DOWNLOAD: Getting Ahead of the New Overtime Rules
Starting January 1, 2020, there will be new overtime rules that will make up to a third of employees eligible for overtime pay. Anyone making under the $35,568 salary threshold will be eligible for overtime pay for work over 40 hours. While it has employees jumping for joy, it has many businesses scrambling to figure out how to best comply with the rules while not breaking the banks. Restaurants aren't excluded. And you can't ignore the changes, either. The Department of Labor has been aggressive about pursuing restaurants for wage-payment violations. You'll need to get into compliance or face big fines.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Chicago & Denver to Reach & Surpass $15 Minimum Wage
Lawmakers in Chicago and Denver have passed legislation to increase the minimum wage. Chicago will hit $15/hr by 2021 while Denver will get up to $15.87 by 2022. Both cities have preserved the tip credit in both cities, however. The tipped wage in Chicago will each $9 by July 2021 while the Denver tipped wage can be $3.02 less than the minimum wage.
The Global Disparity in Carbon Footprints
The UN’s 2018 Emissions Gap Report has warned that the goals set in the Paris Agreement – limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels this century while aiming to stay below a 1.5 degree temperature rise – are getting harder and harder to achieve. As this infographic illustrates, per capita CO₂ emissions vary vastly across countries, making it difficult to come up with a plan to limit emissions at a global level without hurting the development prospects of emerging economies that (perhaps rightfully) feel limited responsibility for the climate crisis. While the world average is 4.35t of CO₂ per capita, the US and Canada release 4x that, per capita – 14.95t and 14.91t, respectively.
In the Kitchen with Shaq
Shaquille O’Neal will be hosting his own cooking show called In the Kitchen with Shaq. It’s set to debut in March of 2020 on ShopHQ and coincide with a line of Shaq cookware and accessories. Shaq will be joined with friends and family, including his mother, Lucille, during the show. Shaq also owns Big Chicken, a Las Vegas restaurant expanding to California. He also had a Facebook Watch cooking series called Big Chicken Shaq, so the former NBA-er knows his food. Could end up being an interesting alternative content for your sports-themed operation.
LEARN FROM A SEAL
Why it matters to you: There is a leadership lesson in the Navy Seal story.
If you run a big organization, you can be tempted to intervene where you see fit. Sometimes you might think it is downright necessary. But the question should always be asked, “How will this impact the folks below me who are supervising our teams in the field?” This is the exact scenario the Navy found itself as President Trump intervened to save Eddie Gallagher, the Seal convicted of taking an inappropriate picture with a dead combatant. When the President blocked the Navy’s review and directed them to restore Gallagher’s rank, he clearly felt that his intervention was necessary to avoid a greater injustice. He is the Commander in Chief and has every right to deliver such an order. Unfortunately, life is more complicated than just making direction and the consequences be damned. Each of you that runs a restaurant for your company is like a platoon commander and responsible for the safety and performance of your team.
When the big wigs make edicts from on high, they sometimes just don’t appreciate the situation on the ground they are trying to influence. This is further exacerbated if the issues happen in public or if the contradict a previously delivered direction from a lower level of their management structure. This is what happened here. Because the President publicly announced his opposition (100% his right), he threw one of his key organizations into chaos. Had he kept the conversation private this controversy likely never would have transpired. The clear lesson is that if you are going to contradict your own internal management, it must be done privately and to get their compliance before moving forward to avoid eroding your rank and file team’s confidence in their local leadership.
[Source: Forbes]
LET US EATER-TAIN YOU [Song]
Why it matters to you: Is the eater-tainment segment in trouble?
In July, Cracker Barrel committed to invest $140 million into upstart eater-tainment chain Punch Bowl Social. The goal was to grow the brand to 100 units by identifying a smaller foot print that would be easier to develop and have access to more prime locations. Unfortunately, the first step in that process was a prototype unit in Fort Worth, TX that closed after only four months of operation. Cracker Barrel CEO Sandy Cochran says she still expects their new partner to hit that 100-store mark and blames this test failure on site selection. The outside fear is that the concept doesn’t work unless it’s as scale, which would be a blow to their growth plan, but also calls into question the eater-tainment concept all together. From Dave & Buster’s to Top Golf, there are plenty of successful examples of this format driving traffic and huge sales. So, this smaller scale test failure may be a decent allegory for your operation.
If you were considering committing to an enhanced entertainment approach, going full-scale video games and skee ball might not be your best option. This slimmed down version didn’t appear to find traction and likely it’s because the scale simply didn’t provide sufficient draw to justify the focus on entertainment. Before you make any big commitments there yourself, consider a smaller test of your own. For example, at very little up front expense you could begin hosting an eSports/eGaming event at your location. If there is an appetite for it, you can grow it, but you won’t have to commit additional design or other major capital costs to see if this idea can work. That’s the problem Punch Bowl Social encountered and exactly what you can avoid by starting small and letting your guests determine what they want from your location.
[Source: Restaurant Business Online]
