Interview

Secrets To Restaurant Success With Brett Smith of Planday

A software rollout across 134 restaurants. And you’re the CTO. The challenges are numerous: data synchronisation, ensuring scalability, staff training, logistics and the BIG C-word…

Change management. 

“We’ve always done it this way” is probably the most dangerous phrase in business.

And you’ll be hearing it most days until the new tech is able to prove itself.

Brett Smith helped 100s of CTOs, IT managers, operations managers, and restaurateurs navigate those challenges as VP of Customer Success at Planday.

She shares her insights and provides actionable advice on our podcast, The Food Service Growth Show, hosted by Carl Jacobs.

👉 You can watch/listen to Episode 8 with Brett now! 🎙️

The key to a successful tech implementation is threefold, says Brett:

👷‍♀️ Get a good Project Lead

New software is a huge business decision. Someone with project management skills, who is highly organised and knows how to calculate the ROI is needed to bring an implementation to fruition. 

🤝 Ensure Internal Buy-in

A digital strategy should be part of the business strategy. The whole company has to get behind the implementation, especially the leadership teams. All initiatives must work towards the same goal, avoiding duplication of effort or conflicting priorities.

🚀 Establish what Success Looks Like

Success looks different to everyone, so ask the room: what is success to you?

It can be: to lower costs, reduce errors, spend less time scheduling, or anything. Get those success statements from all stakeholders. And revisit them during implementation, so you don’t get sidetracked by tiny feature requests or other distractions.

Geert Merckaert

Geert Merckaert is the Content and Research Director at Apicbase and the producer of The Food Service Growth Show. He specialises in operational excellence, sustainability, and digital transformation in the restaurant and catering industry. Geert has a diverse background in content marketing, writing, and research, with previous roles in corporate finance at Bank van Breda, food marketing at VLAM, and the trade association Bakkers Vlaanderen. He holds degrees in Communications and Journalism from Plantijnhogeschool, as well as Art History from the Kunsthistorisch Instituut. During his studies, Geert spent nine years working weekends as a restaurant chef. He is dedicated to helping foodservice companies achieve sustainable growth through engaging and insightful content.

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