opportunities.

What you provided for me the most was your great communication I always knew where things stood on a day to day and weekly basis. I have never met someone that has such great care and concern about their clients. Your work ethic is the best and I mean that. I can now take care of my family the way I have always wanted to and have an opportunity to grow with a company that has room for my ambitions. I feel like a ten ton weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, I’m very excited about my new opportunity, thanks.

The result of working with you is I have everything in my life that I have ever wanted and a new friend too. I was under a lot of stress at the time and you made all of that go away each time I talked to you. You are very dedicated to what you do and make people feel relaxed when you talk to them. I at no time had any questions that your intentions were to find what best suited my situation.

I am very comfortable in giving all of my friends and co-workers your contact information because I know that they will be taken care of in the best possible way and not have to worry about trust issues or miscommunication. Thank you very much for making me feel like someone still cares.”

Sincerely,
Buddy Mizner
New General Manager
Joe’s Crab Shack
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