The Restaurant Team Development Score | We Know How
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The Restaurant Team Development Score

How strong is your people program? Rate yourself honestly across 5 dimensions — and see exactly where your system is built, where it’s fragile, and what the gaps are costing you.

⏱ 10 minutes  ·  25 questions  ·  Instant results
A
Hiring & Training Paths
B
Coaching & Feedback
C
Accountability & Pipeline
D
Bench Strength
E
Culture & Retention
75%
of employees leave managers, not jobs
28–35%
annual GM turnover in restaurants
$10–15K
cost to replace one manager
40%
longer retention with internal promotion programs
How to score: Rate each statement based on where your business is today — not where you want it to be.   1 = Not in place  ·  2 = Informal  ·  3 = Developing  ·  4 = Consistent  ·  5 = Fully Built
Category A of 5

Hiring & Role-Based Training Paths

Do you hire for potential and train for performance?

1. When hiring at any level, do you actively screen for leadership potential — not just the ability to fill an immediate slot?
2. Do you have written, role-specific training guides for crew, shift leaders, and managers — or do people learn primarily by shadowing?
3. Does each position have a competency checklist with clear pass/fail criteria that a trainer uses to certify readiness before someone works independently?
4. Is there a defined Day 1 / Day 7 / Day 30 structure for new hires, or does onboarding vary based on who’s working that day?
5. Can every employee see a clear, visible path from crew → shift leader → manager, with specific skills and milestones required at each stage?
Category B of 5

Coaching & Feedback Systems

Are your managers developing people — or just managing tasks?

6. Do your managers have a structured format for regular one-on-ones with shift leaders — or do check-ins happen informally when time allows?
7. Are shift leaders trained on how to give in-the-moment coaching, not just correction — explaining the “why” behind the standard?
8. When a team member isn’t performing, is there a consistent, documented process for addressing it — or does the approach vary by manager?
9. Do managers receive coaching on how to be coaches themselves, separate from their operational training?
10. Is positive recognition deliberate and tied to specific behaviors — or mostly ad hoc when a manager happens to be in a good mood?
Category C of 5

Accountability & People Pipeline

Do you have the visibility to know who’s ready, who’s struggling, and why?

11. Do you track training completion by employee so you can see at a glance who has been certified and who hasn’t?
12. Are performance standards clearly defined for each role so both the employee and their manager know exactly what “meeting expectations” looks like?
13. Do your GMs and Regional Managers hold a weekly “People Pipeline” meeting — specifically to discuss talent using a Green (ready now) / Yellow (needs coaching) / Red (struggling or wrong fit) framework?
14. Can your managers distinguish between a training gap (they don’t know how) and a performance/attitude gap (they know, but won’t)?
15. When the same operational problem keeps recurring, is there a process to diagnose whether the root cause is a people, training, or systems issue?
Category D of 5

Bench Strength & Succession Planning

Can your organization grow without creating a leadership vacuum?

16. Do you track a Bench Strength Index — a measurable, location-level score reflecting how many people at each store are certified and ready to move up?
17. Is a GM’s performance review, bonus eligibility, and promotion readiness formally tied to their people development index — not just their P&L performance?
18. Does your organization enforce a rule that a GM cannot be promoted or transferred to a new location until they have trained and certified their own replacement?
19. Before signing a lease on a new location, do you require a GM-ready leader, an AGM candidate, and at least two shift leaders already identified and working in existing stores?
20. Do your highest-potential shift leaders and AGMs have written development plans with specific goals, defined support, and a projected promotion timeline?
Category E of 5

Culture & Retention

Are your best people being trained to leave — or stay and grow?

21. Do GMs and AGMs have clear, documented bonus structures tied to metrics they can directly control — such as prime cost, guest satisfaction scores, and employee retention rate?
22. Do your top long-tenured GMs have a path beyond a salary bump — such as a profit-sharing or “GM Partner” program that makes them act like true owners?
23. Do you have a formal recognition system that rewards team members for developmental milestones and growth — not just operational wins?
24. If you asked your shift leaders honestly, would they say your culture actively supports their growth — or that training happened during their first few weeks and then stopped?
25. Do you have formal peer learning or coaching groups that meet monthly or quarterly — bringing together specific leadership levels to build new skills and share best practices?
Please answer all 25 questions before scoring.

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Your Restaurant Team Development Score

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out of 125
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Your Score by Category

Ready to build your bench?

Book a 30-minute People Development Blueprint call. We’ll review your score and identify the two or three moves that will have the biggest impact on your people program in the next 90 days.

Book a Call → weknowhow.pro
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