RECESSION IS THE TIME FOR TALENT UPGRADES

Recession Bonus: Great Talent is Up For Grabs

NAPERVILLE, Ill., Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- While its competitors were aggressively downsizing over the past year, Burger King decided not to follow suit but to take advantage of the influx of experienced workers into the job market and upgrade its talent base instead. From the highest levels in the company down to the franchise level, the fast food giant embraced a staffing strategy designed to improve performance according to Jose Tomas, vice president of human resources for Burger King North America in "Stack Your Staffing Deck" which appears in the current issue of Return On Performance, the magazine of the Incentive Marketing Association.

Started in 1954, Burger King is the second largest quick service restaurant chain in the world with more than 11,800 restaurants (90 percent of which are franchises) and approximately 27,000 employees in its corporate operations and company-owned restaurants.

"While everyone else was retrenching, we decided to maintain our staffing level, and to aggressively upgrade talent in every position," Tomas states in the article (found at http://www.rop-digital.com/ropmagazine/2009fall/). He goes on to explain that the upside of the current recession is that it is a good time to thoughtfully examine staff composition and adjust it with available talent as vacancies occur. He encourages employers to closely examine talent gaps, "look beyond bargain-shopping" and seek candidates who are "the perfect fit" for their company's mission and operations.

To read the article and others about employee engagement, see the current issue of Return On Performance or visitwww.returnonperformance.org for the online edition. Information about Return on Performance is available by calling 630-369-7780 or e-mailing info@incentivemarketing.org.

About the Incentive Marketing Association

Headquartered in Naperville, Illinois, the Incentive Marketing Association leads incentive professionals and the corporate community as the premier educator and information source in the incentive marketplace. By promoting the utilization of performance management and measurement tools, results-oriented solutions, the exchange of information and ideas, and high standards of professionalism, IMA advances the effective use of incentives and recognition in employee and customer programs.

More information is available at www.incentivemarketing.org.

About Return On Performance Magazine

Return on Performance (www.returnonperformance.org) is the official magazine of the Incentive Marketing Association and the definitive voice of the incentive marketing industry providing the latest best practice strategies and research available on engaging, aligning and motivating employees, business partners and customers to yield measurable corporate results.