With the health crisis, restaurants had to adapt to many changes: periods of inactivity, managing employees on partial unemployment, shifting from the in-person experience to takeaway-only, and digitizing services. To get ahead before terraces reopened on May 19, 2021, and indoor dining on June 9, 2021, Buffalo Grill chose to strengthen its ties with its teams and customers in advance. To do so, they launched a training program entitled "Support and Mastery of Change" with Seven starting in December 2020.

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A friendly atmosphere unique to Buffalo Grill

Created in 1980, Buffalo Grill is now the leader in sit-down dining in France. Indeed, this grilling specialist has made a name for itself by becoming part of moments shared with friends and family. Going to these restaurants means immersing yourself in a warm, American-inspired atmosphere and enjoying high-quality cuts of meat.

An even stronger desire to stay connected with consumers

With the health crisis, shared moments in dining venues were no longer possible. However, Buffalo Grill had to maintain its connection with consumers. While takeaway had previously represented only a small share, it quickly became the only sales channel to meet new customer behaviors. That is why in May 2020 they launched their delivery service via the Uber Eats platform, click and collect, and takeaway sales. All these channels allowed food lovers and meat enthusiasts not to miss their favorite dishes anymore. For Buffalo teams, this new organization did not change the original mission, namely: satisfy the customer at all costs!

Imposed change: an opportunity to reinvent themselves

To refine their change strategy in response to the new digital organization, Buffalo Grill shared its request with the Seven teams at the end of 2020. Because of this period of uncertainty brought on by the crisis, but also due to ongoing technological transformations, it was important for them to master change and engage their employees even more.

Once this need was identified, we designed a tailor-made training program for Buffalo Grill between December 2020 and January 2021: "Support and Mastery of Change." Made up of three 3-hour workshops, it was intended for 200 Buffalo Grill Restaurant Managers and Assistant Managers.

Managing change in three workshops

To support Buffalo Grill in managing change, we organized three remote sessions, each addressing a very specific challenge:

1. How to act and react in the face of change?

2. How to inspire and guide your teams toward the same direction?

3. How to communicate with your employees?

During the "Support and Mastery of Change" training, Buffalo Grill participants were able to put words to what they had been experiencing since the crisis and precisely identify the customer journey observed since May 2020.

Concerned with achieving performance and always enthusiastic about testing new techniques, the Managers and Assistant Managers then focused on identifying their objectives.

And finally, because maintaining good relationships among Buffalo Grill members is as important a topic as customer satisfaction, Seven supported them in formulating feedback, as well as in management methods adapted to their way of working.

After the training?

Guislain B., a Sevener*, explains that many participants had perceived this training as a time for listening. Indeed, due to the particular situation, several employees had experienced periods of doubt, fear, and isolation. Thus, workshops during which they opened up and discussed with their colleagues were greatly liberating for them. What Guislain remembers from this training is the involvement of all participants: "I was delighted to have succeeded in creating direct communication. There was energy, thanks to the participatory format."

Is your company currently going through a period of change or planning to modify established habits? Our training program "Support and Mastery of Change" can help you anticipate new developments and involve your employees even more in your projects. By discussing together, we could design training specifically tailored to your needs and expectations.

*Seven trainer