Initial Management Consulting Project

By: Sam Marr, Sarah Ann Holcombe, SarahGrace Gable, and Thomas Chastain

Chick-fil-A : 488 Morrison Moore Pkwy E Dahlonega, GA 30533

Landon Wallis and Lauren Poss: Director’s of Human Relations

Table of Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Managing Employees for Competitive Advantage Part A………………………………………. 4

Managing Employees for Competitive Advantage Part B………………………………………...5

Organizational Demands and Environmental Influences Part A………………………………….6

Organizational Demands and Environmental Influences Part B………………………………….7

Regulatory Issues Part A………………………………………………………………...………. 8

Regulatory Issues Part B………………………………………………………………………….9

Job Design and Job Analysis Part A………………………………………………………...…...10

Job Design and Job Analysis Part B……………………………...……………………………...11

Workforce Planning Part A………………………………………………………………………12

Workforce Planning Part B………………………………………………………………………13

Recruitment Part A…………………………………………………………………………...….14

Recruitment Part B ………………………………………………………………………………15

Selection Part A……………………………………………………………………………….....16

Selection Part B…………………………………………………………………………………..17

 Introduction

In 1946, Truett Cathy opened a small 24-hour diner named the Dwarf Grill in Hapeville,

Georgia. The Dwarf Grill became the backbone of what would eventually become one of the

most successful fast-food restaurants in the United States; Chick-fil- A. After testing over a

hundred recipes, in 1964, the original chicken sandwich was born. Truett Cathy offered a variety

of meals centering around chicken, the most famous one being the Chicken Sandwich with

pickles. People loved the Chicken Sandwich so much that Cathy renamed his business to

“Chick-fil-A” to sound like the words “chicken filet” in 1967. That same Chicken Sandwich

recipe that was used back then is still being used today. In 1984 Chick-fil-A established its very

own corporate headquarters located right outside Atlanta. Truett Cathy believed the most

important part of his company were the employees. By valuing his employees, he chose to close

Chick-fil-A on Sundays. He wanted them to have time to rest, spend time with their loved ones,

and have the opportunity to worship on Sunday’s if they wanted. He believed that by

implementing a strong and caring culture that employees would have a successful and fulfilling

career. This is still held true today.

Chick-fil-A has grown to be one of, if not the top, fast-food chain in their past

seventy-seven years of business. There are more than 2,700 restaurants across the United States,

Canada, and Puerto Rico and is still continuing to grow. Even during the pandemic, after having

to close over 2,000 dining rooms, Chick-fil-A continued to thrive and their profits continued to

soar. We believe the reason for this is because of the quality and consistency of Chick-fil-A's

employees, and how they were able to adapt during a fast changing time. Chick-fil-A has always

had a consistent training program for their employees and it’s stayed consistent since the

company’s first day of business in 1946.

Chapter 1: Managing Employees for Competitive Advantage

Part A:

Chick-fil-A’s competitive advantage comes from their dedication to provide excellent

service to their employees. At Chick-fil-A, they strive to be flexible in their scheduling and

encourage a strong work/life balance. It is important that their employees feel wanted in their

work environment and know the importance of their role in the company. They train all

employees by immersing them into each workstation so that they are able to understand the value

of the different positions. By doing this, it creates a low turnover rate for their employees

because they enjoy doing their job and comprehend the value that it holds. Chick-fil-A

consistently meets the needs of their employees by allowing them the appropriate time to spend

between work and their families. Furthermore, Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, chose to

close the restaurants on Sundays so that there is sufficient time for employees to have a strong

family life. They do not overschedule their employees and they give an adequate amount of time

for the employees to request off to accommodate those needed dates. Allowing their employees

to have a voice in the company increases employee retention, which is overall what sets them

apart from other fast-food restaurants in the surrounding area.

Chapter 1: Managing Employees for Competitive Advantage

Part B:

S: Chick-fil-A encourages a strong work/life balance, has a supportive environment, and is

flexible with employee scheduling.

