Original ChopShop, a better-for-you, fast casual brand featuring protein bowls, salads, sandwiches, breakfast items, fresh squeezed juice and more, is inspiring its team to “Just Feel Good” with a bolstered benefits package and a new, trailblazing professional development program.
The company has introduced two added benefits that invest in its leaders’ financial future and reward tenure with the brand. Those benefits include a 401k plan with a 4% company match and a “Years of Service” bonus, which rewards general managers with a $20,000 bonus for five years of service, a $4,000 bonus each year from six to nine and another $20,000 at year 10.
The addition of these benefits builds on an already unique compensation program rooted in its leaders’ personal development plans. In 2019, the brand scrapped the traditional annual performance review and focused its attention on tying merit increases to developing leadership skills.
“We believe behaviors drive results,” says COO Kyle Frederick. “If the right behaviors are in place, the results will naturally follow. This new merit process affords our leaders with the opportunity to earn up to four salary increases per year. These changes bring our average general manager salary, bonus, and benefits package to $100,000 annually.”
In addition to the enhanced general manager benefits package, Original ChopShop is driving team member growth with the introduction of Original ChopShop Career Pathing. This new program allows team members to map out their career plans and understand growth opportunities in partnership with their leaders. This creates a clear and original pathway for each Team Member to drive career advancement at their own developmental pace.
“Original ChopShop is a people-first business,” says Original ChopShop CEO Jason Morgan. “We know that people stay in jobs when they feel valued and challenged, so we created an environment that does just that. We want to be a positive part of each team members’ unique career path, whether we are a steppingstone to something else or they choose to work for us for the long-term. We put an emphasis on promoting from within and 75% of new leadership positions this year will be internal promotions. All our multi-unit operators were general managers first and most of our general managers started as assistant general managers or hourly team members. We do this because we want our brand leaders to be deeply invested in our culture and mission.”
Morgan continues, “There is a direct correlation to our people strategy and our industry leading same-store sales results which year-to-date in 2022 is tracking at a growth rate of over 50% compared to 2019 sales. The average tenure of our general managers is three years, which is well above the industry average of 12-18 months. We believe this is a direct result of our commitment to cultivating an environment that inspires personal and financial growth. The team at Original ChopShop is one of the strongest that I have seen, and I am excited for each leader’s continued success.”
Original ChopShop not only values its loyal team members, but also entrusts them with the overall success of the brand. The neighborhood eatery selects top-performing general managers to pilot new programs, technologies and food innovations before they are rolled out company-wide. This allows operational leaders to drive a real, tangible impact on brand initiatives. The best news? Original ChopShop is hiring in all its markets.
Original ChopShop provides a warm, welcoming place where guests “Fuel Their Well-Being” with flavorful food that’s “Chopped-in-Shop” daily with real, quality ingredients. The menu includes delicious protein bowls, salads (“chops”), sandwiches, fresh juice, protein shakes, acai bowls, breakfast items and parfaits. The team at Original ChopShop is proud to offer customizable food for “Every/Body,” providing a variety of dietary-friendly items for adults and children, including food free of gluten, dairy, lactose and soy, along with vegetarian and vegan options.
