Cooking and serving food on a hot line with hungry, eager customers never was an easy job. Now imagine it with a face mask and gloves on.
The family-owned Panda Restaurant Group employs nearly 800 people in Orange County and 40,000 worldwide. They work side by side under certain pressure every day, making fan-favorites such as orange chicken, black pepper steak, broccoli beef, wontons, noodles and fried rice.
Under pandemic restrictions, Panda prepared hot meals and donated PPE to frontline hospital workers, a staff initiative that ultimately bonded them as a team and created new connections in the community.
The staff also developed a new “rallying cry” — Panda Strong.
“The crisis over the past year strengthened our people’s commitment to our company values of giving, uplifting our communities, respect and growth,” said Jason Wong, the company’s regional director of Operations.
It’s the seventh year in a row the restaurant chain has been honored in the Register’s Top Workplaces program.
He shared insights of the past year as the pandemic turned into its second year. His answers have been edited for length.
Q: How are companies maintaining communication, boosting morale and keeping the workplace culture alive and well?
A: In 2020, we leaned into digital not only on the restaurant guest experience side but also internal communications channels and platforms. With COVID-19 and mandates being everchanging, it was crucial for Panda to communicate updates, facts based on science and the law, and important health and safety resources.
We launched an internal site that is easily accessible for our hourly associates and are now rolling out a mobile app that will allow us to send important communications as well as culture content. Our senior leaders have been doing weekly and bi-weekly operations updates to ensure our store leaders know how the business is doing, providing a 360 view.
Panda Express, including this store in Garden Grove, CA, was named one of the Orange County Register’s 2021 Top Workplaces. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Despite all the challenges, what we saw was our Panda culture really shone through.
Did the company have to furlough or lay anyone off during the pandemic’s second year?
During massive layoffs in the restaurant industry, owners Andrew and Peggy Cherng said if our associates want a place at Panda, they will have a place at Panda. We invested an additional $30 million in benefits and resources to keep our people safe. We continued with our leadership podcasts and created fun culture team videos during our virtual conferences to boost morale. These actions really matter, and it’s helped our teams get through the toughest months.
Panda Express, including this store in Garden Grove, CA, was named one of the Orange County Register’s 2021 Top Workplaces. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Q: How is Panda dealing with the vaccine mandate? Will employees have to test or show a negative test to come to work?
A: Since the beginning of the pandemic, Panda Restaurant Group’s priority has been to keep our associates, our guests and our communities safe. We have followed the CDC health and safety guidelines and will continue to with their vaccine recommendations as well. Certain job functions are essential to maintaining our high standards of health and safety.
Panda has required all operations management level associates to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 15, 2021, unless there are medical, disability or religious exemptions. For those exempted from the vaccination, we will be requiring frequent and consistent COVID-19 testing.
Q: What have been some of the successful pandemic strategies at Panda?
A: As a family-owned and operated business, Panda takes great pride in our people-first culture. In times of crisis, when businesses worried about the bottom line, Panda doubled down to make sure associates, guests, and communities were taken care of.
Panda looked at every aspect of our business to make improvements and changes that invested in the health and safety of our guests and associates—members of our extended family.
Q: Was there a surprising trend in the orders from customers? (Favorites or new requests?)
A: Our Orange Chicken continues to remain a strong guest favorite. We’ve also seen an uptick in family meal orders during the pandemic. They are ordering for the whole family, and what’s great about Panda is the variety we offer that they can choose from.
Q: Much has been reported about the hardships among companies to hire as the economy returns to some normalcy. Has Panda experienced any struggles to hire and return to full employment?
A: Just like the whole industry, Panda has been affected by the labor shortage but is actively putting out programs and incentives to communicate the unique value that Panda offers to associates. We have increased our hourly wages to remain competitive and offer a comprehensive benefits package. Some programs we’re testing include associate referral and guest referral programs to encourage job applications from our most loyal networks.
Q: What was the BIG lesson(s) learned?
A: The big lesson learned is that the world can change in a blink of an eye, and high adaptability and future-proofing the business are equally important. We always need to stay nimble to adapt to macro trends but also invest in key foundational initiatives to strengthen our business in the long run.
No. 4 large company: Panda Restaurant Group
Founded: 1973
Headquarters: Rosemead
Industry: restaurant
OC employees: 794
Website: pandarg.com
“Panda looked at every aspect of our business to make improvements and changes that invested in the health and safety of our guests and associates—members of our extended family.” Jason Wong, regional director of Operations at Panda Restaurant Group.