W: Chick-fil-A can have a higher turnover rate due to the level of responsibility and

accountability each worker has and the stigma that is around the company.

O: Connecting with schools, such as UNG Dahlonega, to emphasize visibility in the community.

It is something that not many other fast-food restaurants do besides Subway.

T: Other fast-food restaurants implementing the same techniques Chick-fil-A uses as a way to

gain employees and pay them more.

Recommendation: Chick-fil-A has a very strong competitive advantage compared to many

other fast-food chains. They value their employees and have created a work environment where

each individual task is important to the success of the store. The recommendation that we suggest

to you is to get out into the community. The emergence of the Chick-fil-A Dahlonega into the

community can be exemplified by sponsoring events, showing up at career fairs, and giving

lunch to teachers at surrounding schools. This will furthermore emphasize their competitive

advantage. By doing this, they are putting faces to the company name. They are building

connections and becoming more personable to their customers who support them each and every

day.
Chapter 2: Organizational Demands and Environmental Influences

Part A:

Chick-fil-A is not your average fast food restaurant. As mentioned in Chick-fil-A’s

competitive advantage, their dedication to their customer is unmatched. The human resources

employee, Landon Wallis, accredited a lot of the organization's success to the kindness and

stewardship of their employees presented to their customers. Chick-fil-A primarily has a strategy

of differentiation; their company culture and quality food allows them to set themselves to a

higher standard of fast food. According to the general population their menu is incomparable to

their counterparts in the industry. The combination between good food and great customer

service has positioned Chick-fil-a to be the best in the industry. Wallis described the culture of

the company to be “like family”, Which is different from the average fast-food company.

Relative to other fast-food chains, they are a medium-sized company that is well into its maturity

phase. This makes them very stable and able to take risks. Their size and regional influence

allows them to tailor their service and culture to that of their geographic location.
Chapter 2: Organizational Demands and Environmental Influences

Part B:

S: Chick-fil-A has unmatched customer service.Their menu options are at a higher quality than

regular fast food chains.

W: Customer service can vary based on employee moods.

O: Continue training to enhance customer service.

T: Having a good customer service can be easily replicated by competitors

Recommendation: Chick fil-a does a fantastic job with diversification and is used as a

benchmark for the rest of the industry. If one of the employees happens to have a bad day, or a

customer creates a hostile environment which could damage reputation. A recommendation I

would give to Chick-fil-a would be to monitor the mental health of their employees. If an

employee messes up their strategy could be damaged.

Chapter 3: Regulatory Issues

Part A:

Chick-fil-A has a reputation for excellent customer service and delivering value to their

customers. They do that by hiring qualified, enthusiastic, positive, and adaptable employees.

Many people have noticed the strong role religion plays in the company culture, so naturally

people who also have strong religious values tend to gravitate towards working at a Chick-fil-A.

Landon Wallis explained that their operator Tony has noticed that high schoolers and college

students tend to be the highest rate of people who apply at their location. With that being said,

they realize that some of the people that get left behind are people who are 40 and over. Tony

believes however that if you invest the necessary time and energy in those potential employees,

they are just as valuable as the younger demographic. Landon also stated that over 50% of their

kitchen staff is over the age of 50 and hispanic. Regarding race and ethnicity, Chick-fil-A does

two rounds of interviews and he explained that Chick-fil-A has certain standards you must meet

in order to be employed there. Some of the standards are that you can’t have unnaturally colored

hair or long nails and this is due to health hazards and cleanliness. Other than those type of

concerns, Chick-fil-A does not discriminate against potential hires. Landon even said that during

the entire interview process, people are asked that if they feel discriminated against to please

speak up and voice your concerns.

Chapter 3: Regulatory Issues

Part B:

S: Chick-fil-A has a dependable and consistent hiring process that has proven to be successful

since 1964. It is positive that they have three rounds of interviews and an extensive training

process.

W: One weakness I would say Chick-fil-A has is not recruiting people of color more extensively.

O: One opportunity Chick-fil-A could take advantage of is to be more involved in community

programs.

