Pizza Express modernise their employee experience and improve operational efficiency with Oak Engage

Leading restaurant chain, Pizza Express has been a customer of Oak Engage since 2019. With a large and diverse workforce across 360 restaurants, they faced significant challenges with an outdated system and keeping their predominantly deskless employees up to date during the pandemic. They also faced challenges with international access and ensuring content was relevant and up to date during the transition to the Oak platform.

The hub

Fast forward five years and the partnership between Oak Engage and Pizza Express has gone from strength to strength, completely transforming their employee experience. Oak has provided Pizza Express with a user-friendly platform that allows employees to find everything they need efficiently, enhancing their roles and simplifying operations. This has had a huge impact on the business.

David added: “The Hub is a central point for all employees to find everything they need. It’s so well embedded within the business that it is the first place people will go to. If it’s not on the Hub then the world falls down. It’s a must have, you can’t operate without it.”

Monika Piech, Implementation Manager added: “Oak is so easy to operate. There are so many benefits that change the way we work as a business such as timeline for urgent updates, seamless navigation and in-depth analytics. This enables people to easily find what they’re looking for and enables us to do our jobs better. It makes everything so simple.”

Global access

To access Pizza Express’ old intranet, employees had to be UK based, there were also issues with multiple systems and version control. Oak Engage has now given Pizza Express the ability to easily communicate with over 100 restaurants internationally through the use of publications and newsletters which provide a single source of truth for their people. Content can also be targeted to specific audiences so people only receive information that is relevant to them in their role.

David commented: “We can have anyone in the world access it. That’s incredibly helpful for us, especially as we have so many businesses abroad. It’s now all joined together and there’s one version of the truth which is so important for a business of our size.”

“It’s also very simple for the end user because we can profile content so team members can only see what is relevant to them. It has made complex situations very easy to communicate to our teams.”

Engagement and accessibility

Oak’s intuitive and easy to use platform allows employees to create and access engaging content without technical expertise or training. The mega-menu along the top has also helped with quick access to pages, reducing the need for the search functionality.

David said: “We looked at what teams were searching for and implemented changes to make their lives easier. The positive feedback reflects that we’re listening and taking action.”

Highlighting the ease of use, David said: “Oak is very self-intuitive. You can just go onto the platform without any kind of training and build amazing content. Our teams bought into it very quickly.”

One central hub

The intranet, designed with a three-click mentality, ensures employees can find what they need quickly, reducing frustration and saving time.

David commented: “We don’t want to slow our people down, we want to make their lives easier and Oak does just that.”

“We’ve helped get information directly into team members’ hands. We’ve got iPads in every restaurant with the Oak Engage app. Pairing the account through a QR code meant that we could send an email to our restaurant email address and once it’s scanned, they’re automatically logged in. It’s a really simple journey.

Oak also offers single sign-on, so our employees can move between platforms with ease, which makes it even easier for our team members to access information.”

Initially, Pizza Express used multiple systems for communications and document management. Oak Engage has consolidated these systems, creating a single source of truth.

David added: “We call our intranet the Hub for a reason – it’s a central hub for everyone. The first place they go to is the Hub and the more we can integrate with it, the better.”

Operational efficiency

The Hub has significantly reduced operational inefficiencies by providing a streamlined platform where employees can easily access necessary tools and resources. Pizza Express uses it for things happening in the business such as product launches, processes or a new system. The Hub enables them to create and continually update relevant pages which team members can always refer back to so information doesn’t get lost.

QR codes have also been implemented on equipment. When a team member scans the QR code on their phone, employees are taken directly to the Oak platform where they can find instructions on how to use the equipment effectively.

David said: “Oak is almost our operating model in effect, because it tells you how to do everything that you need to do within a restaurant. It’s a testament to Monika and the team, as they’ve built it as a tool that everybody needs.”

Urgent updates and notifications

Features like push notifications and posts on the feed, ensure urgent updates reach their diverse employee base swiftly, maintaining a well-informed workforce.

Monika said: “Using the feed to communicate urgent updates tends to shut down noise very quickly and puts employees at ease.”

Pizza Express have created structure and consistency with their communications to give their team members a sense of familiarity. They utilise newsletters on a weekly basis to ensure they receive important news updates.

Pizza Express also uses a ‘breaking news’ banner or a quick poll to gauge employee feedback to add an extra later to comms in order to cut through and offer a more modern way of communicating.

Continuous improvement

Oak Engage’s in-depth analytics features have been instrumental in understanding user behaviour and improving the platform’s effectiveness. It provides detailed insights into how and when employees use the platform, helping Pizza Express schedule communications and updates for maximum engagement.

David said: “We’re able to see when users use the platform at what particular time, which helps us schedule comms or breaking news to capture the bulk of the team.”

Analytics also help Pizza Express identify challenges and areas for improvement, allowing them to make data-driven decisions to enhance the user experience. Oak’s reporting dashboard also provides a feed of popular searches, allowing Pizza Express to stay ahead of the curve in addressing their team’s needs.

David added: “Through the reporting suite, we can find trends and patterns in user behaviour which is really helpful for us to understand and make improvements. We speak to our team members on a regular basis to find out feedback and what works and what doesn’t. We’re continually getting positive feedback because they can see that we’re listening to them and taking action.”

Attentive support team

The customer is at the heart of Oak Engage, with a responsive support team that are always on hand to help with any queries.

David said: “I would say Oak has one of the best support teams that I’ve seen, it’s up there with one of the best. They respond very quickly, are so friendly and always willing to help. The people make Oak.”

Looking to the future

Looking ahead, Pizza Express is excited about the continuous improvements Oak Engage is making. The team values the roadmap provided by Oak, which helps them plan and integrate new features seamlessly.

Monika commented: “I love the simplicity of Oak. It makes our jobs so much easier. It’s a great platform and teams love it.”

David’s advice to others considering Oak Engage: “Listen to your employees. Cater to what they need and they will determine the success of your platform.”