Introduction
Imagine trying to run a business where you have to
replace every employee two or three times a year.
If that sounds chaotic, you can sympathize with the
challenge facing Rob Cecere when he took the job
of regional manager for a group of eight Domino’s
Pizza stores in New Jersey. In Cecere’s region,
store managers were quitting after a few months
on the job. The lack of consistent leadership at
the store level contributed to employee turnover
rates of up to 300 percent a year (one position
being filled three times in a year). In other words,
new managers constantly had to find, hire, and
train new workers—and rely on inexperienced
people to keep customers happy. Not surprisingly,
the stores in Cecere’s new territory were failing to
meet sales goals.
Cecere made it his top goal to build a stable team of store managers who in turn could
retain employees at their stores. He held a meeting with the managers and talked about
improving sales, explaining, “It’s got to start with people”: hiring good people and keeping
them on board. He continues to coach his managers, helping them build sales and motivate
their workers through training and patience. In doing so, he has the backing of Domino’s
headquarters. When the company’s former chief executive, David Brandon, took charge,
he was shocked by the high employee turnover (then 158 percent nationwide), and he
made that problem his priority. Brandon doubts the pay rates are what keeps employees
with any fast-food company; instead, he emphasizes careful hiring, extensive coaching, and
opportunities to earn promotions. In the years since Brandon became CEO, employee
turnover at Domino’s has fallen. And in New Jersey, Cecere is beginning to see results
from his store managers as well.