T: One threat Chick-fil-A has is being scrutinized on social media for being too “white” and

religious. In our current climate, it is so easy for others to criticize a company if they think at all

that company might be racist.

Recommendation: Chick-fil-A could improve greatly on the amount of community involvement

they partake in and donate to non-profit shelters in Dahlonega. I also feel like they could be more

involved in the Lumpkin County school events and UNG college sports events. By getting

involved in community events and programs, Chick-fil-A has a huge opportunity to change the

perceptions some people have about the company. They also could start recruiting on campus

and specifically reaching out to people of color and letting them know how many opportunities

Chick-fil-A offers to college students. I do believe that the way Chick-fil-A hires and trains their

employees has been working for them for many years, but by making minor improvements they

could really change the perceptions people may have about the company.
Chapter 4: Job Design and Job Analysis

Part A:

Job Design is what role each job plays, how employees will perform their jobs, and how

the employees need to interact with coworkers in an organization. Job analysis is identifying the

task that each job will perform and the skills and competencies to complete it. The Chick-Fil-A

human resource employee, Landon Wallis, compared the organization to a “Well oiled machine”.

There are many moving parts, but without one person it does not run nearly as efficiently.

Within the organization, job design is split between the front of house and back of house. The

front of the house consists of a front counter, drive through, baggers, and team members (hosts).

Back of the house contains fryers, boxers, breeders, and a cold bar. These jobs are separate but

all rely on each other for the finished product. Each employee has their own set task depending

on where they are scheduled for the day. The job design of CFA could be compared to an

assembly line. Employee task identification is low, but by giving each person a specific job the

finished product is streamlined. Chick-fil-a removes any excessive work they can to make each

job as simple as possible. Chick-fil-a employees can also track their performance in real time.

The front and back of house have a screen that times order completion for their area. Once an

order has been in an area for too long it is prioritized by color.

Chapter 4: Job Design and Job Analysis

Part B:

S: Everything runs smoothly because everyone knows what to do. Every employee is cross

trained so they can assist other work areas if needed, this also gives employees some diversity in

their day-to-day operations.

W: While things are running efficiently, employees may be stuck performing the same task over

and over. This can negatively impact their sense of task identity which can make their job feel

less meaningful.

O: Chick-Fil-A is able to shift employees to different areas and tasks in order to compensate for

times when their workforce is decreased. This means more hours for employees who are willing

and more days off for those who need them. This makes them an attractive employer to new

hires rather than their competitors.

T: Some employees may prefer to stay in one job and only be trained in their particular area. This

may make competitors more attractive for their simplicity.

Recommendation : I think something they can do is increase task variety and identity to

continually change employees’ primary tasks so that their job feels fresh and they can find out

which tasks they are best at or prefer.

Chapter 5: Workforce Planning

Part A:

Workplace planning is the process of making sure individuals with the right skills are

where they need to be at the right time to meet a firm's current and future needs. Chick-fil-a is a

very efficient company and they contribute a large amount of this to their planning. To make sure

all positions are filled by the appropriate people is a large task performed by multiple managers.

Workforce planning is conducted on a weekly and bi-weekly basis depending on the staff

available. A large number of Chick-fil-A's employees are college and high school students.

Compared to a post education employee the challenges associated with scheduling students can

become confusing. Chick-fil-a is able to schedule students around their class schedule, but the

schedule can be interrupted when students need time off to study for a large exam or to work on

their HR projects. The HR employee of Chick-Fil-A stated that the schedules that their

employees have are vastly different and it can be challenging to keep everyone in order.

Chick-fil-a employees have an app that employees and managers can interact within. However

once the schedule is posted it is harder for the managers to make changes. As stated previously a

large portion of staff is college students which could imply a labor shortage during the break.

When posed with this question Wallis noted that the demand decreases dramatically equalling

out the labor shortage issue.

Chapter 5: Workforce Planning

Part B:

S: Chick-fil-A has a strong workforce that is equal to the demand during the different seasons.

