Viewpoint

Building a Championship Team

by Bob Gershberg, CEO & Managing Partner, Wray Executive Search

Building a Championship Team

A great management team creates exponential impact by leading effectively and rallying their organization around a clear strategic vision. Such teams are fully aligned, acutely aware of individual and collective skills, and well-positioned to maintain a broad understanding of the organization's true state. To function at a high level, management must align on strategy and relentlessly pursue excellence.

Building a championship team requires strategic planning, fostering a winning culture, and assembling the right mix of talent and character.

Recognizing Individual Strengths

Success hinges on appreciating the unique strengths of team members. Teams consist of individuals with contrasting temperaments, talents, and skills. Balancing autonomy with social connection fosters creative tension, unlocks motivation, and enables teams to adapt effectively to new challenges.

Capitalize on qualities that employees value most—trust, freedom, and play—to build a high-performing, innovative organization.

Restaurants: The Need for Meaningful Catalysts

by John Gordon, Principal and Founder, Pacific Management Consulting Group

With thoughts and hopes building for 2025, developments in 2024 help to set the foundation. Like every year since 2019 and the Pandemic onset in 2020, the Restaurant Industry continues to be ever dynamic. 2024 was overall a weak year unfortunately, with soft sales and traffic declines across the board, except for the major players in the fast casual segment. Six US brands continue to be very strong. Even with a weak year, there is still plenty to do, for operators, franchisees, investors, suppliers, consultants and advisors, journalists and others in this huge industry, to get ready for the next positive cycle.

The need for restaurant catalysts

This business needs catalysts to move. We are at a weakened position , and meaningful catalysts are needed to move the needle. Several Q3 earnings calls forecasts pointed to a better “second half of 2025”.  It seems to me for that to happen we need much better people development at all levels, including at the CEO level. We need to work our way out of the almost world wide price angst problem. We need more focus to the middle of the P&L and CAPEX costs and discipline. We need to rationalize the number of restaurants in the US. And finally, new product and concept development to fix legacy problems and attract core and aspirational guests.

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”

– Conrad Hilton

How AI Can Help Mitigate Labor Cost Challenges

by Ray Kelley, SVP & Partner, Wray Executive Search

With labor costs being one of the most significant operating expenses in the restaurant industry, and decision makers grappling with rising wages, staffing shortages, and fluctuating customer demand, managing labor costs has become a critical priority. AI can offer innovative solutions to these challenges, helping executives optimize labor efficiency, enhance workforce management, and reduce unnecessary expenses. This article explores how AI-powered tools can empower decision makers to effectively address labor cost issues while improving operational performance and employee satisfaction.

Optimized Workforce Scheduling

Labor inefficiencies often arise from poorly optimized staff schedules that lead to overstaffing during slow periods or understaffing during peak hours. AI-powered scheduling platforms can analyze historical sales data, customer traffic patterns, and employee availability to create optimized schedules that balance labor costs with service quality.

Read the latest on restaurant industry same store sales from the National Restaurant Association

Same-store sales and customer traffic

Restaurant operators reported higher same-store sales in October.

A majority of restaurant operators reported higher same-store sales in October, which was a solid improvement from dampened readings in recent months. 

Fifty-one percent of restaurant operators said their same-store sales rose between October 2023 and October 2024, according to the National Restaurant Association’s monthly tracking survey. That was up from 42% in September and the highest reading in 10 months.