The Challenge: Navigating Complexity to Retain Talent
A prominent technology-enabled American casual fast-food restaurant chain faced a critical challenge: high staff turnover. This costly issue led to problems with training and productivity, directly impacting their bottom line. Recognizing the significant role of fair compensation in employee satisfaction, the client aimed to implement automated tipping for their staff. However, a labyrinth of complex labor laws, varying by state, county, and role, made this nearly impossible with existing systems. They needed a flexible, transparent, accurate, and reliable solution to pool, calculate, and distribute tips for thousands of employees across hundreds of locations, accommodating diverse roles, shift schedules, and transaction types – from in-store purchases to mobile orders. The system must also be auditable and capable of processing nationwide payroll within a tight few-hour window.
The Solution: Workato-Powered Automation for Seamless Tipping
Tipping is complex and involves several processes spanning systems, including UKG as the core HR system, Legion as the workforce management platform, Oracle as the financial system, and Snowflake as the data platform. Our team designed and implemented a robust tipping calculator automation solution, leveraging Workato as the core data orchestration and calculation engine. This innovative system achieved several critical objectives:
- Automated Data Collection & Validation: Streamlining the influx of diverse data points for accurate calculations.
- Dynamic Tipping Rules Engine: A sophisticated Workato-powered engine calculates and distributes tip amounts based on employee roles, locations, and hours worked, adapting to ever-changing regulatory requirements.
- User-Friendly Tip Pooling & Distribution Application: A custom Workato application with an intuitive front-end interface gives client stakeholders complete control and visibility over calculations, ensuring transparency and accountability.
- Scalability & Compliance: The solution is now successfully deployed in over 200 stores, supporting 6,500 employees. It is fully compliant with the SOX framework and offers complete auditability.
- Proactive Monitoring & Intervention: Built-in validation and notification mechanisms allow process performers to monitor each step and intervene as needed, ensuring accuracy and reliability.
- Integrated Data Analytics: Data amalgamated in Workato can be seamlessly streamed into the client’s Snowflake data and analytics tools, providing valuable insights.
- Seamless Payroll Integration: The solution integrates effortlessly within existing payroll processes, minimizing disruption.
Value Delivered: Millions in Savings and Enhanced Employee Experience
The implementation of this automated tipping engine delivered immediate and dramatic results, directly impacting the client’s key business objectives:
- Significant Reduction in Staff Turnover: A streamlined and fair tipping solution led to a direct and substantial decrease in employee churn, a critical metric in the fast-service industry where even small percentage changes can yield millions in value.
- Increased Employee Satisfaction: The transparency and fairness of the new system significantly boosted employee morale and satisfaction.
- System Agnostic Flexibility: The solution’s architecture ensures smooth and painless transitions if the client migrates to another time and attendance system, future-proofing their investment.
- Effortless Scalability: The system is fully scalable, requiring minimal manual intervention for maintenance, updates, or expansion. The client can onboard dozens to hundreds of new locations without additional development work or performance issues.
- Empowered HR & Operations: The client’s HR team now has rich analytics data for each store location, including tips per store and employee, enabling more efficient staffing and planning for new store openings.
- Industry Leadership in Employee Experience: This solution directly supports the client’s strategic objective of becoming an industry leader in employee experience and reducing turnover.
By partnering with Dispatch, this fast-service restaurant chain not only solved a complex operational challenge but also strategically invested in its most valuable asset: its people. The result is a more engaged workforce, increased productivity, and a significant boost to the company’s financial performance.
Andrew Castle is Principal Consultant at Dispatch Integration, helping businesses meet strategic goals by getting more out of their enterprise software. Andrew has supported clients across diverse industries, leveraging his skills in database management, workflow automation, and solution consulting to deliver measurable impact and operational efficiency.
