More Than a Meal: Digitizing a Culture of Giving
How a global restaurant brand used WorkJam to simplify execution, scale culture, and eliminate complexity
Summary
A global restaurant brand known for its signature culture of giving had built something remarkable — 230,000+ community events and more than $19 million raised for local causes across 2,300+ locations in 11 countries. But behind that purpose-driven mission sat a patchwork of disconnected tools: only 1 in 5 associates had corporate email, and 40+ fundraising triggers were tracked by hand.
WorkJam brought it all into a single digital front door, unifying communication, operations, and community programs for ~50,000 associates and turning a hand-built tradition of giving into a scalable, measurable one.
The Challenge: Fragmented Communication & Engagement
The brand’s purpose was never in question — its infrastructure was. Behind the scenes sat a tangled web of disconnected systems, manual trackers, and limited visibility that made scaling a people-first culture increasingly difficult. The gaps showed up in four places:
- Email reached just a fraction of frontline employees, limiting cultural and operational reach
- Fundraising efforts required manual tracking of 40+ event trigger types
- Disparate systems for operations and community engagement created missed tasks
- General managers had no consolidated view of upcoming events or performance metrics
This fragmentation didn’t just hamper the signature community programs — it also created friction in critical daily operations like food safety audits, promotional rollouts, and brand consistency across 2,300+ locations. The company needed a single, reliable digital front door where every associate — from front of house to leadership — could stay aligned on what mattered most.
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We are really focusing on bringing everything into one digital front door for our operators… We want the high visibility, high execution and seamless workflow that’s going to make their entire process easier.
The Solution: A Phased Digital Transformation
Rather than attempt a rip-and-replace, the company rolled out WorkJam in deliberate phases — each one building the foundation for the next.
Phase 1 — Building a Foundation of Operational Excellence
The first step was digitizing the work associates already did every day.
- Digitized core operational processes including brand compliance audits and new product training
- Assigned and tracked critical tasks for hourly food safety checks and store opening/closing checklists
- Enabled compliant communications using advanced punch-based fencing of content and assets
Phase 2 — Unified Communications
With operational workflows in place, the focus shifted to making sure every associate could be reached — not just the 20% with corporate email.
- Rolled out WorkJam as a single digital hub across the workforce
- Achieved 95% associate activation with consistent usage
- Launched a dedicated internal feed to broadcast culture content and company news to 50,000 employees
Phase 3 — Custom Community Integration
Next came the signature giving program itself, brought fully into WorkJam using out-of-the-box Extend APIs.
- Integrated 40+ event triggers using WorkJam Extend APIs
- Tasks are now automatically generated based on community event activity
- Deep linking enables direct navigation between systems without added complexity
The Impact: Operational Efficiency with Cultural Reach
The customer replaced fragmented systems and manual processes with a single, streamlined digital hub to lay groundwork for broader success. Associates began relying on WorkJam for their most critical operational tasks—from hourly food safety logs and store opening checklists to verifying promotional rollouts and completing bite-sized training modules.
Operational Excellence
Associates became highly engaged with the platform to manage critical daily tasks:
- Replaced fragmented systems with a streamlined digital experience.
- Eliminated email-based task management for fundraisers.
- 30 minutes saved per manager per day.
- $300K+ annual savings from reduced manual processes.
Engagement & Culture
- Task completion improved from 50% to 85%.
- 95% activation ensures culture and operations messaging reaches nearly every team member.
- Cultural content consumption increased as digital task adoption scaled.
“As soon as our task completion rate started going up, all of our reaction rates on our posts started going up because the ripple effect of WorkJam started spreading throughout our locations.” — Operational Excellence Project Manager
Community Impact
- 230,000+ community events facilitated.
- $19.3 million raised through local giving efforts—now executed with real-time visibility and consistency.
With task completion for daily work surpassing 85%, WorkJam became the single source of truth for a highly engaged audience. This foundation of efficiency and reliability made it possible to scale the company’s unique culture of giving, ensuring that purpose-driven messaging and community initiatives reached and resonated with nearly every team member.
A Consistent, Connected Future
This global restaurant brand has fundamentally transformed how it connects daily operations with its mission of community service. What once felt disconnected now feels united: frontline associates are informed, empowered, and inspired to give back. Through WorkJam, a culture of generosity has become a digital, scalable experience—reaching every team and every neighborhood served.
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