W: College students are a large portion of staff. Schedules for these employees vary throughout

the semester which complicates scheduling.

O: Chick-fil-A works well with college students for their schedule. They have the opportunity to

staff more college students.

T: Chick-fil-A relies on cyclical supply and demand of employees and customers. If too many

college students stayed during the summer there could be potential layoffs. If there was an

increase of demand during one of the breaks Chick-fil-A could require more employees.

Recommendations: They can potentially improve by hiring more employees that are more than

seasonal to decrease the chance of having surpluses or shortages when seasons change and

employees come and go.

Chapter 6: Recruitment

Part A:

Chick-fil-A uses a variety of techniques to recruit individuals. Oftentimes, there is a sign

on the outside of the store or on the road to indicate that they are in need of employees.

Chick-fil-A’s success for recruiting their employees comes directly from the desire of individuals

to work for such a well-known company. Their recruitment is limited, especially in Dahlonega,

because of the demographic’s surrounding the store. Chick-fil-A Dahlonega is in a college town

and therefore spends little to nothing on recruiting individuals to work for the company because

the students flock to them. Another technique Chick-fil-A uses is their social media sites.

Instagram and Facebook are popular amongst many generations, which allows them to reach a

variety of ages to work for them. With a simple engaging post, Chick-fil-A can have a large

number of applications over a short period of time. By emphasizing their social media accounts

and making the applications easily accessible to all, they have created a very effective

recruitment system. Furthermore, just using the simple word-of-mouth technique has helped the

company grow as well. Individuals who work for the company and enjoy their job express that to

their friends and family, which in turn creates a pool of people wanting to work for Chick-fil-A

and concurrently reduces the money and efforts put forth into unnecessary recruitment.
Chapter 6: Recruitment

Part B:

S: Chick-fil-A’s reputation and excellent customer experience makes them one of the number one

places college students want to work for in Dahlonega. Because of this, they don’t have to

extensively recruit like most companies.

W: One weakness with this is the fact that you get the same kind of people working at

Chick-fil-A and not enough diverse individuals are being recruited.

O: Chick-fil-A has an opportunity to find more ways to hire individuals that don’t always fit the

exact mold they are looking for. This gives the opportunity for individuals who would not

normally seek employment at Chick-fil-A to want to be that person to inspire others to also work

there.

T: A potential threat that Chick-fil-A may experience is Zaxby’s recruiting employees in places

that Chick-fil-A normally dominates, such as our college campus.

Recommendation: Chick-fil-A does a fantastic job using their social media to recruit potential

employees, but may be missing the opportunity to go out into the community and search for

people who wouldn’t normally apply at Chick-fil-A. Although with all of our research, it does

seem to be a fact that people flock to work at Chick-fil-A, so they may not have exercised their

full potential in the selection process.

Chapter 7: Selection

Part A:

Chick-Fil-A takes personal schedules into account when selecting hires for different

roles. For example, students are hired for evening shifts to accommodate class schedules. Landon

also gave an example of how there are multiple women who are bus drivers for the middle

school. That means they only work in the morning and afternoon so they get hired for

middle-of-the-day shifts. They prefer to hire internally. For context, only one manager at the

Dahlonega location has been hired externally. Chick-Fil-A looks for talent within franchises and

tries to give positions based on the employee's desired career path in order to develop them

professionally. When the company does choose to hire externally, they have the incoming

manager work through each position at the franchise. This includes but is not limited to shift

manger, team member, HR, cashier, etc. This is part of their training before they begin their role

so they can become well acquainted with the organization. This allows them to understand the

jobs, tasks, and responsibilities of each of their employees, giving them a better ability to

organize their workforce in an informed and empathetic way.

Chapter 7: Selection

Part B:

S: Since they have a mostly positive reputation and are seen as a good place to work, they have

lots of candidates to choose from. By hiring managers from talent within the company they are

able to maintain a consistent company culture across all their franchises which aids in employee

involvement and retention.

W: By primarily choosing to hire from within the company, they may perpetuate certain

problems rather than hiring someone with an outside perspective who would be better equipped

to make necessary changes.

