Taco Bell to Test Paying Managers $100,000 a Year

It’s still unclear how long the test will run or which of the company’s more than 6,600 locations will be selected, but Ms. Onyett said the test will take place “later this year” and that the company is still in “planning phases.”

Taco Bell’s planned test demonstrates the company is prepared to put more money into its staff and into company-owned stores in an effort to boost performance, Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at GlobalData, said on Friday. “It obviously feels confident enough to be able to really provide such a sharp increase in salaries of people running those outlets,” he said.

“I think it’s a necessary move because I think the labor market is now extremely tight,” Mr. Saunders said. In order to attract good talent, companies have to pay for it and give good benefits, he added.

“It’s certainly the case in the fast-food industry that there can be high turnover, even at management levels, and that has a detrimental impact on how stores are run,” he said. “A good manager in an outlet can make a difference between that store being really successful or being pretty mediocre in terms of performance.”

The test by Taco Bell could also create a ripple effect among fast-food companies.

“I think it does signal the costs of running fast-food outlets could be going up,” Mr. Saunders said, adding that if one company starts to make a move in terms of salaries, it could put pressure on everyone else to follow suit.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/10/business/taco-bell-manager-salary.html?emc=rss&partner=rss