Meet Layne’s Chicken Fingers Director of Training Sha’Quita Jones

Layne’s Chicken Fingers, the rapidly growing chicken finger franchise, has built an iconic and beloved brand largely through its 15:1 promise — at Layne’s, the experience and team members are 15 times better than the food, and the food is already the best around. To execute on this, though, each team member needs to be fully educated on Layne’s standards and confident in their ability to follow through. This is where Director of Training Sha’Quita Jones comes in.

“We are with the franchisee from the start to the finish — and beyond,” Jones said. “We demonstrate how Layne’s should be distributed. We take care of creating the training materials to not only get owners started but to help them sustain their businesses, manage turnover and make sure team members are trained. We go out and assist with new opening training and ensure we leave owners with the tools they need to continue strong operations through turnover, new hires, promotions and cross-training.”

Jones came to Layne’s nearly three years ago and brought nearly two decades of food service experience with her. Because she had worked with Chief Operating Officer Samir Wattar earlier in her career, Jones took note when he began working with Layne’s.

“Layne’s was still a smaller brand when Samir first told me about it, so I was really curious about what he had in store for the brand,” she said. “I trust him — I trust his leadership — and Layne’s offered me an opportunity to come on with a smaller brand that was on the rise. I really thrive in close-knit settings like the one we have here at Layne’s, and I was really excited to be a part of a growing brand.”

Since joining the brand, Jones says one of her proudest accomplishments has been the promotion of Jason Cabrera to training manager. Cabrera started with Layne’s as a teen and worked his way up the ranks. When Jones joined, he was working as a general manager, but the team saw his passion and potential.

“When we saw agreements for hundreds of locations coming in, I knew I wouldn’t be able to be directly involved with every franchisee and every restaurant without a team,” Jones said. “I needed a team. I asked Jason if he had ever thought of joining the training team, and he hadn’t, but he said he would check it out. I took him on a trip with me to open a new Pittsburgh location, and he seriously thrived in that setting. His promotion is probably one of the greatest highlights of my time here so far.”

As Layne’s continues to grow, Jones will further build out her training team to include more passionate trainers like Cabrera, ensuring that each franchisee and restaurant team has the support they need to feel prepared for a great opening. During a total of three to four weeks of pre-opening training, Jones and her team work to let franchisees know that they are there to “save the day” if needed, but the goal is to leave the proverbial superhero cape at the new restaurant when the training team leaves.

“When I leave, the ‘superhero’ is gone, but I can leave my cape with them,” she said. “That way, they know how to do what I do and see what I see. I want franchisees to feel good about where they are when we leave them. When they say, ‘No, Shaq, I got it; I don’t need you to do that,’ that’s what success is to me.”

With 17 restaurants open and another 226 sold, Layne’s is on track to see exponential growth in the coming years. Looking to the future, Jones encourages people to “just sit back and watch.” Through all stages of development, the Layne’s team is selective about who joins the family and how they are prepared to launch, and Jones and her team play a key role in this process.

“We want to be a household name, but we’re not going to try to put Layne’s in your face every day,” she said. “We don’t have to. We prove it with our customer service and our food, and the training team is here to ensure franchisees have the tools they need to prove it every day.”

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/layneschickenfingers.