guide questions Case Study Paying can COS For many businesses in todays belt-rightening economy, decisions on pay need to be Anl strategic to ensure that employees are treated fairly and to ensure that businesses can be remain viable. This requires knowing what your competitors pay their employees and ray knowing your own salary budget. But knowing what your competitors are paying can be both valuable and painful. As CEO of Costa Vida, a fast growing chain of fresh Mexican restaurants, Nathan DEG Gardner knew he was competing against some restaurant chains with competitive com- Bog pensation systems. Costa Vida is a fresh Mexican grill featuring Baja-inspired foods that are made from scratch daily. Following a trip to Cabo San Lucas on the Baja Coast in Mexico, Costa Vida founders JD and Sarah Gardner were inspired with a vision. Bring the freshly made local cuisine with the vibrant lifestyle to the United States. They started their first restaurant in 2001 and after just 10 years Costa Vida has more than 50 franchises in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Utah. One of the main challenges Costa Vida faces is the fierce competition for customers as well as employees. Youd be surprised how much of a difference having good employees in all areas of the business makes, commented the CEO. For the fast-casual food industry; remarked Nathan,you are dependent upon your people. If you dont treat your people well, they wont treat your customers well. If your customers arent treated well, you have no business. For months, Nathan ago- nized over how he could develop a competitive compensation plan that matched the objectives of the organization, but that fell in line with the tight budget of each indi- vidually owned franchise unit. He stated, We, of course, leave the final compensation decision to the franchise owner, but we do all we can to educate and persuade our franchisees to be competitive and fair. In the long run, this is how they
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