PARTNER CONTENT
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Robust recruitment strategy
In order to ensure all these locations are managed to the highest standards, Front Range Holdings heavily prioritizes recruitment and staff retention. Austin shares insights into the company’ s variable recruitment strategy.“ As CEO, my primary focus over the last few years has been building a team of the best possible talent through a mix of internal retention, promotion of overlooked talent, and recruiting externally. While we have been fortunate to bring in some exceptional people, I believe the most instructive lesson we have learned through this process has been recognizing the untapped potential of our existing staff members. For instance, our current Vice President of Operations for Burger King initially held an operations support role at Jimmy John’ s before we merged the companies. After speaking with him and learning about his extensive background – he had spent over ten years in the restaurant industry as a trainer and operations specialist – we gave him the opportunity to run our KFC brand in Tulsa and Reno. When the time came for a leadership transition in our Burger King team, we promoted him to Vice President of Operations for that brand.
“ In terms of external hires, we have brought on a very impressive Vice President of Human Resources, Jason Leffel, with 30 years of experience across both restaurant and non-restaurant industries. This person possesses a deep understanding of the franchise space and how to support a broad-based company operating in nearly half of the US. Equally important is our Chief Operating Officer, whom I personally recruited. He previously worked with me at Tim Hortons in Toronto and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School. His unique blend of business expertise from his MBA and hands-on experience in field operations at Tim Hortons allows him to bridge both worlds seamlessly, giving him an exceptional grasp of franchise management,” he elaborates. Lastly, we hired David Mora as our CFO last May. He has an excellent background in
finance and accounting, as well as an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.”
Data-driven insights
Hiring the best available talent has not only facilitated franchise management for Front
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