Cooking up Great Leaders, with Portillo’s Jill Waite

Mo Fathelbab:

Welcome to today's episode of People and Strategy. I'm your host, Mo Fathelbab, president of International Facilitators Organization. People and Strategy is a podcast from the SHRM Executive Network, the premier network of executives in the field of human resources. Each week we bring you in-depth conversations with the country's top HR executives and thought leaders. For today's conversation, I'm excited to be joined by Jill Waite, Portillo's chief people officer. Welcome Jill.

Jill Waite:

Thank you, Mo. It's an honor to be here with you today.

Mo Fathelbab:

An honor to have you with us. Jill, let's dive in. How did you get started in the field of HR?

Jill Waite:

It started working in operations. So I was in retail back when I was 17 years old and started in Circuit City back in the day and went through their management development program while I was in college. And upon graduation, had an opportunity to work with some HR professionals at the organization. They took me under their wing and also had me spend a lot of time with our regional vice president on the business side. And upon graduation, they said, "Hey, have you ever thought about a career in HR?" I was like, "No, but let's give it a shot." Because I love Circuit City at the time and liked what the organization stood for, and have that opportunity to bring both my business side of what I was so passionate about along with the people side. So that was my journey into the HR side. 

Mo Fathelbab:

And for those members of the audience that don't know, I mean, Circuit City was the big deal. So before Best Buy existed, if you go back, Circuit City was it. That's where you went for AV, for stereo. That was the place, right?

Jill Waite:

It was. And it was known for the culture and creating the right service experience for the customers that we were serving at the time. And part of that culture was developing people. Because the organization was growing so much that internal development was pivotal to that strategy. And so I was really lucky enough to probably work with some of the best retail leaders in the industry at the time and be a product of their culture and their development programs.

Mo Fathelbab:

So how did you go from electronics to food, and was that an important transition for you?

Jill Waite:

It was. From electronics to food, I did journey in a couple other industries as well, ranging from fitness to grocery to retail and then into the food industry. The food industry had always been in my blood. My first actual job before Circuit City was Chuck E. Cheese. I was a birthday party hostess at 16. And so being able to bring happiness and joy to children on their birthdays or just them being able to see the mouse that got them excited. I think it's always been in my blood. And Portillo's has a very similar feeling to these memorable experiences that I was able to be a part of back when I was 16 years old starting off at Chuck E. Cheese. 

Mo Fathelbab:

So, Jill, I understand your average restaurant does 8.5 million in sales, and that Portillo's has been around for over 60 years. So what is it like to work with such a large organization that is also growing so rapidly?

Jill Waite:

It is a ton of fun. Being able to be a part of an organization that truly cares about our guest and our team members and deliver the volume of food and experiences is really nothing like I've ever experienced before. Even though I grew up in Chicago, left when I was nine, Portillo's has always been in my blood. Because every time I came back, it was a lot of the memories that I would have with my family. And so being able to be a part of it, supporting our guests, supporting our team members, and bringing our craveable food across the country is definitely a dream come true.

Mo Fathelbab:

Well, we were just talking about that. We don't have a Portillo's here in the D.C. area, but I can't wait to go to Arizona to try it after this lovely conversation. So let's talk about the industry specifically. What are some of the unique industry challenges that you are seeing?

Jill Waite:

Yeah. A few of the unique industry challenges are the workforce is relatively young in experience. We have many 16, 17 year olds that this is their first job. And so being able to instill and teach them different job skills, but also life skills that they can use both here at Portillo's and outside of Portillo's, is something that's really important. So it really helps the industry, but it also supports our organization as we continue to grow and wanting to deliver that great guest experience each and every time. And so it's an honor to be able to be a part of that. 

Mo Fathelbab:

Yeah. And what are some of those life skills that you teach these youngsters?

