Twin Peaks has a gauge system that tracks the performance of every employee. Workers onboard. Then, as products and operational changes are implemented, the “fuel gauge” resets so each employee can go through testing and stay on top of tasks. And Twin Peaks’ management can track where a specific employee stands at any time, and where their fuel gauge is as far as training is concerned. This process is evergreen and always evolving.
“If we want to go back and refresh them we can refresh them. If someone struggles in a certain aspect of the offerings or the restaurants we can go back and reset them so they can go back and do further training,” Hummel says. “It’s a really on-time, real-time, fuel gauge that we can assess every employee, and that goes from all the directors of operations all the way down to sports staff, heart of the house, front of the house, and so on.”
For employees, ongoing training can lead to becoming a certified trainer, which allows the worker to access a lot of different opportunities outside their store. That includes being a part of new openings, recertification of teams, and more.
“New-store openings are a heck of a charge for people when they see it. Watch a building start from the ground up and really get the first guest in there,” Hummel says.
It helps the brand grow as well, he adds, since it provides a great succession plan for everybody, from support team to front of the house.
“We’re able to keep the training piece relevant and quick enough,” he says. “We know people’s attention spans are sometimes shorter due to all the different tasks they’re working on. So if we’re able to keep that contact quick, short, and relevant, it makes it usable.
Having a strong workforce is the heartbeat of Twin Peaks’ success. There’s a lot going on in each unit, and a bevy of investments being made in décor, culinary, and beverage, but if employees can’t speak to those benefits, what’s the true ROI?
“It’s one thing to be hospitable, but to actually help our guests navigate their way through their experience, it all boils back to training,” Hummel says.