O: Their method of selection could allow them the opportunity to promote entry-level workers

all the may to corporate level positions, giving the entire company unique perspectives from

every level of management.

T: They risk missing out on outside talent that may perceive the company as only hiring

internally. This could give their competitors an advantage in terms of upcoming trends.

How can the company improve in this respect? What are your suggestions to the company?

Recommendation: Something Chick-Fil-A already participates in are career fairs, however

these primarily target college aged individuals. If they are seeking more experienced workers

with outside perspectives, they could begin to market themselves as a good business for older

managers to enter in order to share their wisdom with upcoming managers.

Chapter 8: Learning and Development

Part A:

For training and development Chick-fil-A does two different training courses for

upcoming employees. They have what is called a “check point” where a trainer goes through

with the newly hired employees and goes around with them making sure they know how to do

everything in the front and in the kitchen. If the employee is brand new, they have four different

training sessions over order taking, bagging orders, dining room service, and window service.

For future learning and development, Chick-fil-A offers leadership classes spanning from how to

do well in an interview, to what does integrity mean and how you can apply that in real life

terms. All the executives at Chick-fil-A rotate on which classes they teach the employees.

Chick-fil-A does not charge their employees to take these classes, they offer them free of charge

because they want their employees to grow and be successful. The head of human resource’s,

Landon Wallace used to be a part of the in-store training process where they have what they call

a “technology day” the week after an employee gets hired to go through the history of the store

and the core values of the company. The training is delegated through so many hours for trainees

and they evenly divide out the hours so they can be sure that everyone is being trained around the

same time.
Chapter 8: Learning and Development

Part B:

S: Chick-fil-A’s strength in learning & development is providing free classes for employees to

improve themselves and become more successful.

W: One weakness this company has is that their training program may be too boring and too age

specific due to the required “technology day”.

O: One opportunity Chick-fil-A has is being able to train a large number of employees in a two

day time frame.

T: Innovative technology might become a threat to the older generation of employees, and

Chick-fil-A could potentially lose those employees because of the required technology usage to

start at the company.

Recommendation: I would recommend that Chick-fil-A condense their training program into

one day instead of two. The reason for this is because it might be overwhelming for some new

employees to have two days full of information plus having an extra day spent just on the

computer. Chick-fil-A does a fantastic job training their employees, so it’s hard to make

suggestions when what they do currently is working well for the company.
Chapter 9: Performance Management

Part A:

Performance management is an essential component to all businesses and is a crucial

ingredient for their success. As for personal performance management, all orders are tracked on a

timed screen. Throughout the business day there are several moments where the screens turn red.

The red symbolizes that there is a hold up in operation. Since chick-fil-A is run by humans there

will be errors. For example, the person running the fryers forgot to drop a batch of fries in time

and has caused a hold up in the drive thru line. Besides a manager potentially getting onto the

employee there are not many individual performance metrics in place for employees. Landon

Wallis explained to me that group culture is very important in the Chick-fil-A. This culture

seems to carry throughout performance. Everyone is measured together. Oftentimes, there are

employees that will stick out within their position. Regardless if their performance was good or

bad this is evaluated every three months. During this review if an employee has a history of great

performance they are given PPP (Pay, Praise, or Promotion). Given the current profitability of

the location they allocate these resources accordingly. If an employee has had a history of bad

performance those in leadership positions will move this employee to a different position in the

organization, continue training this employee, or terminate them.

Chapter 9: Performance Management

Part B:

S: Chick-fil-A does a great job at tracking group performance. Regardless of the daily

interruption that may occur during operation. They have screens that they can point towards the

origin of the issue. The PPP system that they implemented has worked for the corporation for

several years. Even if the location does not have the necessary funds to pay or promote

employees they still have the option to praise the employees that perform well.

W: One of the weaknesses CFA possesses is the ability to track individual performance. At the

moment they are only concerned with the performance of the business as a whole.

