Would you agree that in many casual-dining brands, corporate culture is often limited to the head office? Have you ever wondered why, and how to saturate your entire company with your core values, mission, and mindset, which create your brand’s culture as felt by both your internal and external customers?

This month’s article comes from this precise issue and an excellent question from Alexandre Botelho, International Franchise Development Lead, Americas, of Dine Brands. Alex feels corporate culture is often limited to the head office in many casual-dining brands and asks, “What are the most effective ways to ensure that a strong, values-driven corporate culture permeates down to the unit level — especially in high-turnover environments where frontline staff may feel disconnected from the brand’s mission?”

When culture stops at the office…

It will cost you in more ways than one. Many casual-dining brands invest time, energy, and finances into defining their corporate culture — mission statements, values, leadership principles — but these often remain confined to the head office. And beyond that, the results often remain in a computer digital file, printed, framed, and displayed somewhere it’s thought to be seen. How often do you walk by the same thing you’ve seen repeatedly and not really “see” it anymore? We all do! A company’s values are to be a living, breathing set of principles to be acted upon by its employees at all levels and felt by every customer and anyone who experiences your brand, even your vendors and suppliers. If a company’s values, vision, and mission, their culture, are only something discussed at the executive level and printed to check a box that it has been done, but not incorporated into every single operation, then it is meaningless.

At the unit level, where turnover is high and the pace is fast, that culture can feel distant or irrelevant. This disconnect will result in inconsistency within your teams and low engagement from your staff, thus leading to difficulty retaining talent. Executive teams are always looking at their bottom line. This labor turnover is one of the costliest line items in your business. Curious to know what your specific employee churn rate is costing you? Input your unique company numbers into this employee churn cost calculator to learn what it is costing you annually. This shows you exactly how disassociating the importance of teaching your employees from the start about your values and incorporating them into everything they do will affect your bottom line.

Here’s the challenge: How do you make culture real for frontline teams, not just a slide in a corporate deck? It’s simple. The employee experience drives the customer experience. If culture isn’t lived by your employees, it won’t be felt by your guests.

From philosophy to practice: Making culture tangible on the floor

Culture becomes real only when it’s translated into everyday behavior. This happens from “educating” your hires, not just training them. This is the first “E” in my E3+1 Recipe for Success and Becoming the Employer of Choice. Start by defining how your values show up in action at the unit level. For example:

These detailed definitions must be taught and modeled, not assumed. Managers are critical in this equation. They set the tone daily. Culture doesn’t trickle down on its own — it’s passed hand to hand via role models to be seen and heard. Corporate teams should equip local leaders with practical ways to reinforce values: through pre-shift huddles, daily recognition, and coaching conversations. Recognizing and rewarding these behaviors will go a long way in reinforcing these actions and getting group engagement supporting the culture you teach. In short, recognition is reinforcement.

Highlight employees who embody the brand’s values. This gives others a model to follow and motivates them to replicate. Call it out for what it is. Use tools and language like “values spotlights” or peer-nominated shoutouts to make culture visible. To reach the local unit levels, give individual locations ownership: Let teams personalize how they live the culture within corporate guardrails. Remember: Culture sticks better when it’s co-created, not dictated.

Educate, don’t just train: Invest in people’s understanding

The most effective way to ensure that a strong, values-driven corporate culture permeates down to the unit level is to educate, not (just) train. Many restaurant operators focus on task training — how to run food, clean tables, and use the POS. This way, they can quickly get a new hire on the floor. But WAIT! This is what I call “warm-body hiring.” It is super dangerous! Is this the impression you want to give your customers? I highly doubt it because you will have then lost all control of the consistency of your brand messaging, your brand promise. It will be up to whoever is filling a position, not necessarily a part of your “team.” First, they must understand your values, vision, and mission, as well as your expectations of them (!) to be on board to truly represent your brand to your customers.