When it comes to how top HR leaders spend their workdays, most people assume they’re locked away behind a desk or running around an office taking meetings. But Aaron White spends her time a little differently.
As both the chief people officer and chief operating officer of Brinker’s brands, the parent company behind restaurant chains Chili’s and Maggiano’s, nearly half of her time is spent on-site at one of the company’s more than 1,600 restaurants. White says that allows her to talk with and hear directly from the more than 71,000 employees on the frontlines of the business at Chili’s alone.
“This is not an office job, not the traditional CPO role, because I’m on the road quite a bit,” she tells Fortune. “I would say 40% of my time is spent in the restaurants. And the executive team, including our CEO, is travelling almost every week.”
White is no stranger to spending time in restaurants. She started her career as a server for Chili’s nearly 30 years ago before working her way up to general manager. She then transitioned to HR in 2008, and took the helm as chief people officer of Brinker International in 2022, the same year that a new CEO came on to turn around the company after it fell on hard times. White’s role expanded again in January of this year to include operations. She says having on-the-ground experience as a former server, allows her to better understand employees.
“The restaurants are where I get my energy,” she says. ‘I know what it feels like to run these shifts. I want to make the job more fun, easier and more rewarding, and that takes listening, and addressing the small things.”
While on-site, White spends a lot of her time overseeing workflow and quality. When new menu items drop, for instance, she makes sure that the food is up to standard and consistent across restaurants. But she says she also takes time to listen to employees and ask questions about how executives can make their time at work better. For instance, a couple months ago, dishwashers told White that listening to music while working would significantly improve their mood. As a result, Chili’s now allows employees to use speakers in the kitchen.
She also takes time to oversee potential new managers who are subject to what the company calls “realistic job previews,” during which they shadow current employees for a couple of hours during the restaurant’s busiest shifts. This provides them a feel for the company’s culture, and helps leadership gauge whether they’re cut out for the fast-paced life of being a hospitality manager.
“The answers I need aren’t here behind the desk, they’re out with our team members. And if you look at the success we’ve had in this turnaround, it has been built on a foundation of us listening.”
Brit Morse
brit.morse@fortune.com
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