High Impact Unit Visits

The nature of all Unit visits is developmental.

High-Impact Unit Visits are a Multi-Unit Leader‟s (MUL) primary

responsibility. They require thoughtful pre-planning, careful execution

and thorough de-briefing with the Unit Manager afterwards to generate

sustainable results. KEY: you are visiting people, not “stores.”

Despite what many MUL‟s have been taught, unit visits are not about

“inspection”, “direction”, or “correction”, they‟re about coaching, collabo-

ration and development. Acting like an “inspector” instead of a coach

stifles people, performance and profits.

High Impact Unit Visits involve 7 distinct stages:

1. Review your Quarterly Business Plan and current progress on goals and objectives.

Review your top 3 concerns and the Unit Manager‟s top 3

concerns, noting overlap, if any.

2. KRA Analysis: review the unit rank, period trends

from last year, Key Result Areas progress and goal

vs. actual for each store.

3. Determine visit focus and inform the Unit

Manager of your visit (unless visit is purposefully

unannounced).

4. Conduct outdoor facilities and systems

“walkabout” first without—and then with—the

Unit Manager or Managers.

5. Conduct indoor facilities, people and sys-

tems “walkabout” first alone then with Unit Man-

ager or Managers.

6. Meet with Unit Manager or Managers after the visit

to review, assess and help coach them to the next develop-

mental level.

7. Assess the visit and determine ways to make it more effective next time. Always leave

the Unit better than your found it.

Call each unit daily, visit every unit weekly, have a clear goal and focus,

and help the team develop and grow. A MUL‟s goals during visits are to

help managers think, improve manager skills as customer-centric

coaches and leaders, and making certain that the team is doing the right

things and the right things right.

High Impact Unit Visits

A Guide for Multi-Unit Leaders

Store Location/Unit # _________________

Visit Date ___________________________

Visit Time/Daypart ___________________

Managers on Duty ____________________

1

Pre-Visit Planning

Spectacular success is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.

What to do Before the Visit

The key to high impact visits is preparation. The written Quarterly Business Plan

(QBP), along with daily/weekly financial reports and your daily phone calls to each

unit should give you clear insight into which units need your attention first.

(Download a comprehensive QBP Multi Unit Leader Planner at Sullivision.com)

Review the written evaluation and the results of your last visit.

What was covered then? ________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

What were the managers supposed to be working on in the meantime? ________

_____________________________________________________________________

Were there any outstanding issues?_______________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

What has changed in the unit since the last visit?___________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Assess how the unit currently ranks performance-wise in your territory:

Sales __________ QSC __________ Training __________

Retention __________ Marketing __________ Other__________

Overall Unit Rank among all Units __________

Detail Progress in Key Result Areas (i.e. Service, Sales, Mktg, Retention)

Review the top 5 KRA‟s from your QBP, and assess the unit‟s progress.

KRA Results

1. _______________________ ________________________________________

2. _______________________ ________________________________________

3. _______________________ ________________________________________

4. _______________________ ________________________________________

Unit visit time is about developing your managers not just checking their work.

1

Pre-Visit Planning

Assess previous 13-month financial and performance trends.

Compare actual achievement versus goals and past performance for the unit

you are visiting. Note key changes and trends and consider underlying causes.

Consider marketplace trends and events.

What are the external factors that are affecting this unit? How can your team

prepare or respond in order to maintain and drive their business?

Infrastructure (parking issues, construction, road closures, etc.) ____________

___________________________________________________________________

Competitors (new Units, competitive promotions or LTO‟s, etc.) ________

___________________________________________________________________

Seasonality (weather, holidays, vacation/tourism school calendars, etc.) _____

___________________________________________________________________

Special Events (festivals, sports, parades, movie releases, etc.)______________

___________________________________________________________________

Others _____________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Determine the TYPE of Visit:

Announced Unannounced

Many MULs wrestle with whether their unit visits should be “announced” or

“unannounced”. We recommend that each visit be announced so that the Unit

Manager or MOD can prepare for your visit—NOT by having a “cleaning party”--

but by scheduling time to learn from you with no shift-running responsibilities

during your visit.

If you’re doing your job correctly, Unit Managers should be happy to see you visit

and sorry to see you leave.

Choose a Daypart / Volume (check all that apply)

Prioritize the shifts that will provide the appropriate and maximum input for ef-

fective analysis and decision making.

morning afternoon evening transition

peak volume slow volume

weekday weekend open close

Determine TIME FRAME of Visit

Full Day

Gives the best picture of what‟s happening in the store since managers and

team members can successfully hide or modify their behaviors for only

about three hours at a time. Full day visits make it easier to see what

they‟ve accomplished or are challenged by, since this gives you time to ob-

serve the arc and flow of each shift or shift transition.

Half Day

Normally staged as a follow-up to a recent full-day visit, but can also be ef-

fective for high-performing Units that need less coaching.

1-3 Hours

Most often a waste of time at an under-performing unit if you‟re looking for a

true gauge of performance and underlying causes. These brief visits are

normally most effective only if you‟re looking for an answer to a specific

question, or as a follow-up to a previous challenge area you noted.

Compile a Balanced Scorecard

Your Goal should be to visit each store at least 4 times per period (month)

before making major decisions relative to people and performance issues.

During the Visit

2

Outside the Unit Walkabout

Walk it SOLO first from the Guest Perspective

1= poses immediate threat to safety, sanitation, product quality or Guest satisfaction.

