Episode 187 · May 7, 2025 · 11:37
Courtney Martinez
Chief People Officer, Lou Malnati's Pizzeria
Why Your Employee Perks Fail: Building Trust is the Real Retention Strategy
Episode 187 · May 7, 2025 · 11:37
Why Your Employee Perks Fail: Building Trust is the Real Retention Strategy
Key moments
In Courtney's words
“My entire career has been built off this belief that's not what makes people stay. But more importantly, here at Lumen Alnatis, that is something that has been actively pursued by this organization for over 30 years. And we really do believe that the power of relationship, the power of honest feedback with each other, the power of having a relational business model, which is the foundation of Hulu, is the fact that creates that stickiness that you want for people to continue.”
“If you think that you have all the answers to all the questions, you would be mistaken. And walking into an industry such as ours, such as the restaurant industry, is a very dynamic, fast-moving, industry. And if you don't understand that you need to have resources, you need to have connections, you need to have relationships with people to help guide you through that, then you're going to be in for a tough road.”
“Feedback is a gift. You can choose to take it or not, but ultimately it's my responsibility to be honest with you. And I think that is really where we continue to drive and be so successful.”
Transcript
Read the transcript2,235 words
HostWelcome to the Built by People podcast, where we share the stories and insights of the world's top HR leaders. Join us as we dive deep into the minds of HR executives, uncovering their strategies, challenges, and triumphs in shaping today's workforce. I'm excited to welcome Courtney to the Built by People podcast. Courtney, thank you so much for joining us. And as a starting question, I always love to ask if you could share a little bit more about your career journey.
GuestHappy to be on the podcast. I appreciate the invite. My journey is a little bit unique in the fact that I started in retail at the age of 16 at my first gig and fell in love into HR. During that time, just really liked the idea of having people's eyes opened and learn new skills and be able to have an opportunity to be the form in which they learn those new skills and continued on through retail and fell into restaurants by way of trying to figure out what was next and have fallen in love with the restaurant industry and have been here ever since.
HostCourtney, you've mentioned in the past that networking has been crucial in your career path, having not applied for a job since age 16. Can you share specific examples of how networking has opened doors for you and what strategies you use to maintain meaningful professional relationships?
GuestYeah, that is one of my fun facts when I introduce myself. Sometimes I walked into the Gap when I was 16 and applied for a job. Since that time, through my belief that relationships really bring opportunities and fostering those relationships, it gives you this ability to see opportunities that maybe weren't available before. And so, yes, I actually have had the pleasure of connecting with people and reaching out to people. Those roles that I've had are through networks and relationship building and people remembering what value I can bring. Luckily, that has proven to be a positive experience for me.
HostCourtney, where you are now, you've achieved impressive employee retention and tenure among your staff. What specific cultural elements or practices have you implemented to contribute to that success beyond the typical perks and ping pong tables?
GuestYeah, that's a line I like to use a lot because I think that some HR practitioners think that ping pong tables or coffee bars or swag of the day might actually entice people to stay. And in fact, my entire career has been built off this belief that's not what makes people stay. But more importantly, here at Lumen Alnatis, that is something that has been actively pursued by this organization for over 30 years. And we really do believe that the power of relationship, the power of honest feedback with each other, the power of having a relational business model, which is the foundation of Hulu, is the fact that creates that stickiness that you want for people to continue. So whether or not they work for me for 6 months, 6 years, or 60 years— and we've got a few of those that are headed that direction, luckily— I think what they really do want and what they crave no matter what generation they're in, because I do believe this is not a generational thing either. This is somebody wants to be seen, they want to be valued, they want to be paid appropriately, and they want to be thanked for what they have done and contributed, how long they work for me. So if I can make it the best job they've ever had for however long that is, whatever season of life we can serve them in, then my job is done. And that's not a ping pong table, that's not a t-shirt, that is far beyond that. And don't get me wrong, we do some of those things. We've got some great swag and some other things, and I'm sure that entices people to want to look twice at us. But the way you stick around with us is because we purposefully believe those relationships are the thing that will get us to the best next level.
HostYou're passionate about mentorship and currently mentoring someone transitioning into restaurant HR. How do you approach mentoring in relationships, especially when helping someone understand the unique nuances of HR in the hospitality industry?
GuestThat's a great question. Yes, I am passionate about mentoring. Because I've received great mentoring, I know the power of what that is and how that has grown myself, not only as an HR practitioner, but also as a human, as a partner, as a wife, as a friend, as a mom. For me, those are really important pieces to the puzzle. If you think that you have all the answers to all the questions, you would be mistaken. And walking into an industry such as ours, such as the restaurant industry, is a very dynamic, fast-moving, industry. And if you don't understand that you need to have resources, you need to have connections, you need to have relationships with people to help guide you through that, then you're going to be in for a tough road. For me, that has been where the restaurant industry is such an amazing place. It is the second largest private employer past the government. So we had the opportunity that we bring in people when the ages of 14, 15, 16 for their first job, and it may become a career for them. As HR practitioners, one of the things that I I try to remember and keep as a filter for myself is I may have said what I've said multiple times. I may not have the answer for someone's question, but I want that experience for that employee to be the best. I will reach out to my network. I will reach out to the people that I have actively gotten from mentors and mentees and build some of that experience so I can answer the question that the person has, create that experience that they need to continue to work for us. Mentoring is a way I give back. Mentoring is, I may not have the answer, but I have an answer. I have a perspective. I have a point of view of things and experiences I've had in my life. If I can bring that to the table for someone who's brand new to our industry, they'll be better off for it in my mind. I continue to be mentored. I have a lot of people, including my first boss, by the way, who is still my mentor, because I think it's important that you still lean on those relationships. That's how you get farther faster in our industry, I believe.
