Domino's Pizza

Domino's Pizza: Driving employee retention through leadership development

Domino's Pizza operates a network of 7,799 franchised and company-owned stores in the US and more than 50 additional countries. Its global retail sales totaled more than $4.6 billion in 2004. It is the recognized world leader in pizza delivery.

"Build and nurture a great culture … that employees find hard to leave"
In an industry plagued by high turnover, senior management at Domino's decided to invest in its current and future managers. This strategy, they reasoned, would inspire higher levels of employee retention and improve performance across the board. "Great culture leads to strong performance and high quality customer service," said Patti Wilmont, Executive Vice President, People First, Domino's Pizza.

A Rollout of Harvard ManageMentor to managers at all levels
Following a successful pilot in 2004, Domino's rolled out a leadership and management program featuring Harvard ManageMentor. The program provides managers with the resources and opportunity to build skills while performing their day-to-day jobs. It focuses on strategic issues for this industry, such as the relationship between employees, customers and profit.

A program that reaches across the organization
The program is available in both English and Spanish through Domino's Star Talent University intranet. It offers employees a collection of online learning courses and tools. The rollout of various modules coincided with specific business initiatives underway, such as performance appraisals, coaching, managing difficult interactions, and setting goals.

"A strong bench of future leaders"
Domino's is seeing the benefits of increased employee retention. With it comes improved customer service and satisfaction. "Leadership training from Harvard Business Publishing … has a direct impact on the quality of service we deliver to our customers, which keeps us competitive and impacts the bottom line," says Patti Wilmont.