Case Study: JAE Restaurant Group achieves a resilient, people-first culture and faster payroll for 7,000 employees with ADP (ADP Vantage HCM & ADP DataCloud)

Serving up a strong company culture

JAE Restaurant Group, owner and operator of 220 Wendy’s restaurants with over 7,000 employees, entered 2020 focused on a people-first culture but was quickly tested by COVID‑19, rapidly changing regulations, a fresh‑beef shortage, civil unrest and multiple hurricanes—all during Randy Pianin’s first year as CEO. The company needed to keep employees safe, paid and engaged while rapidly adjusting operations and maintaining service.

JAE reinforced its culture with targeted support—training and career paths, employee recognition (JAE Star), hero pay, faster access to wages, adjusted hours and operations—and implemented ADP Vantage HCM/ADP DataCloud and the ADP mobile app for streamlined payroll and HR. The combined people and technology strategy kept staff employed, improved efficiency and staffing, raised engagement and reduced turnover, delivered greater profitability than 2019, and earned ADP’s 2021 Culture at Work award.

JAE Restaurant Group

Randy Pianin

Chief Executive Officer