Why On-Demand Pay is Popular for Quick-serve Restaurant Franchises

Rain Team

Rain Team

July 23, 2020

Our pay on demand platform can work in any industry – but we’ve seen a lot of traction in the quick-serve and fast food industries, which does not come as a surprise.

One thing we’ve learned from our partners is that fast food and quick-serve franchises don’t have time to prioritize payroll and benefits. We’ve also found that using Rain to provide a financial wellness benefit can result in increased productivity, employee retention, and job applications.

Financial wellness apps, especially on-demand pay apps like Rain, can:

  • Provide pay cards for free, so you don’t have to handle them
  • Eliminate your internal wage advance policy and the hassle that goes with it
  • Add on-demand pay to your benefits package (with no fees for you)

Improving Employee Productivity with Financial Wellness

It can be hard to motivate a minimum-wage employee to pick up an extra shift or stay a little late – but, we get it – you can’t afford to give everyone a raise. What you can afford to do instead is stop making them wait two weeks to collect the money they’ve earned. You can do that through an on-demand pay platform (also called early wage access).

Early wage access reminds your employees exactly what they can earn by picking up an extra shift or working an extra hour. In some cases, that extra hour might mean the difference between being able to pay a bill in full or not. If they have Rain, they can log in after their shift and withdraw wages instead of having to wait for payday. In return, they are less stressed and more productive at work. Plus, employees who feel respected are more likely to wear a smile in front of customers. Having a robust benefits package is a huge step in showing your respect.

Blue Shield of California believes that “a healthy, productive workforce is a strong asset that powers the business’ bottom line,” and we believe that financial wellness is a huge part of that.

Reducing Turnover & Increasing Job Applications

Franchise groups often run into the unique problem of a disconnect between the group, the brand name, the individual locations, and the employees. When the franchise group offers a strong benefits package, employee loyalty can shift from the brand or their location to the franchise group as a whole – ultimately resulting in happier employees who are more likely to stick around.

At the same time, hiring can be tricky because your franchise group name is probably unknown and can be confusing. Job seekers probably think they’re applying for the company brand name. Then, they see your franchise group name on their job application and get a little confused. However, if you’re able to tie a strong benefits package to your name, YOU become the company that job seekers want to work for. You might even start seeing an increase in job applications when you can cite things like “on-demand pay available” on your listings.  

What KFC, McDonald’s, and Others are Doing

Some major fast food and quick-serve corporations have introduced their own financial wellness programs (but they don’t include on-demand pay, as far as we know). The KFC Foundation has launched a financial education program, and McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Chipotle are offering tuition assistance.

Rolling out these programs likely took a lot of time and effort from their corporate offices – and that’s time that franchise owners don’t typically have. Rain’s financial wellness tools are already built for you, so all you have to do is sign up.

Making a Difference in Quick-Serve and Fast Food

Fast food and quick-serve corporations have been under fire for lack of employee benefits or fair wages. Franchise owners have a unique opportunity to create strong, healthy work environments for their employees, even if it is against the standard for the industry. On-demand pay is a great example of a benefit that doesn’t cost the franchise anything while providing a useful service for employees.

Quick-serve and fast food employees who are making minimum wage and working part-time might have a hard time making it from paycheck to paycheck. Giving them access to Rain means you’ll never again have employees calling out of work because they can’t afford to put gas in their car or hire a babysitter. It also means your employees will be less stressed, more productive, and happier in their positions.

By signing up for Rain, you can be a part of the movement towards better benefits for fast food and quick-serve workers. Ready? It’s free and doesn’t take long at all – sign up today!