The document discusses Texas Roadhouse's selection of EthicsPoint to provide an employee reporting system. It describes how Texas Roadhouse wanted a confidential and easy-to-use system for employees to report any unethical, illegal, or dangerous activities. EthicsPoint was able to customize an online reporting page consistent with Texas Roadhouse's website. The system allows for more accurate reporting and quick resolution of issues. It provides reassurance to employees and helps Texas Roadhouse avoid legal claims by resolving employee concerns.

1. “ It is a big deal to treat employees with respect, dignity and
professionalism. If they need our help, we have to be able to
resolve the situation quickly and effectively.
We want the best system for our employees to report concerns.
That is very important. EthicsPoint offers us a service that has the
capabilities we need, is flexible, and is easy to use.
”
Restaurant Industry
Texas Roadhouse and EthicsPoint Cook Up
a Hearty Ethical Workplace
Passion, Partnership, Integrity and Fun... all with Purpose
are the values that have built Texas Roadhouse’s success
in providing guests Legendary Food, Legendary Service.
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, the company lays
claim to the highest quality food in the industry such as
Patrick Sterling hand-cut steaks, fall-off-the-bone ribs and made-from-
Director of Risk and scratch sides.
People Administration
Texas Roadhouse uses that same commitment to quality
with its employees by showing care and concern for
every employee, including providing numerous avenues
for them to report any activities that might be unethical,
illegal or dangerous. In an effort to provide employees the
best service for communicating those concerns with
the company, Texas Roadhouse selected EthicsPoint to
provide a confidential reporting system.

2. How Important is it for a The Ideal Solution:
EthicsPoint’s Issue & Event Manager Software
Restaurant to Listen to its
Implementing the new system with help from EthicsPoint’s
Employees? team, Texas Roadhouse made sure the process would be
familiar and easy for employees.
Patrick Sterling “ We were able to customize the online
employee reporting page to keep the
is in charge of risk management
look very professional and consistent
”
and People Administration. In
with our corporate website.
case employees notice some-
thing negative in the workplace, As a result, Texas Roadhouse receives more accurate, fact-
Patrick relies on them to tell him based information than before. EthicsPoint’s trained call
about the incident so he can resolve it. center personnel walk the concerned employee through
a scripted process that makes sure Texas Roadhouse’s
Employee Relations Team receives reports they can quickly
To do that, employees need reassurance that they take action on to resolve.
can confidentially explain the problem without fear
of retaliation. From a legal perspective, Patrick wants to make sure
employee complaints are immediately brought to the
team’s attention. The best way to avoid a claim with the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Patrick
says, is to provide employees a way to share their concerns
and then help them by resolving the issues.
Focus on Restaurants
Texas Roadhouse has always stressed the value of a fun “ When folks have a bad experience, it is
important to talk about it. We picked
work experience for employees. Like with any business, EthicsPoint to manage that side of our
though, that experience is sometimes affected by
behavior that goes against the company’s values -
including issues of ethics, discrimination or other
business because we take it seriously.
”
Now, Texas Roadhouse has a communication channel that is
negative behaviors. confidential, multi-lingual and available for employees to use
online. Patrick sees nearly 40 percent of concerns reported
online, a statistic he attributes to young peoples’ preferred
In order to identify and prevent those issues from
means of communication. Another 20 percent of the
happening, the company provided an employee issues being tracked are entered into the system based
hotline and kept track of cases using hand-written on conversations between employees and managers.
notes. It was not ideal, says Patrick Sterling, Director of
Risk and People Administration. With everything tracked in a centralized database, Patrick’s
team studies overall trends in the data in search of risk issues.
“ We created our own hotline system, but
it was limited and we finally outgrew it. Results in the House
We decided to find a vendor that was
”
In the changing world of risk management, a return on
best-in-class for our industry. investment is difficult to gauge but Patrick says the system
has saved work hours equivalent to hiring another full-time
Texas Roadhouse wanted a more efficient, centralized employee.
system that directly integrated employee reports
with automated case tracking, allowed anonymous He has observed other results including the following:
web-based reporting, and supported coordinated • Better, more accurate information
• Greater analytical insight into risk areas
investigations between the legal and human resources
• More opportunity to communicate with employees
teams. They chose EthicsPoint to provide the system.
Trying to give employees more communication channels like Patrick was? Our restaurant
industry representative can be reached at 866-297-0224 sales@ethicspoint.com