Crew Today, Leader Tomorrow

Front Row: Yolanda Johnson, Britten Petty, Jaboris Blackwell

Middle Row: Tykeshia Brown, Anthony Courtney, Elysia Perry, Sheila Patterson, Tiara Cornelius, Katie Smith

Back Row: Cody Poole, Mary Quinlin, A.J. Johnson, Pam Pruitt, Malcolm Carter, Mike Rogerson

Ponder Enterprises, Inc. completed its second set of Shift Leader classes on November 20, 2013. Shift Leaders must attend the following classes:

Crew Today, Leader Tomorrow

Coaching

Person in Charge

Ponder Enterprises Financial Class

The last class introduces the Shift Leaders to Ponder’s P&L to include definitions of certain accounts, EBITDAR, and how to use IMS reports to track down inventory loss. Once the loss is identified, develop a plan of action to correct loss. The Shift Leader’s final exam is to review the P&L and IMS reports to identify areas that their sample restaurant can improve their contribution to Ponder’s bottom line.

In a continual effort to refine the classes, new General Managers go through the classes as students; not coaches. This gives the new G.M. an idea of what is expected of their Shift Leaders and opens up opportunities to Coach new Shift Leaders through difficult situations using material covered in the classes. In this class, Malcolm Carter, the new G.M. of the Hardee’s of Quincy, and Pam Pruitt, the new G.M. of the Hardee’s of Ozark participated in the classes.

Following Ponder Enterprises’ tradition, all participants were treated to a steak dinner cooked by Ernest Ponder, Vice-President of Operations for lunch of the final class. After their final exam, there was a short graduation ceremony. This gave Mike Rogerson, Director of Training, an opportunity to review how each participant had grown in their abilities during the 5 months. Mike also challenged these Shift Leaders to go back to their restaurants and use the information given over the last 5 months. Use their fellow participants as a resource when issues arise. To be the “Man in the Arena.” The District Managers also gave advice to the Shift Leaders.

Shift Leaders have only to complete their In-Restaurant Exercise given in the Person in Charge class. Every Ponder’s Shift Leader is certified in shift control by at least 2 upper management personnel. Between these classes, using the Shift Leader Selection process, Shift Leader workbooks, and completing a certification Ponder Enterprises is building its strongest management teams ever.

A special thank you goes to the District Managers and seasoned General Managers who took time out to be coaches for the class. Of course, it is easy to get coaches when Ernest cooks! Seriously, the input that coaches gave helped keep the participants on track. All classes were made easier with their help.

Since 2012 when these classes began, Ponder Enterprises has had 89 Shift Leaders and Restaurant Managers go through all four classes. Ponder Enterprises operates 24 Hardee’s restaurants in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

Mike Rogerson
Director of Training and Special Projects

Happy 25th Anniversary Hartford!!

Hartford celebrated its 25^th Anniversary on July 24^th!   It was a fun filled day which included honoring two of its valued employees - Mary Boykin and Mike Jarrett,  who have been with Hardee’s of Hartford since it opened in 1988.  They were presented with gifts and a cake.  The day also included specials for its patrons -- BOGO Texas Toast Breakfast Sandwiches during breakfast hours and $0.49 hamburgers & $0.59 cheeseburgers from 11-1pm.  Coupons and goodies were given away and we raffled off 25 Free Biscuits for a year & 25 Free 1/3 lb. Thickburgers for a year!! 

A special thanks to those who came out to celebrate this special day for Ponder and Hartford!!

 

SuperStar Service Rally

Ponder Enterprises held it’s SuperStar Service Rally for the General Managers on June 26^th. The rally started with an exercise that helped all in attendance deal with the positive & negative  consequences of making changes. Then each district was required to come up with a cheer or “war chant” detailing SuperStar Service. You will see in the videos that each district had a lot of fun and put a lot of thought into their cheer! Next came the skits; again a lot of thought was put into their skits!

 

District 1 Cheer

 

 

District 2 Cheer

 

 

District 3 Cheer

With the fun out of the way. We all looked at what the customer’s feedback for 2013 was telling Ponder Enterprises on how we were doing and where we needed to improve. All were surprised that “Slow Service” was not the customers’ major complaint; it was ‘Rude/Argumentative Service”. The group then took 6 incidences that happened in the restaurants and then by developing a SuperStar Service attitude they figured out how these incidents could and would be handled in the future. There was good news in that in the last six weeks, Ponder Enterprises restaurants have received more compliments through the Sync line so far this year than in all of 2012!!

To drive home that SuperStar Service cannot be a program from the Operations Manual, all General Managers were given the book “The Simple Truths of Service” by Ken Blanchard & Barbara Glanz.  The PowerPoint presentation of Johnny was shown. This presentation drove home the point that true SuperStar service must come from the heart. We all found out that Johnny made a difference because he chose to, not because he had to.

External and internal guests were identified. The discussion then got very active in deciding what three areas  that all Ponder Enterprises restaurants would change and improve with every internal and external guest. The next step is that meetings will be held in each restaurant by the District Manager and General Manager to get the idea and message to every employee; including showing the “Johnny” video. Our employees are the ones who will make this a success. We at Ponder Enterprises are empowering our employees to be Superstars of Service in the customer’s mind! We are holding everyone accountable for great customer experiences. We are excited to see the success that we will come in the weeks and years!!