2= needs some detail work, discuss during one-on-one coaching

3= ideal

1 2 3 Notes

Curb appeal _____________________________________________

Signage _____________________________________________

Parking lot _____________________________________________

Building _____________________________________________

Back door _____________________________________________

Dumpster _____________________________________________

Cleanliness _____________________________________________

Lighting _____________________________________________

Landscaping _____________________________________________

Walkways _____________________________________________

Front door _____________________________________________

Drive-thru _____________________________________________

___________ _____________________________________________

Curb Appeal

What first impressions are customers likely to form when they park and ap-

proach or come through a drive-thru and see what you see? How is the brand

being represented?

__________________________________________________________________

1

Pre-Visit Planning

What you reinforce is what you get. What you don’t is what you lose.

Determine the FOCUS of Visit

Based on the unit‟s KRAs, what should the focus of your visit be? Sales? Ser-

vice? Training? Retention? Cleanliness? Marketing? Stay focused. Don‟t try to

cover everything, or you‟ll end up covering nothing. Choose the focus area:



Financial (sales, profits, labor, COG, R&M, etc.)

 Morale (turnover, crew engagement, junior managers)

 Leadership (Bench strength)

 Systems/Processes (purchasing , receiving, inventory, scheduling, bookkeeping, sched-

uling, throughput, etc.)

 Safety & Security (use your company checklists)

 Marketing (POP, menus, signage, suggestive selling)

 Performance Evaluation (up to date for all team?)

 Customer-centric (service delivery, shopper scores, flow, table visits, complaints, etc.)

 Follow up from Previous Visit/Information Gathering (what are the key things you‟re

looking for?)

 Training / Recognition (observe, attend or facilitate a manager meeting,, recognition

ceremony, orientation, in-store training event or pre-shift meeting)

 Major Operation Turnaround (this requires multiple days...make sure to analyze root

causes , systems and processes first)

 Other ______________________________________________________________

1. What—specifically—am I intending to accomplish? _____________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. What does the Manager need from me?______________________________

__________________________________________________________________

3. What should the team be doing differently as a result of my visit? ________

__________________________________________________________________

Present the focus of this visit to your

Unit Manager and how it will differ from previous

visits.

Identify pre-work:

What are the Unit Manager

„s top 3 issues/concerns? What are yours?

UNIT MANAGER ME

1. ______________________________ 1. _____________________________

2. ______________________________ 2. _____________________________

3. ______________________________ 3. _____________________________

During the Visit

2

Outside the Unit Walkabout

SOLO from the Multi Unit Leader Perspective

Now assess the outside once again, this time through your MUM lens. Evalu-

ate brand standards and compliance issues that the guest may not even no-

tice. Use your company’s checklist of what to look for, paying special atten-

tion to systems, standards, people, POS, potential danger, cleanliness, safety

and repair/maintenance/equipment issues.

Make bullet point written notes of all you observe and sense. Note what you

want to compliment the managers on. Note what you‟ll hope the managers

will notice that they may have been missing.

 _____________________________________________________________

Ready-for Revenue Outside Walkabout WITH Unit Manager

Now walk it again with Unit Manager and assess from the Unit Manager‟s

Perspective. Note what they see, don‟t just point out what you saw. Com-

pare and note any differences with your assessment.

 _____________________________________________________________

Evaluating Operations from Inside the Unit

Review and use your company’s checklist as a guideline of what to look for

inside the Unit so that nothing is overlooked, but don’t forget that your pri-

mary objective is to develop Mgrs, not merely comply to a checklist.

 Spread energy, don‟t take it away. Greet the entire team. Be a Brand Ambas-

sador. See/sense what the guest sees first, then look through the MUL lens.

 Evaluate KRA‟s based on your Quarterly Business Plan‟s * assessment.

 Stay focused on the performance you came to address. If you see another

major area that needs attention, note it and address it later (unless it relates

to a safety issue or dangerous situation).

 Walk the unit first alone, carefully observe what‟s being done well and what‟s

being overlooked in both the FOH and BOH. Make notes. Now walk it several

times with the manager, note their observations, actions and interactions.

Walk it SOLO first from the Guest Perspective. Assess facility/team readiness

1= poses immediate threat to safety, sanitation, product quality or Guest satisfaction.

2= needs some detail work, discuss during one-on-one coaching

3= ideal

1 2 3 Notes

Furniture _____________________________________________

Glassware _____________________________________________

Bev. Stations _____________________________________________

Restrooms _____________________________________________

Equipment _____________________________________________

Lighting _____________________________________________

Cleanliness _____________________________________________

Walk-Ins _____________________________________________

Storage Areas _____________________________________________

Line Checks _____________________________________________

Food Quality _____________________________________________

___________ _____________________________________________

*Download a comprehensive QBP planner at Sullivision.com

You don’t get better in “general.” you get better in specific.

During the Visit

2

Inside the Unit Evaluation

Assess operational issues from the Multi Unit Leader Perspective

Now assess how well the managers and team are getting the job done. Note

the quality, efficiency and accuracy of the work, and potential underlying

causes of any breakdowns. Rank on scale of 1-5.

1=perfection 3=further observation 5=immediate action

 Observe line checks, quality and safety.

Good/Bad underlying cause? _______________________________________________________

 Observe product handling and hand washing.