John Parlet doesn’t waste
any time spreading the
word about what he expects of his employees.
They know it before they are
hired and even before they fill
out an application to work at
John’s Incredible Pizza Co. Inc.
Parlet has each applicant
answer seven questions. He
wants to know if they feel they
are honest and punctual, and
he looks for people who are
clean, which includes being
free of body art and facial hair.
“Some people look at that and
say, ‘Well, that’s stupid. If I want
tattoos, I want tattoos,’” says
Parlet, the company’s founder.
“I think it just helps weed out
some people that probably
wouldn’t fit in with us.”
Parlet, who is also owner,
president and CEO, appears to
have found a recipe for success at the restaurant chain,
which grew to 2007 revenue of
$35 million with 1,300 employees at eight locations.
Smart Business spoke with
Parlet about the keys to managing a strong company culture.
Q. How do you build a strong
culture?
I’m a hands-on guy. I’m in the
stores on a regular basis. I talk
with the management team in
that restaurant and coach
them and critique them and
hopefully compliment them. I
always look for something
good to say about them.
But I also go into the dining
rooms and talk to our guests
and touch the tables, as well.
One of the ways I get the
respect of other people is by
being a hands-on sort of person and being willing to go in and give a hand in a rush and
do whatever else is needed.
The more stores you open,
the less time you’re at any
given stores talking to a guest.
Be sure that you have picked a
management team that shares
in your philosophy and has the
passion that I have for the
business to make up for that.
Q. How do you find people
who fit your culture?
We look for people that are
excitable and that are high
energy and that love
what they do. That’s the
kind of people that I
want representing my
business.
Our thought was, let’s
get the message out
early on before they
even apply. Let’s let
them know what some
of our basic beliefs and
requirements are so we
don’t waste their time
and they don’t waste
our time.
It helps us to the
extent that at least if
they read that section
[of the application] and
if there is anything on
there they find to be
kind of a turnoff — and
I’m sure a lot of them do —
they don’t proceed on further.
It helps us in the interview
process. If people have read
that ahead of time and they
are still interested in coming
to work for our company, they
are one leg up the ladder when
they start.