How Hot Chicken is Changing People's Lives

Hot Chicken Takeover (HCT for short) is just what it sounds like... a place to get hot chicken! I haven't been able to taste it personally, but from what I hear, the chicken itself is delicious and could be life changing, but the founders vision is how HCT is really changing people's lives.

I was recently extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to talk with Dilara Casey, the Marketing Director of HCT. She shared the story of the company with such passion and energy that I left the conversation inspired, and it's been on my mind ever since.

I often hear from people that there isn't enough purpose in their work, or that it's just a "J.O.B." for a company focused on profit, but you don't have to work for a not for profit to get purpose at work. You can create purpose with a little ingenuity and reframing. That's what the founder of Hot Chicken did. Here are a few things that I learned from the story of Hot Chicken.

You don't need to be a not-for-profit to change people's lives.

Joe DeLoss started selling chicken because he wanted to be an employer. After spending time volunteering in a soup kitchen, Joe found the lineup was never going away. He asked himself what he could do to stop the line from growing. The answer: create jobs that give people a fair chance. He wanted to give people pride and ownership - not through charity but by giving people a chance to build a stable life through regular, hard work.

People with a criminal record often want to work but can't because of their record. Their criminal activities are often highly dependent on circumstance and situation, rather than a preferred behaviour. They need a fair chance to prove themselves, to create new connections, and to build a different life.

Today, across three locations, approximately 70% of the staff have a criminal record. Some employees may be homeless or facing another barrier to employment. They come with an "alternate resume" as HCT calls it, and are given a fair chance, just like anyone else. They've been able to support themselves, buy cars, and get trained for future careers because of Hot Chicken.

There is no "one size fits all" for employees

HCT knows that there are some simple monetary needs that their employees often have, so rather than have a cookie cutter benefits plan, their employees can choose to take advantage of benefits that really matter to them, in their current situation. You can choose to have dental and vision benefits, but if you'd rather take advantage of something else that's more short term, you can. Some of these benefits can be life changing.

The Matched Milestone program is one that is taken advantage of by up to 80% of employees, Dilara told me. It provides 2:1 dollar matching to make a purchase like a car, rent, education or more, up to $700. If you imagine the circumstances many people are in, being able to buy a car could change everything for them.

Cash advances are another great benefit that, in fact, doesn't cost the company much, if anything, but can be life-changing. Rather than having to get a high interest loan to pay a bill, HCT employees can get a no interest cash advance so they aren't stuck with bills they can't afford to pay, which could have pushed them down the wrong path.

Other ways CHT supports their team members include things like gift certificates for grocery stores to replace the government assistance they may be losing because of their income, housing resources and landlord referrals, and lots of coaching and feedback that helps them with people skills, leadership and ultimately, their future.

One story Dilara shared was about a team member who wanted to drive a truck. He was able to take advantage of the matched milestone program for some training, and then HCT went beyond that and supported him in finding a job with one of their vendors. He now has a career that otherwise may not have been possible because of the support at HCT.

Core Values guide everything

If you know me, you know how passionate I am about true shared Values for organizations, and using them in your daily actions. HCT has been very deliberate about creating actionable, meaningful Core Values and weaving them through the employee experience.

During the hiring process, they focus on selecting people who share their values of Ownership and Hustle. Ownership means owning your past, and is seen in things like being honest about your criminal record in your interview. Hustle is about the ability to act fast in a fast-paced business. At HCT, they serve 800 meals in 5 hours, so hustle is important. In the interview, people are asked to share a time when they had to hustle successfully. People are also asked which of the 5 core Values is their favourite. Instilling them starts right away.

Rather than an annual review, HCT does reviews at 30 and 60 days, to start. They check in with team members based on the five core values. They discuss instances in which they lived the Values or had an opportunity, continuing to make it clear how important they are in daily actions.

They use their Values in their peer to peer recognition as well. Every week, an employee recognizes another employee based on the core Values, pointing out how their peer embraces a certain value and why it's important. This recognition goes through the chain of employees, so everyone gets a chance to participate in recognizing colleagues.

By weaving their Values through everything they do, HCT makes it clear what's expected while engaging their people.

Trust is the most important factor for engagement and success

We (at Blue Rebel Works) believe trust is the keystone of any sustainably successful organization. We also believe that in building trust, Leaders go first. At Hot Chicken, trust is foundational in the relationships with team members. People who have a criminal record are used to not being trusted. They’re used to the stigma that comes with their past. At Hot Chicken, they make it clear that team members start with trust. What someone did 10 years ago has nothing to do with what they'll do today. They are trusted to be a well-intentioned member of the team from day one.

HCT also continues to build trust with transparency throughout the employee experience. One example of this happens at their daily team meetings. They share reviews from customers and ask the team what they think. They continue to encourage their value of ownership, encouraging people to own their mistakes in these discussions. Transparency and accountability are integral to developing trust, and the leaders at HCT totally get it.

There are lessons we can all learn from Joe, Dilara and their team members about purpose, passion and success!

There is so much more to share about Hot Chicken Takeover. But it may be best if you take 5 minutes and hear from their team members directly. Watch this video - I promise you'll leave inspired.

All photos courtesy of Hot Chicken Takeover.