Mike Rogerson
Director of Training and Special Projects

Ponder Enterprises Shift Leader Graduation

Ponder Enterprises has completed the latest series of Shift Leader Classes on June 19th. Ponder Enterprises has made the commitment to hold these series of classes twice a year. The classes that were held consisted of:

January 9^th – Crew Today, Leader Tomorrow Class

April 4^th – Coaching Class

May 22^nd – Person in Charge Class

June 19^th – Ponder Enterprises Financial Class

The final class introduces the participants to the P&L and how to read and critique their restaurant’s performance. This included a session that defined key concepts on the P&L such as amortization, depreciation, and EBITDAR. Participants learned how food cost is calculated on their P&L and what Ideal Food Cost means, as well as, GAP. IMS was introduced to the Shift Leaders and how they could use the software to better monitor and make improvements as needed in inventory control. Their final test was to take a P&L and critique the restaurant’s financial performance, both good & bad. If there were areas of improvement that was needed, their group had to decide on possible solutions to use to improve the restaurant’s performance.

The participants were treated to the traditional “Steak Dinner” cooked for them by Ernest Ponder, Vice-President of Operations. After a quick review of the day’s class, participants that completed all four classes were awarded certificates of completion of the required course work. Their final task is to complete the “In-Restaurant Exercise” that was given to each participant at the Person in Charge Class.

Shift Leader Classes begin again at Ponder Enterprises on July 10^th.

 

List of participants (based on picture):

First Row: Dean Blackburn, Director of Operations; Jolisa Blackshear, Hardee’s of Leesburg; Jacqueline Davis, Hardee’s of Tallahassee 8; Nicole Roberts, Hardee’s of Colquitt; Ashley Garrett, Hardee’s of Crawfordville; Sarah Gray, Hardee’s of Dothan 5; Sabrina Lindsey, Hardee’s of Dothan 2.

Second Row: Wanda Peterson, Hardee’s of Enterprise; Kimberllin Dillard, Hardee’s of Dawson; Mike Rogerson, Director of Training; Stephanie Reeves-Brooks, Hardee’s of Dothan 2

Back Row: David Morris, Hardee’s of Cairo; Zane May, Hardee’s of Hartford; Patty Mobiglia, Hardee’s of Hartford.

4th Annual Ride for Hope

PONDER ENTERPRISES HELPS LOCAL NON-PROFIT IN RIDE FOR HOPE

 

 Ponder Enterprises and Wiregrass Hope Group joined forces again for the 4^th Annual Ride for Hope on May 18, 2013.  The ride consisted of travelling around the Wiregrass area in Southeast Alabama and collecting store stamps from eight Ponder Enterprises Hardee’s locations.  Riders received a free drink at each stop, as well as coupons good for a free breakfast and lunch combo.  With a completed card, Riders were eligible to win grand prize cash money - $250, $500 & $1,000.

 

 

Despite a few morning rain showers, there were 163 riders and over $9,500 was raised.  This proved to be a record setting year for the Ride for Hope beating last year’s numbers with 33 more riders and $2,500 additional funds raised.  All of the proceeds went to Wiregrass Hope Group, a non-profit organization that extends hope and healing to individuals and families by offering practical assistance, addressing emotional needs, and encouraging spiritual growth through their Pregnancy Resource Center; Character & Relationship Education; Individual, Marriage and Pre-Marriage Counseling; and Fatherhood Program.

 

Ponder Enterprises team at the Ride.  

L to R: Owner, Dan Ponder; District Manager, Jim Lutyens; General Manager of Dothan 2, Kelly Vaughan; and Director of Marketing, Elizabeth Faulk

Hardee's Sponsors ADRL in Adel, GA

Hardee's is proud to partner with the ADRL in Adel, GA for their upcoming drag races on April 13th and 14th.  Find out more at http://www.adrl.us/ or visit your local southwest GA or North FL Hardee's to get free tickets to the races.

Best of Grady County

In the annual "Best of Grady County", conducted by the Cairo Messenger, the Hardee's of Cairo was voted Best Breakfast and Best Hamburger for the 4th year in a row!

Great job Cairo!

Thanks to everyone in Grady County who voted for Hardee's!

Excited to Donate to Midland City, AL

A few weeks ago the nation was captivated by a story that was unfolding in our backyard.  Midland City, AL, located just a few miles between our Ozark and Dothan restaurants, took center stage on all media outlets as the nation prayed for the safe outcome and return of little Ethan.  I'm sure all of you have heard of the wonderful news that Ethan was safely returned to his family after being held hostage in a bunker for a week.

What you may not have heard is about the heroes that worked tirelessly to bring him home.  The FBI, State Patrol, local police, EMT, Sheriffs and so many more were on hand 24 hours a day.  Destiny Church, just yards away from the main action, opened its doors to feed these workers.

While glued to each media report and feeling helpless, we found that there were two things we could do.  First, pray for Ethan and the outcome.  Second, provide biscuits.

After speaking to the chairman of the Salvation Army, Ponder Enterprises learned that they were having difficulty in providing breakfast to all the workers.  Working 12-hour shifts that changed at 6am and 6pm, meant for early breakfasts before many people were up and moving.

Excited that we could help, Hardee's provided a total of 250 biscuits over the course of three mornings.

We all have a small part we can play and Hardee's was proud to donate biscuits as the heroes accomplished their task of reuniting Ethan with his family.