San Carlo excelled in delivering exceptional customer experiences but faced some challenges with employee engagement, communication, and alignment across the group. Employees felt undervalued and disconnected without a clear purpose, values, or consistent standards – leading to inconsistent experiences for both staff and guests.

A shared purpose and values would create unity and guide everyone towards a common goal, improving teamwork, support, and communication. We aimed to preserve the brand’s heritage while creating an environment where employees felt special and celebrated – by empowering staff and ensuring that the warmth, authenticity of Italian hospitality were reflected in every aspect of the business.

We visited multiple locations and conducted workshops with restaurant staff and head office, and senior leadership teams – helping to uncover the essence of the brand and align the team on its purpose:

• “Creating memorable experiences through The Art of San Carlo,” emphasising the theatre, authenticity, and warmth of Italian hospitality.
• Identification of core values that resonated deeply with employees.
• A focus on the small touches that make the San Carlo experience unique, empowering employees to excel in every aspect of their roles.

This fully integrated approach celebrated Italian culture and embedded it into every employee’s daily experience. “The Art of San Carlo” became a framework that encapsulated the entire guest and colleague experience, from food to service to style.

We laid the foundation for lasting change, aligning all employees with a culture they could embrace. The clarity provided by “The Art of San Carlo” ensured that staff felt valued, respected, and empowered.

We supported the preparation of a successful event to launch the new values and purpose, ensuring all employees understood their role in living out these principles – including engaging activities and culture collateral to take away to individual locations.

We also built concepts for ongoing engagement initiatives, learning and development programs, recognition communications, and recruitment campaigns to keep employees engaged, connected and motivated long after the launch – and strengthen the employer brand identity we had created.