Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants, a lifestyle brand centered around food and wine, announced results of its successful people development program, “Driving Development.” Presented annually to restaurant General Managers and Executive Kitchen Managers, the program, now in its second year, recognizes current and future leaders who have successfully fostered employee growth, advancement or promotion. Points are awarded based upon the successful promotion of team members, and top point earners are rewarded with a 300 Series BMW lease, inclusive of monthly insurance payments. The program is unique in that it is tied solely to internal development and is not related to specific financial goals.
“We have aggressive growth plans, and we are committed to ensuring that our team members can grow and thrive along with us,” says Cooper’s Hawk Founder & CEO Tim McEnery. “Cooper’s Hawk is built on a foundation of caring about people—and when you put people first, all other aspects of the business fall into place—including financial performance.”
Cooper’s Hawk is indeed experiencing rapid growth—the company’s system-wide sales grew more than 30 percent in 2017, making it one of the five fastest growing restaurants in America according to Kalinowski Equity Research.
To date, the Driving Development program has awarded 11 vehicles to managers who’ve developed both hourly employees and restaurant-level managers into Kitchen Managers, Assistant Executive and Executive Kitchen Managers, and Assistant General Managers and General Managers. The program has directly resulted in over 75 employees ascending to management roles thus far. It is also noteworthy that Cooper’s Hawk has filled GM positions at every single restaurant from within the organization.
McEnery, who has been recognized by HR.com with a LEAD award for his outstanding achievements in leadership development, continually strives to find new ways to make Cooper’s Hawk an exceptional place to work. His focus on team building and development has been instrumental creating a pipeline of internal talent to fuel the company’s growth.
