Talia Poortenga

As Back of House Assistant Director I am responsible for the training of new kitchen team members, including their certification on each positions and food safety knowledge. I conduct 30 day training evaluations for new hires and bi-annual evaluations for other kitchen team members. I also select and train new kitchen leaders on important management principles and how to manage a shift. I oversee ongoing leadership development including bi-weekly leadership meetings and quarterly leadership evaluations.

I am responsible for maintaining excellent customer satisfaction scores in the areas of fast service, and the taste and temperature of food. I ensure that all food served meets the quality standards set by Chick-fil-A by conducting daily quality assesments. I have also ensured that the restaurant meets all food safety requirements by instituting a food safety walkthrough that is completed twice a day. Additionally, I have implemented systems to improve the cleanliness of the kitchen such as daily and weekly cleaning check lists.

Finally, I am responsible for managing food cost to ensure that the business is profitable. I ensure that inventory spot counts are conducted twice a day, that any waste is inputted accurately, and monitor our monthly food cost reports to find areas for improvement.

Developed group and individualized training plans for new employees at brand new Chick-fil-As all over the United States. Conducted group and individual training on customer service and leadership topics. Worked alongside new Owner / Operators to establish systems that assure customer satisfaction, manage inventory effectively, and and promote safe cash management.

As FOH Assistant Director I oversaw hiring and training for new team members. I also supervised the development of current team members including monthly check-ins and bi-annual evaluations. I was responsible for selecting and training new leaders. I ran weekly Front of House Leadership meetings that updated the team on KPIs and focused on developing good collaborative practices.

I was responsible for maintaining customer satisfaction scores in areas such as Employee Politeness, Cleanliness of the Restaurant, and Fast Service. I implemented a wide variety of projects that helped our location be in the top 20% of Chick-fil-As nationwide.

Additionally, my responsibilities included overseeing cash management such as ensuring that all tills are counted correctly, there are not any cash shortages, and ordering change fund so enough of the proper denominations are present.

As a team leader I ran shifts, ensuring that team members were in the optimal positions, ran all team member breaks, completed all required tasks for the shifts, and handled the cash management for that shift.

I gave feedback to team members and helped them work toward their individual goals through regular coaching.

I also collaborated with other leaders to assure that we were maintaining the same standard between shifts and we were working together well.

As a team member I contributed to team success by completing jobs quickly and accurately. I operated registers to input orders, process payments, and collect cash payment for order totals. Addressed and resolved customer complaints in polite and professional manner. Trained new team members by relaying information on company procedures and safety requirements.