To accomplish the higher return, multiple people in the more competitive organization are doing something with talent that enables it to leverage this important asset better than the other
competitor. This might include the restaurant manager, policies driven by HR and senior leaders, a coach or leader of the restaurant managers, or even a recruiting firm—essentially anyone who
touches the talent life cycle in a way that enables talent investments to be leveraged effectively. For example, a common way in which this is done is through better training. In a recent study with one fast-food group, access to training has been found to be a major driver of business performance. Restaurant managers in the heat of competitive battle, or meeting cost
targets, might short circuit the complete training program, figuring that employees in this industry turn over quickly. But that thinking was proven faulty because those who did not train
their employees effectively experienced a significantly higher incidence of job failure. This led to greater staff turnover. Access to training enabled employees to be successful in front of customers and to stay on the job longer, spreading hiring and replacement costs over a longer period of time. The managers who provided effective training had lower overall labor costs, despite investing time and money in training.