How Evergreens Increased Sales by 12% and Sales Per Labor Hour by 11%
Evergreens, an 18-location salad chain, increased sales by 12% and Sales Per Labor Hour by 11% after implementing Rightwork's labor optimization software and team management tools.
Overview
Evergreens, a fast-casual salad chain with 18 locations across the Pacific Northwest, is known for serving delicious, healthy salads and delivering friendly, top-notch customer service. Their fresh, made-to-order approach and commitment to quality have earned them a loyal customer base and steady growth over the years.
As their footprint expanded, the leadership team wanted better tools to gain visibility into location performance, give managers more guidance to avoid costly overstaffing or understaffing, and provide their teams with a user-friendly mobile app for collaboration.
After hearing about Rightwork's proven track record with other restaurant brands, Evergreens decided to partner with us to tackle these challenges head-on.
"What's really been saving us, with the increase in COGS and everything that has been happening, is our reduced labor costs since rolling out Rightwork. Our labor is saving us on our contribution margin.
So that is what has really helped us, right? And we have very high customer experience scores. So our customers are very highly satisfied, which is fantastic."
(Taken from the transcript during a feedback call with Evergreen's leadership)
Challenges Evergreens Was Experiencing
- Limited visibility. Leadership lacked clear, actionable insight into how each location was performing on key labor and sales metrics.
- Staffing inefficiencies. Managers were often left to guess at scheduling needs, resulting in overstaffing during slow periods and understaffing during busy peaks.
- Disconnected communication tools. Team members and managers lacked a streamlined way to collaborate on scheduling, shift swaps, and day-to-day operations on mobile.
Solutions Provided by Rightwork
- Location performance visibility. Leadership now has access to detailed performance reports, making it easy to spot opportunities and address staffing challenges before they impact guests.
- Manager scheduling guidance. Rightwork provides staffing targets and labor budget guidance based on forecasted sales, helping managers confidently schedule the right people at the right times.
- Mobile-first team collaboration. Our intuitive mobile app gives team members an easy way to swap shifts, communicate, and stay informed, reducing last-minute call-outs and scheduling headaches.
Results
Comparing this year to last year for both Sales and Sales Per Labor Hour:
- Average sales comps: +12%
- Sales Per Labor Hour comps: +11%
That means Evergreens has been able to grow revenue while increasing productivity since rolling out Rightwork, a win-win for both the bottom line and operational efficiency.