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- HAMRA Enterprises
- Success story
Serving up connection: How the quick-service restaurant giant reaches 7,500 associates instantly
Learn how the quick-service restaurant group operating over 200 Wendy’s, Panera Bread, and Noodles & Company locations uses Beekeeper to improve the frontline experience for over 7,500 team members — enhancing internal communication, streamlining safety audits, and boosting employee engagement.
Key results
Creates a sense of community, connecting 7,500 employees on one mobile platform
Streamlines performance check-ins and safety audits, improving on-time completion rates
Boosts engagement in HR programs, increasing HERO Fund participation by 15%
Operating over 200 Wendy’s, Panera Bread, and Noodles & Company locations, this restaurant group uses Beekeeper to enhance the frontline experience. With real-time employee communication, mobile safety audits, and integrations with ADP and Snappy, Beekeeper keeps over 7,500 associates informed and engaged.
When I saw Beekeeper, it was one of those aha moments. I saw how we could put communication in every single person’s hand.
Sonja Breuer
Senior VP of HR, Hamra Enterprises
Beekeeper is our one-stop shop. It’s the only platform we have where we can reach every single employee.”
Sonja Breuer
Senior VP of HR, Hamra Enterprises
Hamra Enterprises, the operator of over 200 Wendy’s, Panera Bread, and Noodles & Company locations, sees itself as a people company first — not just a restaurant business. Yet, with over 7,500 employees across 11 states, reaching every worker — especially part-time employees — was a challenge.
“Our employees range from 16 to 60 years old,” says Sonja Breuer, the company’s Senior VP of HR. “Trying to reach and engage all of them was very difficult.”
While managers had access to company email, crew members and associates were often left in the dark. “We had no way to communicate with associates other than through flyers and posters on the wall — which soon turned into wallpaper,” says Breuer. “We needed a better way to communicate with all of our restaurant employees, all the way down to our part-time employees who only work one day a week.”
In addition to improving communication around day-to-day operations, Breuer also wanted to bring awareness to the Hamra HERO Fund, an emergency relief fund for employees created through employee donations and company matching.
“Since Hamra was founded on a vision of improving employees’ lives, we wanted to highlight the programs available to support them,” explains Breuer. But when asking employees whether they knew about this fund, the answer was often no. “I really saw a need to increase awareness because this is at the core of what we do.”
Hamra also needed to modernize its time-consuming, paper-based processes — like performance check-ins and safety audits — so managers could spend less time on paperwork and more time leading their teams. The reliance on printed forms, manual signatures, and tedious uploads slowed operations and pulled managers away from the restaurant floor.
“Documents were being printed, signed, scanned, and uploaded to our document storage system. It was so archaic,” says Breuer. “Our managers are always on the floor, always moving. They need mobile solutions, not desk-based ones.”
About HAMRA Enterprises
Founded in 1975 by Sam Hamra with a single Wendy’s in Springfield, Missouri, Hamra Enterprises has grown into a leading operator in the quick-service restaurant industry. Today, the family-owned company operates over 200 restaurants across 11 states, with a team of over 7,500 employees.
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