From our cashiers to our cone makers and carvers to our chefs and R&D team, we know that our people at every level of the Innovative Foods organization are the face of our business and represent the fabric of our highly valued and trusted customer and partner relationships.
We strive to engage every one of our more than 1,000 employees in the same manner we engage our customers. We value listening to and learning from the people who are closest to our customers, integrating their voices and recommendations into our continuous improvement programs.
The foundation of the Innovative Foods employee value proposition is all about investing in our people for the shared benefit of our employees and our business.
We are proud of the longevity of so many of our employees who have made the choice to build their careers in the Innovative Foods family. We reward them by institutionalizing our cross-training, goal setting and performance review in a fully transparent way that provides a clear path to promotion and advancement and ability to earn performance-related bonuses.
For example, our current Shawarma regional manager started with us more than 12 years ago as an assistant cutter and our warehouse and logistics director started with the 2in1 brand 25 years ago
While Innovative Foods has a clear goal of making Shawarma the most loved Saudi brand, we have an equally important goal of being regarded as one of the top employers of choice in Saudi Arabia. We believe those two goals go hand-in-hand in driving future success of our business.
Annual Ramadan Celebration
Ramadan is a time for celebrating family and showing genuine appreciation for those who make an impact on our lives. That’s why we select one day every year during Ramadan to remember that we are one BIG Innovative Foods family.
One day every year during Ramadan we completely shut down our operations, including all Shawarmer restaurants, to bring our all Innovative Foods and Shawarmer employees with their families together. We bring them in from all corners of Saudi Arabia to show our true appreciation for their hard work and celebrate the Holy Month as one.
Supporting the Saudi National Agenda & Vision 2030
Encouraging more Saudi nationals to enter and build careers in the private sector is an important element of Vision 2030 and our shared national economic diversification strategy.
Locally owned businesses share a unique responsibility to create opportunities for Saudi youth as well as Saudi women to enter the workforce in positions that provide real future growth opportunities.
Innovative Foods is committed to supporting the national Saudization efforts through our recruitment practices, our investment in employee training and development and career development programs.
This commitment applies equally at the Innovative Foods corporate level as well as in all our Shawarmer locations, where we go to great efforts to ensure Saudi nationals represent the face of our excellence in customer service.
Across the Innovative Foods organization, we are proud that more than 32% of our greater than 1,000-strong employee base are Saudi citizens. And that number continues to grow as our employee base expands with bright, young Saudis who share our passion for spreading joy through the love of shawarma.
Nurturing Our Talent to Grow Our Business
The Innovative Foods commitment to employee training and development is built on the foundation of our core values … Innovation, Transparency, Hospitality and Excellence.
We are not just investing in technology to protect the health and growth of our business well into the future. We are investing equally in the people who play such a critical role in maintaining our high standards of excellence, customer service and food quality.
Innovative Foods provides employees with a comprehensive operational excellence program covering all aspects of employee training and development, food service preparation and quality control programs that touch employees at every level of the organization.
Depending on the level and role of an employee entering our organization, they will undergo anywhere from 10 to 40 days of training in one of our dedicated training centres as well as with hands-on restaurant experience. That training continues throughout each individual employee’s career journey with Innovative Foods as they undergo specialized cross-training and professional development programs designed to help them earn promotion opportunities to enable their rapid rise in the organization.
Our commitment to investing in our people and their future has contributed to our ability to maintain a highly motivated, loyal and proud work force who work as one and recognize the role each individual plays in the success of our business.