Taking Care of the Basics at Darden
#86 in the Green Goldfish Project – Darden Restaurants
Darden’s restaurants include Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52 and Eddie V’s.
At Darden, all employees are eligible for health insurance and disability coverage from the first day of employment. A benefit which is highly unusual in the restaurant business.
In addition, Darden pays employees on a weekly basis, rather than bi-weekly. It costs Darden more to do so – because they do it because they recognize the economic needs of their workers.
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure) – Here’s a YouTube video on the evolution of Darden. There is a great quote in beginning from William B. Darden, “i am convinced that the only edge we have on competitors, is the quality of our employees as reflected each day by the job they do”:
The Green Goldfish Project is a quest to find 1,001 examples of marketing lagniappe for employees. Green goldfish are the little signature extras given to employees. They help differentiate a company, increase employee retention and drive positive WoM.