Jill Waite:

Well, we teach them communication skills. As we were talking earlier, I have a 20-year-old and an 18-year-old, and I think sometimes our communication skills are being taught on Snapchat and TikTok, which I get, but there is something about the human to human communication that here at Portillo's is really important. And so we spend time teaching them how to listen, how to create eye contact, how to verbally communicate with our guests, in addition to teamwork. So our values are family, greatness, energy, and fun. And part of that family value is having each other's backs and being great teammates to one another. So if I need help, I immediately can see that and I know it's my role to jump in. And so we try to instill and develop our team members to see that. And bring a level of greatness to work every day. How we're continuously improving, that value of greatness is about continuing to be better each and every moment and instilling that in our team members and helping them to see that they can continue to grow and achieve whatever it is that they want, I think, helps evolve their mindset that this may have started up as a part-time job but I could see it really as a career.

Mo Fathelbab:

It's interesting you have a retail background back from when you were a teenager, I too have a retail background from my teenage years. And I think I learned so much in terms of learning how to deal with people mostly, what we call the soft skills.

Jill Waite:

It is. The soft skills are really important. The Portillo's experience is about creating lifelong memories for our guests. And that's not only in the quality of food that we cook up for them, but it's also in the interactions that we have. For example, when our food is ready [inaudible 00:06:52] pick up. We don't just say the number, we say it along with a rhyme. And so that helps bring some personality to it. If in a situation we got wrong, and that does happen, we're humans, but it's how our team members handle that situation and able to make it right for the guests in a way that is friendly, that they're smiling, and they're solving their problem. And so those are some of the things that we're trying to instill and teach in our team members. 

Mo Fathelbab:

And how do you train the team members on these soft skills?

Jill Waite:

We believe in a blended learning approach, and it is a combination of eLearning and videos. Of course, we had to keep it really short, but to the point. Shoulder to shoulder because there's something still very important about on-the-job learning, watching someone who's been doing it and getting their feedback. Being able to tip quiz, are they retaining the information and then giving them a shot on their own and providing that feedback, recognizing when they're doing really well. But also coaching in the moment of, hey, let's maybe work on this here and there. And so we believe in creating that holistic blended model creates the right opportunity for our team members to really develop those skills and really master that over time.

Mo Fathelbab:

And I understand you have a very specific couple of programs that you utilize for doing all this stuff. So there's the Ignite program, and then you have the Two-Day Leadership Program. Let's start with the Ignite. Can you tell us about that one, please?

Jill Waite:

Yeah. Our Ignite program came from our need to essentially create a bench of leaders to fulfill our growth strategy. Historically, we had hired individuals externally and we just didn't see the same retention but performance that we needed to based on the experiences that our guests required. In addition, our restaurants have about 87 team members on average, and so that level of leadership is really critical, and we weren't able to kind of buy that talent. So we found that we needed to develop the talent internally. Second to that, when we were promoting individuals, we were promoting them and then developing them for that position. And we took a step back and said, well, would the military ever send somebody into battle without going to basic training? No. Well, why would we do that same thing to our leaders? They deserve the opportunity to be trained first and then give them that opportunity for that promotion. 

And so the Ignite program was created from wanting to ensure that we have the right leaders with the right skills at the right time to support our growth trajectory. And we include a balance of people skills and soft skills that they need to learn, in addition to the job skills for each of the levels within the restaurant. So our crew [inaudible 00:09:51] leaders, restaurant managers, assistant GMs, and general managers. And we teach a lot of the skills we talked about earlier, how do you travel, how to use technology such as Teams, computer skills, but also how do you coach, how do you develop, provide feedback, and how do you run a line that is doing about eight and a half to $9 million for the business?

Mo Fathelbab:

That's a lot. That's a lot of good stuff.

Jill Waite:

It is a lot.

Mo Fathelbab:

Absolutely. And I'm assuming you track each person through that journey?

Jill Waite: 

We do. So we approach this in more of a cohort base, very similar to maybe what you would find in an MBA program. In that individuals apply, they go through an interview process. So that's actually another skill that they're learning. Many individuals aren't able to necessarily try on how to interview, so it gives them experience in how to interview, put together a resume. And then individuals are selected for that particular waiver cohort. And what that does, it's from individuals all around our entire organization. So they're building relationships from individuals in Florida to Arizona. So now if they have questions or like, hey, what's the best practice? They can reach out to them, and so they feel like they're a part of something bigger than themselves. So the cohort starts together and then they end together, and they end together in a two day leadership program where they come here to our restaurant support center. And we do that because we want them to be able to experience what our support center is, but also many of us here get an opportunity to meet our new leaders and they get a blended experience of both in restaurant on the job but also that leadership component as well as they're building relationships with others across the organization here at the support center, but also in the field.

Mo Fathelbab:

And how big are the cohorts and how are they put together?

Jill Waite:

Great question. It's about 25 leaders, and we want to keep it small because we want the experience to be intimate. And sometimes when they get too big, individuals may not feel as comfortable asking that question because they don't want to feel dumb. And so we want to make sure that the cohorts are intimate and that we're able to give that personal attention to each individual along with the restaurants. Because we believe in a decentralized model where even though our learning and development team is facilitating the learning experiences, the supervisor and the individual themselves absolutely own that development and that growth. And so it is really a collaborative partnership to make sure that the learner is getting the most out of this experience because it is a blend of time in the restaurant with webinars, but also a couple days session here in the restaurant support center.

Mo Fathelbab:

Got it. So what list lessons have you learned from the Ignite program at Portillo's? And are there any tips that you would have for HR leaders that want to create a similar program?

Jill Waite: 

Yeah. I think the biggest learning I had is the importance of the learning experiences to be owned by the learner and the leader collectively and in partnership with the people team. When a development is being delegated to others, there doesn't appear to be as much ownership. And so instead, we had different leaders around the organization say, "Well, where's my backfill? Where's my restaurant manager?" And it's like, "Well, you're a leader." It's our responsibility to ensure that we have the succession and we have the individuals ready for these next positions. And so creating that ownership mindset that the role of a leader is to create and develop their people is probably one of their most important roles, next to making sales and ultimately, we're a business, we have to achieve our sales targets, but ensuring that we're developing our talent is really, really critical. And it's not something that can be delegated to HR or delegated to our learning and development team, that it's owned with the individual, the leader in partnership with the organization.

Mo Fathelbab:

And how do you go about creating that ownership mindset? Because I love that, I think it's critical. And I know that it's one thing to say it, and it's another thing to actually make people feel that way.

Jill Waite:

I think it starts at the top. So our CEO, Michael Osanloo, he firmly believes in that ownership mindset, in continuous learning, creating a learning culture in the organization. And so each of us, even as an executive team, has individual development plans that we are actively working. And so being able to say at the highest level of the organization that we're leading from the front, we're not just saying it but we're doing it. I think it shows the rest of the organization that this isn't just lip service, that this is something that we just fundamentally believe in and we show it with our actions. And then we also support it through different partnerships such as LinkedIn Learning. We've also partnered with BetterUp. BetterUp is a program where different leaders can have coaches, and it's really focused on the well-being of the individual. And it's been a huge success for us as an organization. So we definitely supplement and augment it with different type of resources to ensure that our team members have the right tools to achieve that success that they're looking for.

Mo Fathelbab:

So I want to talk about two things, Jill. One is why you think continuous learning is so important, and two is what specifically you're doing to ensure the well-being of your teammates.

Jill Waite: 

So I'd like to start with the well-being part first. And I think this ties with our partnership with BetterUp. A few years ago when coming out of the pandemic, we had noticed there was just a lot that individuals were feeling and there was a need for a mentorship program, and we have a mentorship program, but we also identified we may just need one higher level kind of help. And BetterUp helped us view that supporting the whole person both in and outside of work from a wellness standpoint, actually helps them to be more productive but happier at work. And so we started there. Additionally, our benefits team also has partnered with a organization called CompSight for EAP. And so our team members have access to different mental health support, financial wellness, and there are different programs holistically that we look at to enable our team members. And then on the first piece, and sorry, if you can remind me again on that first question because I got really excited on the wellness.

Mo Fathelbab:

Yeah, yeah. The continuous learning, why is that so important? Yeah.

Jill Waite:

Yeah. Continuous learning, and I would probably go back to my Circuit City days. One of the regional vice presidents I had a chance to work really closely with, he said early on, if you want to be a successful HR professional, you have to understand the business in order to build the right relationships, be able to influence your business partners, but ultimately help drive the desired outcomes of the business. And being able to be a part of an organization that really needed to innovate. I've seen firsthand what happens to companies, and I've seen firsthand what happens to individuals if you're not a continuous learner. The world is changing very quickly, if you take AI, if we're not trying on new skills or learning new skills, we're going to get passed up not only as a business but also as individuals. So that continuous learning I think was instilled very early on based on my own experiences of what happens when you don't continue that growth in yourself.

Mo Fathelbab:

I would imagine it also attracts a certain type of person, and I would imagine that matters to your business. Would you say so? I'm curious your thoughts on that.

Jill Waite: 

It does. Because our business is extremely fast-paced. If you can imagine, eight and a half million dollars worth of beef sandwiches, hot dogs, phenomenal chocolate cake, cake shakes, cheese sauce, you name it, coming-

Mo Fathelbab:

Award-winning chocolate cake, right?

Jill Waite:

Right, award-winning chocolate cake. And then you putting that in a shake, and it's even game over. That our business is changing very quickly. And so our business used to be primarily drive-through as well as dine-in, but with COVID it introduced delivery. We have catering where we now have kiosks. And so if we're not evolving as an organization and the talent that comes in isn't evolving, then ultimately the organization will not be able to essentially either stay up or lead the industry in the way that we need to go. And we just have such adrenaline when we're being able to support all of our guests and our team members as we're growing.

Mo Fathelbab:

So, Jill, tell us about the Boomerang effect. What is this employee trend that you're seeing?

Jill Waite: 

Yeah. So it's pretty one of our favorite terms, the boomerang is when individuals who start at Portillo's may leave for a period of time and then come back. I think a perfect example is Nick Scarpino. Nick Scarpino is our chief marketing officer and off-premise leader. One of his first jobs was Portillo's, he was an outside runner for us and filled many positions. He left, he went to Google, he filled a variety of other roles in other organizations. And he came back to Portillo's and now look at him, he's our chief marketing officer. And that happened very often. We have team members that start, they may need to go out to college and then they come right back. And we attribute to the culture and our purpose. Our purpose as a company is we create lifelong memories with our unrivaled food and experiences. It's not transactional, it's very relational. When our team members join us, they feel like they're a part of something bigger and that they know they're making an impact in their communities, and they're also making an impact for their fellow team members. Because our purpose is agnostic to team members or guests, it's who we are. And then our values and our people-centric culture, it's just something that you always want to be a part of. So we find that those two pieces of our cake, if you will, are reasons why people choose to come back so often.

Mo Fathelbab:

I think that is incredible. So what lessons have you learned when it comes to supporting returning employees?

Jill Waite:

One, it's okay for a team member to leave and to come back because they're also learning additional skills. So when Nick left, Nick went to Google, he learned all these different experiences at Google and that he's able to bring back here at Portillo's. And that same thing with our hourly team members and leaders. There may be instances where it's time for them to go and gain some additional experiences that maybe right now we can't give to them, but they come back and they may be even more well-rounded than when they left. And it's important for us to remember that when they come back that they don't know everything that they may once had because our business has changed. We introduced a new spice cake this past fall and a team member who may have left and come back, they don't know about that spice cake. So we're going to have to teach them and help them understand what our spice cake is, how do you make it, how do you present it to our guests. And so it's still treating them like the family member that they've always been, but there's still an element of newness to them and we can't assume that they know everything because that's just not factual because businesses are growing and changing so quickly.

Mo Fathelbab:

Yeah. So another thing I want to talk about is I understand when it comes to retention, you are in the top quartile in the industry, and I'd love to know the secret sauce, so to speak. How do you make that happen?

