Recently, I was approached by a district manager and training director for a company that owns and operates 30 Subway restaurants. They had taken the humble, hungry, and smart model and applied it to their company for hiring managers and wanted to adjust it for hiring hourly employees (also known as sandwich artists). These employees are usually teenagers with no work experience or adults with a lot of hourly work experience, so pay typically starts at minimum wage. The manager and director wanted to hear my suggestions about how to adapt the model for this type of workforce.
I have a heart for these kinds of employees—the ones I believe deserve the most attention and care from management. They are the ones who inspired me to write my book, The Truth About Employee Engagement.
The humble, hungry, and smart traits are universal—they apply to any job or situation. However, what you should expect or require in an hourly employee will be a little (or perhaps a little more than a little) different from what you can expect from a manager. It’s not just a matter of pay but of commitment and responsibility and, in the case of younger people, maturity.
So, what would humble, hungry, and smart look like in the folks who make sandwiches at Subway?
Let’s start with humility. Most people who work the sandwich line at Subway are not going to be the classically arrogant or egotistical type. That isn’t to say that there will be none of these people, but there is a certain humility—and I’ll even say nobility—in a person who is willing to take such a job. But what you will find in the person who lacks humility is that they don’t understand or appreciate their gifts and talents. You’re more likely to find people who lack self-confidence and self-esteem, and these qualities are signs of a lack of humility. As C.S. Lewis says, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself but rather thinking of yourself less.” I suggest finding employees who, despite their situation in life, know that they have something to offer. And then, I would exhort and beg the managers to celebrate the gifts those employees have.
Hunger is what you want most of all. The challenge could be that people with an astounding work ethic may not look for jobs in quick-service restaurants. I’ve found that this isn’t always the case. Take a look at Chick-fil-A—the most enthusiastic and friendly employees work there, and it’s not because Chick-fil-A pays its people more than other restaurants do. It’s the way employees are treated and managed and the expectations that these employees will do great things. You can find hungry people for restaurants, but here is the catch: if you’re tolerating nonhungry people, hungry people are not going to want to work with them. You’ll have to change the culture, and that will attract the right people and repel the others. Based on my experience at the Subway restaurants near my home (my sons love meatball marinara), employees there are less than enthusiastic about their work. But that’s not because of the work itself; it’s the culture.
Finally, there is smart. How high should you set the bar for emotional intelligence? Pretty high. But most important of all, it will probably need to be about customers. Chick-fil-A employees are gregarious, cheerful, and interested in the well-being of the people standing in front of them at the counter. They’re expected to be that way, which is why they like work and why their shifts go by quickly. Compare that with an environment where employees watch the clock, lament difficult customer orders, or wish they were somewhere else, and you have a different situation.
The most important thing I can say is probably this: it’s going to come down to the managers. Teach them how to give their people the three things that all employees want more than anything: to be known by their manager, understand how their work affects the lives of others in some small way, and know if they are doing a good job. Give those three things to the people, and they are going to enjoy their time at work, whether they’re building bridges, teaching third graders, or making a fantastic meatball marinara sandwich.