O:Chick-fil-a is a wide spread company and it has the capability to implement a new

performance management matrix at a few locations without having to push a potential failure

upon all of their stores.

T: Chick-fil-a Could lose great employees to other organizations due to the lack of consistent

individual management.

Recommendation: Since there is no way to track individual performance during the review the

employee could be subject to biases that the management may possess. Chick-fil-A should

implement a system that can track individual performance.

Chapter 10: Compensating Employees

Part A:

Chick-fil-A’s compensation system is quite simple. Over the years, the company has been

known to pay their employees at the market rate for part-time employees. Up until a few years

ago, that amount was seven dollars and twenty-five cents. Those jobs include: front and back of

the house, drive-thru, baggers, and greeters. Due to inflation, Chick-fil-A’s compensation rate has

increased dramatically. As of 2023, the market-rate for part-time, fast-food workers is between

ten and twelve dollars. Chick-fil-A is now on the upper side of the market-rate, with the

company having a thirteen dollar base pay amount. At Chick-fil-A, the PPP (Pay, Praise, or

Promote) system also contributes to the employees compensation. PPP is a performance review

system that is enacted every three months for all employees where they will receive feedback on

their work. The managers meet together over three to five days to review the performance of

each worker and then the managers come to a unanimous decision of which PPP the worker

should receive. Regarding compensation, those who were outstanding performers during the

three month period then receive a promotion or a raise. It is a very equitable system for the

employees and manager to ensure the compensation is given out fairly.

Chapter 10: Compensating Employees

Part B:

S: Chick-fil-A has a very effective compensation system by using the PPP method. The company

tries to ensure that the employee compensation is a fair process when giving monetary rewards.

The company also gives one of the higher hourly-rate amounts compared to other fast-food

restaurants.

W: The PPP system could be taken advantage of if some managers have better relations with

certain employees over others. It could lead to biased results that favor some employees while

being a constant fear in others. If a certain manager is close to individual employees, those

individuals might be the ones who are always getting promotions and raises.

O: Because Chick-fil-A has a lower hourly-rate, there is a greater opportunity for employees to

grow out of the fast-food role for them to potentially move-up in the company or continue their

higher education.

T: Chick-fil-A’s hourly rate is not the highest it could be compared to other fast-food chains. For

example, McDonald’s is willing to pay over fifteen dollars as an hourly-rate base pay for new

and training employees. That is two dollars more than what Chick-fil-A is offering as of today.

Recommendation: We recommend that Chick-fil-A include an outside performance review

worker that can give an unbiased decision of workers when it comes to monetary rewards. The

compensation as a whole is an effective system, but needs to ensure that the rewards are given

out fairly.
Chapter 11: Incentives and Rewards

Part A:

As an individual franchise, this Chick-fil-A does not have a whole lot in the way of

rewards and incentives, but the company as a whole offers many. Chick-fil-A sponsors

inter-franchise competitions like cookie selling competitions. The reward for winning the

competition was quite significant. The entire store received bonus funding that allowed them to

purchase new equipment and offer pay raises for all workers. Chick-fil-A also offers a variety of

scholarships and financial aid for their workers. These scholarships can reach up to $25,000 for

employees seeking a college degree. These higher-end scholarships are also geared toward

managers within franchises so that they can seek out higher education and become even more

productive members in the company. This also creates upward movement in the company and

incentivizes employees to stay with the company in order to become better educated and reach

higher paying positions.

Chapter 11: Incentives and Rewards

Part B:

S: One strength that Chick-fil-A has is they reward their employees with pay raises which will

make their employees want to continue to work there. By offering to pay for student employee’s

financial aid for college, gives them the advantage of students wanting to work for the company.

W: It’s hard to point out a weakness because Chick-fil-A does a fantastic job compensating and

rewarding their employees. If I had to say one weakness, it would be that they don’t have any

casual incentives for employees who just work there as individuals and aren’t working towards a

college degree.

O: Chick-fil-A offering to help pay for student’s financial aid and offering many scholarship

programs for employee’s working toward a college degree gives them a great opportunity to

attract upstanding hard working educated employees with goals and aspirations.