HostWhen it comes to building an inclusive and high-performing team in a restaurant setting, what are some of the unique challenges and solutions you've discovered that might not be obvious to HR professionals from other industries?
GuestFor us here at Lu's, a high-performing group, whether it be a management team, whether it be an above-restaurant team, whether it be our senior leadership team, it's important that, again, like a broken record, I'll repeat it all over again because I believe in it so wholeheartedly, that relational piece is something that people don't, I think, invest in and really drive towards. And for me, if you establish trust within that, whether it's the four walls of a restaurant, whether it's a larger group in terms like a multi-unit kind of role and that scope of that team, or it's a senior leadership team driving a multimillion-dollar business, if you don't trust each other, there is an opportunity where you have not communicated clearly, you've not given feedback the way that you need to. The way that you may not be inclusive because you choose to want someone to not tell you no or not give you feedback. And so you may make a mistake. You may not volunteer your own feedback because you don't feel trusted, and therefore they may make a mistake. And here at Luz, we do a really nice job where we provide strong but sensitive feedback that allows for our teams to continue to be high performing. So you may not like my feedback, and that's okay. Feedback is a gift. You can choose to take it or not, but ultimately it's my responsibility to be honest with you And I think that is really where we continue to drive and be so successful. We continue to have best-in-class turnover, best-in-class retention. We promote internally in a good kind of balance of external hires as well. And I think all of that just really pulls back to the idea that I am committed to your success, just like you are committed to mine. And I think for me, that is something that I haven't really seen in other industries, candidly. And for us, that's just a foundation of who we are. And I don't believe whether I'm in this role or not, that we will stray from that kind of idea.
HostYou've talked about emotional awareness and self-awareness being key components of workplace relationships. How do you help leaders and team members develop these skills in a practical day-to-day way?
GuestYeah, I think there's an important piece about how you are self-aware and that you also have people who are committed to your success, that they will give you that feedback like I just spoke about earlier. To help you see yourself clearly. And if you believe that you are right all the time, if you believe that your way is the best way, if you believe that because the tenure in which you have worked in a role automatically means that you are the smartest person in the room, you probably don't have a lot of high EQ and you probably don't have a lot of self-awareness. And so what we really try and strive to do is to remind people, as an HR partner, I believe that I am a business partner. And so for me, that's very important that I continue to give that feedback to whoever my business partner is. To be blunt, honest, and respectful, and want to give them the ability to see themselves clearly. And that again goes back to that trust factor. I establish trust, I build a relationship, and I want the same thing. I want that same feedback for myself. So I'm not the one lecturing, I'm the one providing you some insight and how that may have shown up in the room, how a comment may not have fallen the same— the way, the right way, that the intention of what you probably didn't land necessarily, or more importantly, you did nail it. You did do really well. You did see people for who they were and you are going to get momentum that way. So we provide both levels of or both angles of feedback. And then we also at Luz specifically, because we are really focused on the person versus the employee, we have a really powerful program here built on a relational business model where we actually strive all the way through to our hourly team members, they have a forum in which they are able to continue to work on themselves. They work on their relationships with others, and they are given and provided feedback on either a monthly, quarterly, daily basis, depending on who it is, to be able to get that information given to them so they can continue to grow in themselves. And we have a lot of testimonials of people who have become better fathers, better spouses, better parents, better friends, because we continue to drive that home. And we believe that it's just as important as the amazing pizza that we serve. Actually, it's more important in some cases.
HostWhat parting advice would you like to share with our audience?
GuestI believe that some people, especially in our world, in the HR world, forget that influence is a muscle that you continue to have to develop. And if you want to continue to be considered as a very strong business partner that is strategic, not only in how you think, but also in how you support people, I think it's important that you remember that the influence muscle needs to be exercised, it needs to be used. And so while I can absolutely follow in the compliance realm, and that is the table stakes of what we do, my job is to help influence people to continue to be better selves, better leaders, continue to be better support, not only with me and from me, but also for me. And so the idea is that if I use my influence muscle, to help guide, whether it's a CEO, whether it's a COO, or whether it's an hourly team member, if I can help them try to strive for their better self, my job is well done. And so for me, that's the biggest piece I would want people to remember, that that's an important part of the— part of the job.
HostCourtney, thanks so much for joining us on the Built by People podcast. It was a pleasure to have you involved.
GuestAbsolutely my pleasure.
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