For Michelle Morgan, it means getting to create daring programs and carry out her vision without being compared to someone else. Morgan started out as a part-time cashier 23 years ago at a Zaxby’s in Statesboro, Georgia, and was recently promoted to the company’s first chief people officer. Her firsthand experience working as a front-line employee and growing up in the system informs how she drives the people-first culture at the chicken brand with more than 900 locations.
“Historically, I’ve just been the person to see a need and fill it, and be the person to say hey, we need to do this, and rally people around that,” Morgan said. An example of that is when she brought teams working on Zaxby’s corporate restaurants together alongside other key players in the business in 2020. At the time, the teams were in separate silos with no connective tissue or shared vision clearly defined, Morgan said.
“My goal was to rally all of the people impact groups at Zaxby’s, pulling in the training people, getting them to work closer with HR, creating an organizational effectiveness team, pulling in corporate communication, all the things that really tie to the people experience of Zaxby’s,” she said.