T: One threat Chick-fil-A has is that other companies such as Mcdonalds may offer more

incentives and more opportunities to raise the pay, which may make people want to work for

them instead of Chick-fil-A.

Recommendation: Chick-fil-A does a great job incentivizing their employees, but I would

recommend that they make it easier to get pay raises and have a set amount of time for

employees to have evaluations every 6 months. If the employee is doing well, they should

reward them by offering them a free meal off shift or a small pay raise.
Chapter 12: Employee Benefits and Safety Programs

Part A:

All employees receive a daily $8 break food allowance. This allows employees to eat in

the store and incentivizes them to stay nearby for their break. It also makes them more invested

in the quality of the food they are serving since they are also eating it. Full-time employees

receive accrue vacation hours after their first full year and continue to do so as long as they

remain full-time. All employees have access to a healthcare and dental care package. This is an

opt-in deal because the company pays for half of the insurance while the employee pays for the

other half. Since many of their employees are high school and college students, they are still on

their parents’ healthcare plans and don’t need this benefit. Landon said that this package was

more important to graduating students who are no longer dependents for the first time.
Chapter 12: Employee Benefits and Safety Programs

Part B:

S: The benefits provided are broad and acceptable to all employees. They provide important

resources to the employees without incurring too much cost on the company.

W: Their main benefit program does not apply to a large section of their employee base. This

could mean that they are missing out on some people that would work there if there was

something more applicable.

O: Chick-fil-A offers more benefits than most other companies of the same caliber. This gives

them an edge in retention and recruiting.

T: The 50-50 healthcare may become overshadowed by new prospects for graduating students.

This means that these graduates may want to leave the company in favor of a more appealing

benefits program for their first-time insurance.

Recommendation: A potential improvement for Chick-fil-A is to have varying levels of

healthcare benefits for different employees. Ones that have been with the company longer could

gradually see a larger percentage of their insurance being paid by the company. Another

improvement might be creating a system where students that are dependent can get a benefit that

give their parents some kind of tax relief or bonus towards their health insurance plan.
Chapter 13: Labor Unions and Employees Management

Part A:

When asking Landon if there were any Chick-fil-A labor unions the only answer given

was “Not that I’m aware”. However, based on post interview research, we discovered that there

is a small emerging Union for Chick-fil-a employees named CFA Workers United. There has

been a growing trend of fast food chain workers forming Unions to maintain a fair wage, and a

voice for their company. There have been few success stories for these groups. The majority of

fast food workers see their employment as temporary. Since most of these employees don’t see

themselves having a career with the chain, most find it unnecessary to join a union. Chick-fil-a

compensates its employees well. Almost all of their positions are compensated slightly above the

market. Wallis noted that to his knowledge no one in the Dahlonega location has voiced their

opinion on forming a union. In some Industries, labor Unions are very common. Not only are

they common, but historically they have been good. Unions are powerful when they have a large

number of members. In Chick-fil-A’s case, they currently don't have the size to enforce any

change within the company. Based on the information given in the interview, this location cares

about their employees and will listen to their employee concerns without the need for a labor

union.
Chapter 13: Labor Unions and Employees Management

Part B:

S: Chick-fil-A does a great job at listening to their employees so the need for a labor union is

unnecessary.

W: Due to the job being a temporary solution for most employees, they are unable to form a

strong union.

O: If a Union was to be formed there could be needed change to the company that may be

overlooked if presented by one employee.

T: If a large enough people joined a union they could have to change in a direction that does not

support their core values

Recommendation: Based on the information given in the interview. The need for a labor union

is currently not needed. There may be exceptions for stores in other locations, but the location in

Dahlonega has given solutions for problems that have occurred. A Chick-fil-a Union may grow

in power in the future but at the moment there is no concern.

Chapter 14: Creating High-Performing HR Systems

Part A:
Chapter 14: Creating High-Performing HR Systems

Part B:

S:

W:

O:

T: