The Directions Group specializes in helping brands optimize the customer experience, from deeply understanding the needs that kickstart journeys to finding and easing barriers at each touchpoint along the way. While consumers are rightly the focus of this effort, employee satisfaction is increasingly recognized as a key ingredient in driving strong customer satisfaction—this is especially critical in retail and service environments where frontline workers directly shape much of the customer experience. Research, including a 2022 study by Salesforce1, demonstrates that investments boosting employee satisfaction and retention can bring strong returns.
Recognizing this, a global restaurant brand asked us to help them build a benefits package to meet the needs of their U.S.-based employees. This initiative, which we recently completed for a second year, aims to maximize employee satisfaction and retention, thereby supporting their efforts to deliver a superior customer experience. As the foodservice industry continues to experience high worker turnover and maintains low average tenure compared to the rest of the labor market2, a restaurant brand offering benefits workers truly value can stand above other prospective employers.
To gather direct feedback, we worked closely with the brand to contact and survey employees from both retail and corporate settings. Responses were gathered from employees representing the full workforce by function, tenure, and demographic dimensions. Our seamless integration of incentive fulfillment meant employees could be compensated for their time without creating an additional administrative burden for the brand.
In the survey, employees were asked to choose from several hypothetical benefits packages. These packages included both existing and new benefits in areas including compensation, health insurance, investment and retirement options, time-off and leave policies, education and other financial assistance opportunities, and free meals. Specific benefits were presented conditionally to retail or corporate employees, and items like compensation were customized for each employee. The survey also assessed employees’ awareness of current benefits to identify areas that might be misunderstood or underappreciated.
Using discrete choice analysis, we identified not just the most preferred bundles of benefits but also the trade-off impacts of replacing certain benefits with others. Additionally, we combined this preference data with the projected investment required for each benefit option to understand how packages balanced employer cost with employee impact.
Our research proved the importance of maintaining several existing benefits in order to sustain employee satisfaction; these are not just important to offer but also critical to promote for employee retention and recruitment efforts. The restaurant also learned of several benefit revisions that could drastically improve employee satisfaction. Notably, these revisions provide a greater impact at a lower incremental cost than a straight wage increase. Instead of a one-size-fits-all solution, recommended benefits were tailored for hourly retail employees, retail managers, and corporate employees. By addressing employees’ varying life stages and priorities across these areas of the business, the restaurant can make smart investments in benefits that are truly relevant and valued. As they roll out these revised benefits, the organization has confidence that employees feel supported and fairly compensated for their part in elevating the customer experience.
From optimizing employee benefits to optimizing products on the shelf, our team of experts takes a holistic approach—not only designing the research you need to capture consumer or employee feedback but also integrating insights with your organizational data to deliver results that make a meaningful impact. Contact us today to start building smarter solutions for your team and customers alike.
Sources:
1: Gautier, K., Bova, T., Chen, K., & Munasinghe, L. (2022, January). The Value of Employee Experience, Quantified. https://org62.my.salesforce.com/sfc/p/#000000000062/a/3y000000p74b/vBW.bmWtlCOukms09c5KXAirTAW1fsDDIocgW5HKgSw
2: Labor Force Characteristics (CPS). (2024, November 8). Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/cps/lfcharacteristics.htm
