Green and Orange Modern American Burger Presentation

R&R Session. Learning & Development. 4th September 2025.

[Audio] "Good morning everyone. Today, I'll be sharing our initiative how to improve A&W Product Quality through SOC Driven Quality Enhancement Program. This is all about strengthening competency, building consistency, and ultimately driving customer satisfaction.".

[Audio] Slide 3 – Reality Check of A&W Product Quality "Let's begin with a reality check. Currently, our product quality faces serious challenges: – Root Beer that tastes flat or bland,Too sweet and not cold enough Chicken is often served cold, sometimes with too much breading, sometimes with too little breading, and sometimes undercooked Burgers (Mozza/CB) are turning soggy, served cold, and the vegetables are not fresh. Waffles undercooked, – And Coneys that are cold and watery. Recognizing these issues, A&W Malaysia carried out a root cause analysis during our budget meeting to truly identify the problems and the gaps.".

[Audio] Slide 4- Bridge "To recognize these issues, A&W Malaysia conducted a root cause analysis during our budget meeting to clearly identify the problems and gaps. We applied Lean Management principles, using the A3 tool to determine the root causes and establish an effective action plan. The A3 tool is used to find the root cause of a problem and create a clear step-by-step action plan to solve it..

[Audio] Slide 5 – Problems & Gaps Identified "Our analysis highlighted five key issues: High staff turnover, which leads to low competency. Poor quality raw ingredients — either from suppliers or improper handling at outlets. Rapid changes in SOPs, especially for our core menu items like Mozza, chicken, and Root Beer — creating confusion between cost-saving initiatives and maintaining quality. Lack of consistent coaching and check-ins on SOP competency. Outdated tools — we are still relying on hard copy forms, which are inefficient and not updated. From a data perspective, the situation is clear: SOC Certification completion, between 2023 and June 2025, is only at 8%. Out of 1,435 employees, only 112 are certified.".

[Audio] Slide 6 – What We Did: Resetting the Foundation "To address this, we decided to reset the foundation. We declared 2025 and 2026 as the Year of SOC Certification. The rule is simple: certification must happen every 2 weeks. Learning & Development is leading this initiative, fully aligned with Operations. The journey is clear, structured, measurable, and visible to all outlets." Process Flow of SOC Certification "Here's how the process works: Every two weeks, L&D releases an SOC Focus Poster. Our leaders — OMs, DCs, RGMs, ARMs, and Team Trainers — ensure outlet teams complete certification online. Weekly monitoring and team rallies are done via LARK, using posters and videos. And every two weeks, we announce the Top 10 and Bottom 10 outlets based on performance updates.".

[Audio] Slide 7 – Why This Approach Works "This approach works because: It takes us back to basics — SOC validates outlet knowledge and skills on SOP. We focus on staggered SOP rollouts, which avoids confusion and ensures clarity. We build a coaching culture, where operations leaders actively guide their teams. And we reinforce accountability — outlets own their results.".

[Audio] Slide 8 – Results & Targets "Now let's look at where we are, and where we want to go. Current state in 2024: – Google Reviews average 3.5 stars. – We've received over 3,700 customer feedbacks about cold food. – SOC Certification completion is only 8%. – And average check is RM29.97. Our targets: – Increase Google Review ratings to at least 4 stars. – Reduce food quality complaints by 70%. – Achieve product quality score of 4 out of 5. – Reach 80% SOC Certification completion. – Average check RM35.

[Audio] Slide 9 – What's Next "So, what's next? The SOC Certification journey will continue from July 2025 until June 2026. We'll also roll out new initiatives, including: – Competitions for SOC completion in the second half of the financial year. – And upgraded posters and videos using AI, to make them more interactive and engaging.".

[Audio] Slide10 – Advice to Others "If I could share advice with others facing similar challenges, it would be this: – With high turnover, rising costs, and fast-changing operations — going back to basics is often the best solution. – Upgrade your tools so they're not only efficient but also motivating and interactive. – Always align closely with Operations leadership to secure buy-in. – Focus on actions that are both high-impact and simple to implement. – And finally, believe in continuous improvement and creativity.".

[Audio] Slide 11 – Closing "In closing, SOC Certification is more than just training. It is the foundation of product quality, consistency, and customer trust at A&W. Thank you.".