By Mary Boltz Chapman

With this special issue, “Best Places To Work,” Chain Leader has set out to deliver the top practices in human resources in chain restaurants. The issue highlights some of the best examples in the industry of finding and keeping quality employees, culled from People Report’s survey results.

People Report founder and CEO Joni Thomas Doolin and her team helped Chain Leader staff find the industry’s leaders in people practices. The starting point was People Report’s 2004 Survey of Unit Level Employment Practices, which measures and tracks recruiting, training, retention, diversity, compensation, benefits and other issues relating to unit staff.

This year’s 75 survey respondents represent 11,741 units, 40,682 managers, 589,268 hourly employees and an estimated $24 billion in sales. The average turnover rate for unit-level management was 33 percent and 111 percent for all unit-level employees. Data from People Report’s survey are sprinkled throughout the issue and illustrated in graphs labeled, “Industry at a Glance.”

The case histories in this issue hold real-life solutions for any operator trying to become an employer of choice and illustrate the important link between people and profits.