Raising Cane's Is Focused on Crewmember Growth Opportunities, Especially through Access to Education

Ashley Young, Benefits Manager at Raising Cane’s, leads the organization’s benefits and leave of absence initiative, which focuses on holistic support for Raising Cane’s crewmembers. This strategic support includes education benefits, which led to the partnership with Workforce Edge. 

What’s your goal in focusing on education benefits at Raising Cane's? 

Young says, “Our Crew are the heart of what we do, and we want to have a major impact not only on the business but also on personal and professional success.” 

“You know the old adage – you’re only as strong as your weakest link. At Raising Cane’s, we know that in order to support the growth of our business, we make sure that our Crew are growing and have the skills to evolve.” 

Do you think employers are taking upskilling more seriously now, in terms of their own workforces? 

For several reasons, yes, Young says – and not just because of the pandemic. “There was already a skills gap in many workforces, but with things shutting down, lots of employers saw firsthand how much wider that gap became. To support a successful team, an upskilled workforce is almost essential – from certifications to full degrees,” Young says. 

“The market is competitive right now – everyone needs to attract talent and retain their current workforce. At Raising Cane’s, we felt that offering new opportunities and the chance to grow tells our Crewmembers that we’re invested in ‘what’s next for them,’ and that opportunities are available.” 

Are you seeing HR leaders employ education and skill development to recruit and retain talent?

From her perspective, Young says, “I think the number one driver in talent recruitment right now is your value to prospective Crewmembers - how do you stand out as an organization? Education benefits are one of the key differentiators that will pull you to the front of the pack. Looking at our population – we’re in the restaurant industry, we attract younger Crewmembers – education is what’s important. Health care and other benefits are definitely up there, but access to education really matters to this group.” 

“We offer things like tuition reimbursement, deferred tuition payments and tuition discounts through our educational connections. We do this because we know that education benefits provide value both to our company and to our Crewmembers – and because we care about their personal and professional growth,” Young adds. 

Why did Raising Cane’s choose Workforce Edge?

“Workforce Edge is a simple-to-use education benefits platform that our Crewmembers love. They also have great educational partnerships that our Crew take advantage of regularly,” Young notes. 

In addition, she adds, one of the main drivers in finding a partner like Workforce Edge was that they “had a very manual process for education benefits—largely managed in spreadsheets. Through Workforce Edge, we’re able to automate some of the requests in the tuition reimbursement process, which is a huge lift from an administrative perspective.” 

And from a Crewmember’s perspective, Young continues, “Now they don’t have to send emails with attachments and can use the Workforce Edge platform to manage the ‘paperwork’ part of their education journey, which is a great experience.” 

From her perspective as a benefits manager, Young also notes that “Workforce Edge offers our Crew a centralized system with all of the information and resources they need in one place. They don’t have to look in several places and piece information together about their education benefits and which programs they may be interested in. In the past, our Crewmembers may have looked online and then stopped their search. Now they see education options and will continue to explore, and we love that,” she says. 

Young highlights that at Raising Cane's, they're "always looking for new, industry-leading benefits for their Crew. We just launched a high school diploma program with Penn Foster, and we’ve seen exciting engagement from our Crewmembers already.” 

Young also enjoys working with the Workforce Edge team. “After in-depth and collaborative discussions with the Workforce Edge team, our priorities feel aligned, and the impact has been noticeable for our Crew already.  

“Plus, the Workforce Edge team is a great group; always thinking of new and innovative ways to increase engagement and create opportunities for our Crewmembers. As they implement new features, they always keep us in the loop. They’ve been a great support system for us.”

Young adds, “As we continue to expand our restaurants into new markets, we know that different demographics in each region mean different restaurant needs. We want to make sure that our Crewmembers continue to lead initiatives and campaigns. We’re supporting their skill growth to put forward new and innovative ideas, as well as to meet the needs of their customers.” 

Want to explore how Workforce Edge can help streamline your team’s tuition assistance and reimbursement process? Contact us here.