Dive Brief:

• Taco Bell is hosting about 600 "Hiring Parties" at company-owned and franchised locations across the country to entice new job candidates ahead of the summer rush, according to a company release.
• The parties, which function like job fairs and feature free food and walk-in interviews, will take place from April 22 to April 27. Applicants will also be able to speak with managers and employees.
• "At Taco Bell, we believe that creating a different sort of work place starts with a hiring process as unique as we are," Taco Bell's Chief People Officer Frank Tucker said in the release. "People are an integral part of the brand, and Hiring Parties provide job candidates with an insider's look at what makes Taco Bell restaurants a place to want to work and grow."

Dive Insight:

Hosting parties to attract a fresh batch of restaurant employees seems a savvy move for Taco Bell, given millennial and Gen Z interest in positive workplace cultures and the staggering turnover rate the QSR segment faces. In 2017, the turnover rate for hourly employees at limited-service chains was 146.2%. 

Hiring Parties were first tested last year in Indianapolis, and were launched to help Taco Bell reach its goal of creating 100,000 new U.S. jobs in the next three years throughout its footprint. 

Taco Bell is also offering new benefits to make its company more attractive to prospective employees, including one free meal per shift for all corporate store-level workers. The Mexican chain also gives employees access to tuition discounts, scholarships and leadership development training — a top demand from today's growing workforce. Seventy-three percent of younger workers say they want jobs at restaurants with good reputations, according to a study from the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, and 40% believe that mentorship helps them build valuable skills. 

Programs like this are far from unique in the QSR space — Jersey Mike's recently launched its STAY (sweat, tears and years) program which helps store managers attain shared ownership of a store franchise, and McDonald's launched a program called "Where You Want to Be" that pairs employees with experts in fields they hope to pursue in the future. 

But Taco Bell's parties could help differentiate it from competitors by establishing a fun-loving and approachable environment right out of the gate. The question is whether or not the company will be able to continue delivering on that experience once new employees are hired, as the battle to retain workers — and offer compelling benefits — is at an all-time high.