Dive Brief:
- Cava plans to hire 2,500 workers and expects to open over 75 new restaurants this year, the company said in a Tuesday press release.
- The company also added an assistant general manager role, which is meant to create a deeper bench of management to support ongoing unit growth. Cava originally planned to hire 150 AGMs this year and has already surpassed that goal.
- Cava had 12,900 employees in its restaurants last year, according to the company’s annual filing. If it is able to hire all 2,500 employees, its team member count will grow to 15,400, an increase of 19%.
Dive Insight:
This hiring push is part of the chain’s “Flavor Your Future” platform, which was developed late last year to create better pathways for growth within the company. Last year, the chain also promoted or advanced over 3,500 employees. Sixty percent of AGMs named since the role was added in December were promoted from within, according to the press release.
The AGM role is meant to improve day-to-day operations while providing development for future leaders, who can then move on to open restaurants in the future.
“Restaurants with AGM coverage are outperforming those without as AGMs provide additional leadership support during peak dinner and weekend shifts, strengthening operations, deepening the development of future team members and building more sustainable restaurant teams over time,” Cava Co-Founder, CEO and President Brett Schulman said during a May earnings call.
Cava is also boosting its benefit for general managers and has made all of the GMs eligible for long-term incentive equity grants, giving them a stake in the company, per the press release. GMs also have access to incentives tied to hiring and promotion performance that “align leadership growth with overall business impact,” the company said.
Cava also plans to roll out a “high-potential training program” this fall, Schulman said during the Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference at the end of May. This program will help cultivate team members with top potential so they will already have operational experience when they open new restaurants.
“Our Flavor Your Future initiative continues to show promise, focusing on attracting, developing and retaining talent across the organization,” Schulman said during the earnings call.
