1. Labor shortages and employee churn are among the QSR industry’s biggest challenges.
Mike: Merchants definitely can’t find enough people that, frankly, really can deliver at the high quality that they’re looking for.
One operator also shared this: “The problem is we can find people and hire them, but then they quickly learn that there are other easier jobs out there to make a similar amount of money than working in a quick service restaurant.”
2. Employee churn compromises service consistency.
Mike: The biggest challenge employee churn leads to is inconsistency. You have new people who have been trained in different ways – maybe they haven’t really been trained that well – and they’ve been thrown into the fire.
Consistency is one of the greatest values of being part of a quick service restaurant franchise. And this training challenge is causing that consistency to break down, which is then impacting the overall value that customers get from those restaurants.
3. Technology is here to help, but not every solution delivers on its promise.
Faizan: One thing to keep in mind is that, with the recent developments, there could be a lot of technological solutions out there. But at the end, what’s really important is that you have something that really works.
Partnering with a company that has a commitment to understanding and continuing to work in the restaurant space is really important.
4. SoundHound AI’s Employee Assist offers a voice AI solution to provide real-time answers and support.
Mike: Employee Assist is about putting all of the knowledge and content right in the ear of your employees.
So, instead of them having to thumb through manuals or depend on training from other employees who are busy and have other things to do, now any time there’s a question about anything that matters – whether it’s how to make something or maybe it’s something about the company policies and procedures – you now have all of that content right in your ear.
It can be delivered through a headset, and we partner with folks like HME, or it can be delivered through a tablet.
5. Employee Assist easily trains on a restaurant’s written and tacit knowledge.
Faizan: Identifying what that knowledge base is (for example: instruction manuals, ingredient lists, and nutritional information), having it ingested, and having the AI quickly train over it is just a matter of days.
And like any other technology, in the beginning, you would see there are certain nuances that get missed. There is a lot of tacit knowledge that is in a store manager’s head. It was never written down, but now managers can simply tell Employee Assist this undocumented information and the AI can use it for future interactions.
It’s important to call out that unlike other general purpose AI solutions that you work with, this AI is very, very specific to your restaurant.
6. Employees can’t access traditional manuals and documentation in real-time. Employee Assist provides immediate support.
Faizan: We hear from our partners that they would set up these elaborate trainings that would create a lot of documentation, but then it is forgotten. Employees would rather just wing it or guess, instead of actually referring to that information, because it’s not so easy to access it.
But now you replace it by just quickly speaking to an AI assistant… and get that answer right away.
7. Employee Assist helps staff navigate day-to-day tasks, as well as unexpected challenges.
Faizan: One other thing that we have seen with coffee shops is sometimes the espresso machine does not dispense hot water. That happens once in a while, but when it happens, people are not getting the coffee that they’re ordering.
These kinds of questions, a lot of times, are answered in manuals, but it’s just that they are spread all over the place. So, we have seen with deployments of Employee Assist that people have fixed espresso machines for the very first time.
8. Employees understand that Employee Assist supports rather than replaces them.
Faizan: We have definitely seen some challenges where, using it for the first time, people are skeptical. But I think once they pass that inflection point, they understand that it is helpful.
The other thing that happens usually at this moment, after they have tested and put some trust in this AI, is that they realize that it’s there to help them and it’s not a replacement.
9. With Employee Assist, new employees get up to speed faster and feel more confident.
Mike: New employees feel more like part of the team because they’re already more knowledgeable. They’re getting up the learning curve faster than we’ve ever seen them before and they can contribute.
Now, new employees are not just asking questions – they’re adding value.
10. Voice AI solutions like Employee Assist foster better work environments, improving staff retention and satisfaction.
Mike: Let’s face it, all these people want to deliver a great customer experience. And it’s challenging to do that. So, when you have these tools, you’re enabling them to do better, you’re improving efficiency, you’re reducing the cognitive load; employees feel like they’re doing a better job.
If people feel like they’re doing a great job and they feel less stressed, they stay longer. So, now you’re addressing that other huge challenge – that treadmill of hiring.
Begin Your Journey With Employee Assist
If you would like to dive deeper into any of these key takeaways, be sure to check out the on-demand webinar replay.
Interested in onboarding Employee Assist? Get in touch with one of our experts to discuss next steps. To learn more about Employee Assist and our other restaurant solutions, click here.