Jill Waite: 

Yeah. So the secret sauce truly does start with our purpose and our values. Our purpose and our values was defined five and a half years ago. And it wasn't defined by a senior team, it was defined by our team members for our team members. So the words family, greatness, energy, and finding the definitions behind them were created by our team members. And so they feel a special connection to them, which is a reason why they want to stay. Additionally, they have shared with us the opportunity to develop and grow. And grow doesn't necessarily just mean promoted, growing means I'm learning different experiences such as going and opening a new restaurant and being able to see that and learn new skills. Or here at the support center, as we're adding new functions now being a new public company, we have team members that are now growing into those positions.

Additionally, we've done a lot of work on total rewards. So we look at total rewards as a combination between culture development, but also we want to ensure we have competitive pay and benefits. And we've doubled down in the benefits area around education. I mentioned earlier about EAP, 401k, beef stock because we are a public organization, and we also give equity to our general managers. We want them to feel a sense of ownership in the business. And so being able to create this total rewards package along with the culture really creates a stickiness and a reason why people want to stay. But then if they do leave, as we talked earlier about Boomerang, there's a reason for them to come back. It's like a Velcro, you can go, and then we're going to bring it right back like little bungee cord because they're just so connected to who we are.

Mo Fathelbab:

So impressive. I am loving this conversation. So we also talked about feedback. So how are you assessing employee feedback and what's digital experience look like with implementing Workday HR Tech?

Jill Waite:

Yeah. So we have a couple different ways of how we gather team member feedback. So we do have an engagement survey that we do annually, it's called Ever Engage. And we also action plan against that survey. We're currently focused on recognition and that our team members' opinions matter because they do, and we want to hear directly from them. Our market managers as well as our people team, spend time doing round tables. So we believe getting closest to our team members and the guests and understanding what's working and what's not is most critical to ensuring we're on the right track. And so we definitely use those different mechanisms as well. And as it relates to the digital experience with Workday, we're just kicking that off. We're really excited about how we can simplify the experience for our leaders so they can spend more time on the line coaching, recognizing, celebrating our successes, but also being with our guests.

And so creating a digital experience to where it augments and helps make their job easier, but provides them to access to resources and tools is really important. And there's an expectation in today's workforce as we've been studying the different generations, we talked earlier about my two young boys, they expect organizations to have technology as a part of the workplace. And so we believe by implementing Workday that it will also be another way and part of our secret sauce because our team members see that we believe that technology and digital experiences do enhance their experience as well along their journey here at Portillo's.

Mo Fathelbab: 

Amazing, amazing, amazing. So inspiring. Last question, Jill, what is one piece of advice that has shaped your work or your life the most?

Jill Waite:

The one piece of advice that has shaped my life and work the most is what we spoke about earlier on, continuous learning. And always working to be a better human and leader and being open to asking for feedback at any level of the organization. There was many times I've worked with CEOs that they'll come offstage and regardless of role, they'll say, "Hey, can you give me some feedback? What did I do well? What could I improve on?" And I just think there's something about that humility but openness to hearing where someone can improve, but also what you're doing really well and leveraging their strengths, that I think has been one of those drivers. I want to be the best version of myself and I try to instill that in others, that we can all be that best version of ourselves. We just have to be open to it. And being able to take that feedback and listen to it. And then leverage our strengths. We're a strength-based organization. And so it's not just always about improvement, but how do you leverage what you're really great at and put our team members and ourselves in positions where we're having so much fun at work and we're doing things that we love along with people we love doing it with.

Mo Fathelbab:

And that's where we'll end it for this episode of People and Strategy. A huge thanks to Jill Waite, Portillo's chief people officer. You can follow the People and Strategy podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Also, podcast reviews have a real impact on podcast visibility. So if you enjoyed today's episode, leave a review to help others find the show. Finally, you can find all our episodes on our website at shrm.org/podcasts. Thank you for listening, and have a great day.