Five Guys Europe operates across hundreds of restaurants with a workforce made up primarily of frontline employees working different shift patterns and locations. 

Before Oak, internal communication relied heavily on manual cascades through managers. This created inconsistency, slowed down operational updates and placed significant risk on food safety and customer service quality. 

To solve this, the Five Guys team launched Chatty Patty in just 48 hours.  A mobile-first employee platform designed to give every team member - regardless of location or device - direct access to the information, tools and community they needed to succeed. 

The impact was immediate. Employees gained a single digital space for resources, updates, recognition and feedback - helping Five Guys create a stronger sense of connection and belonging across the organisation and drastically improving operational efficiency. 

‍“Chatty Patty has changed the game for us. We’ve cut employee turnover by more than half, boosted manager stability and achieved higher food-safety scores — and you can feel the difference in every restaurant. Our teams are more aligned, our standards are higher and the customer experience has never been stronger. It’s essential to how we run the business at Five Guys.”

Dale Brodie, Internal Communications Manager at Five Guys Europe

The challenge

Before launching Chatty Patty, communication across Five Guys was heavily dependent on managers acting as the middleman between Head Office and frontline crews, causing them to feel overwhelmed. Frontline staff were disconnected and with 90% of employees lacking work email access, important updates around food safety, allergens, stock issues or operational changes could be delayed or inconsistently shared.

At the same time, employee turnover had reached 110%, meaning restaurants were constantly recruiting and onboarding new employees. The average cost of replacing a leaver was estimated at £2,000, creating significant financial and operational strain. Managers were stretched between running busy restaurants and ensuring communication landed effectively with their teams. 

‍“I can’t imagine trying to run the business without Chatty Patty now. It is an essential tool in our toolbox for how we run the business, how we communicate with each other, how we feed back, it’s essential, not optional.”

‍John Eckbert, CEO at Five Guys Europe

‍Why change was needed‍

For Five Guys, improving internal communication was no longer just about engagement - it had become an operational and commercial priority. High attrition was impacting stability, productivity and consistency across restaurants. 

Food safety and compliance requirements increased the need for fast, accurate communication. Relying on managers to manually cascade critical updates created risk, delays and inconsistency. Five Guys needed a faster, more reliable way to reach every employee directly, reduce pressure on managers and improve retention while protecting operational standards.

‍Why Five Guys chose Oak

‍Improving food safety and reducing operational risk

Food safety compliance was a critical priority for Five Guys, particularly following the introduction of Natasha’s Law.  

Since using their Chatty Patty mobile app, Five Guys has been able to send urgent, targeted updates directly to employees and has seen better food safety scores and stronger compliance outcomes. Communication is no longer reliant on manager cascade, paper or chance - every frontline team member can see what’s changed. This gives teams immediate access to the latest guidance whilst providing leadership with confidence that essential messages are reaching the right people.

Food safety compliance is also embedded into the restaurant culture, reinforced by frontline staff sharing training success and best practices.

“Oak has given us confidence that teams have the right information when they need it. It has centralised food safety communication in one trusted space and as a result we have strengthened operational consistency and reduced risk across our restaurants.”

‍Dale Brodie, Internal Communications Manager at Five Guys Europe

‍Reducing employee turnover by keeping employees connected

High employee turnover was creating operational disruption, increasing recruitment and onboarding costs. Five Guys recognised that improving communication alone wasn’t enough - employees also needed to feel connected to the wider business and see clear opportunities for progression. 

Oak helped build that connection by creating a shared space for recognition, updates and visibility across the organisation. Internal mobility has increased as job opportunities have become more visible, with almost 74% of managers now promoted from within, helping retain experience and inspire career development.

‍Employee turnover has reduced by 56%, falling from 110% to 48.8%, resulting in a contribution to savings of over £4.3 million* in recruitment and onboarding costs.

Dale highlights: “People aren’t just sticking around because they can’t be bothered to look for another job. Engagement remains high and is consistently at 76 - 80% across UK regions. This shows that our people genuinely want to be part of what we’re doing.”

‍Driving adoption with a mobile-first experience 

Five Guys wanted a solution that employees would genuinely use. With a young, deskless workforce, a simple and accessible mobile experience was essential. Chatty Patty was designed to reflect Five Guys’ brand and feel familiar to employees, helping adoption grow quickly and naturally - even the name came from an employee competition. 

Employees can securely access the platform from their own devices without needing a work email address, making everything accessible to everyone from day one. Chatty Patty has also enabled the team to send relevant and targeted messages and reduce noise for employees. 

‍“Before Chatty Patty, before an internal communication app, we had no real way to communicate with our crew members, it was really difficult. Oak provided a well-rounded app that did a bit of everything and we thought that was perfect for us. Whatever we’ve asked for from Oak we’ve absolutely received and that’s hugely reassuring.”

‍Bastian Bauermeister, Ops Project Manager at Five Guys Europe

Plus, providing opportunities for two-way communications and enabling an employee feedback loop has transformed how they work, especially for the CEO.

“I can speak to all of our crew members immediately and it allows for two-way communication. It cuts out all the layers between us and lets us communicate directly with each other”

‍John Eckbert, CEO at Five Guys Europe

‍Building a stronger culture and sense of community

Beyond operational communication, Chatty Patty has helped bring the Five Guys culture to life across restaurants. Employees use the platform to celebrate wins, recognise colleagues and share success stories, reinforcing a sense of belonging across the business.

Managers feel relief with ‘one less thing to worry about’, while frontline teams feel empowered to showcase their achievements. In just 18 months, social spaces generated more than 4 million content views, with 24,000 reactions recorded in 3 months - clear evidence that the platform is deeply embedded in everyday working life.

Bastian added: “Oak is almost addictive. It feels like a window into our restaurants. We’re celebrating promotions and new hires and that gives us confidence that our teams feel good.”

“We use chatty Patty every day.”

‍Xenia Tserra, Shift Manager

‍Launching Chatty Patty in just 48 hours

Five Guys was piloting Chatty Patty when the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for a central communication platform. As restaurants faced closures and rapidly changing guidance, the decision was made to launch the app fully in just 48 hours. 

The platform quickly became a lifeline for teams, enabling leadership to share updates, provide reassurance and maintain connection during uncertain times. Adoption reached 97%, reflecting the immediate value employees saw in having one trusted source of information.

“Chatty Patty became a lifeline during the pandemic. I strongly believe that our ability to stay connected with our workforce during this time is a large part of why our retention rates remained strong - 90% of our people came back to our stores.”

‍Bastian Bauermeister, Ops Project Manager at Five Guys Europe

Engagement beyond the pandemic has remained strong, with 82% of managers saying that Chatty Patty is their primary news source, with General Managers having the highest adoption at 91%.‍

“Chatty Patty has changed the way we’re working. It’s helping the business, it’s helping the team members and it’s helping everyone in the store.”

‍Gabi Apetrii, Deputy General Manager

‍Increasing employee voice while saving £10,000 annually on surveys 

Five Guys has transformed how employee feedback is gathered by running surveys exclusively through Chatty Patty. By removing the need for paid incentives, the business now saves £10,000 annually while achieving a 93% survey response rate - the highest ever recorded internally. 

Using the platform allowed the team to communicate in a way that felt natural and relevant to employees, driving authentic participation and meaningful insights. 

Dale added: “I wanted this to be a genuine survey result. By posting exclusively through Chatty Patty, engaging the team in their language and tone, we had the highest ever response rate. ‍The more connected our people are, the stronger we become as a business - and Chatty Patty is at the centre of that.”