White Castle Certified as a Great Place to Work® for Third Straight Year

The certification further highlights White Castle as an extraordinary employer in the QSR and CPG industries

COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Always appreciated. Never taken for granted! For the third year in a row, White Castle, America's first fast-food hamburger chain and popular retail CPG brand, earned the Great Place to Work^® Certification™. The awarding of the certification is based solely on the thoughts and opinions of current White Castle team members.

White Castle is a 102-year-old family-owned business that carries on the traditions of its storied past. Founder Billy Ingram built White Castle on the premise that "Happy employees make happy customers." A commitment to team member centric policies has led to a track record virtually unheard of in the industry, including:

• More than 1 in 4 of the company's 10,000 team members have worked at White Castle for 10 years or more.
• Nearly all 450 of White Castle's regional directors, district supervisors, general managers, and operations leadership team members started their careers behind the counter at White Castle.
• Each year White Castle inducts a new class to the 25 Year Club. In the 77 years since its first inductee, founder Billy Ingram himself, the celebrated club has welcomed more than 2,200 team members.

"Our team members and their passion set us apart as a family owned business with a heart for hospitality", said John Kelley, chief people officer and fourth-generation family member.  "Their commitment inspires us as we continue on our quest to feed the souls of craver generations everywhere."

Great Place to Work^® is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation. This year, with a higher participation rate compared to last year, 80% of White Castle team members said it's a great place to work – 23 points higher than the average U.S. company. The team member survey also invited comments. Among the verbatims received were:

• "My manager and director are awesome. They treat me fairly and give me many opportunities to grow in my role. We celebrate our wins, anniversaries, and birthdays. We are made to feel valued, and if we have issues, our leaders treat us with respect when identifying areas of improvement. We couldn't ask for better leaders!"
• "A great collaborative and family atmosphere. White Castle is the best company that I have worked for in my career."
• "We promote from within. The company realizes that some of the best team members for the job can come from 'inside'."
• "I came from a very corporate environment in my previous work life and have found it refreshing and reenergizing to work for a family company that cares about its employees."

"When White Castle team members have the chance for their personal and professional dreams to come true, their devotion to our customers shines through," Kelley said. "Their devotion renews our commitment to remain a family owned business for generations to come."

According to Great Place To Work research, job seekers are 4.5 times more likely to find a great boss at a Certified great workplace. Additionally, employees at Certified workplaces are 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work, and are twice as likely to be paid fairly, earn a fair share of the company's profits and have a fair chance at promotion.

What is it like to work at White Castle? Team members shared their stories in two recent episodes from the Crave Chronicles series, Behind the Counter and On the Line.

About White Castle^®
White Castle, America's first fast-food hamburger chain, has been making hot and tasty Sliders since 1921. Based in Columbus, Ohio, the family-owned business owns and operates more than 350 restaurants as well as a retail division providing its famous fare in freezer aisles of retail stores nationwide. As part of its commitment to offering the highest quality products, White Castle owns and operates its own Slider Provider meat plants, bakeries and frozen-Slider retail plants. White Castle has earned numerous accolades over the years including Time magazine's "Most Influential Burger of All Time" (2014, The Original Slider®) and Thrillist's "Best Plant-Based Fast-Food Burger" (2019, Impossible^™ Slider). In 2021, Fast Company named the fast-food pioneer one of the "10 Most Innovative Dining Companies." White Castle, which earned the Great Place to Work^® Certification™ in 2021 and 2022, is known for the legendary engagement of its team members, more than 1 in 4 of whom have worked for the business for at least 10 years. White Castle is beloved by its passionate fans ("Cravers"), many of whom compete each year for entry into the Cravers Hall of Fame. The official White Castle app makes it easy for Cravers to sign up for the Craver Nation^® loyalty program, access sweet deals and place pickup orders at any time. They can also have their orders delivered using one of White Castle's delivery partners. For more information on White Castle, visit whitecastle.com. 

About Great Place to Work Certification™
Great Place To Work® Certification™ is the most definitive "employer-of-choice" recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience – specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience. Every year, more than 10,000 companies across 60 countries apply to get Great Place To Work-Certified.

About Great Place To Work®
As the global authority on workplace culture, Great Place To Work® brings 30 years of groundbreaking research and data to help every place become a great place to work for all. Their proprietary platform and For All™ Model helps companies evaluate the experience of every employee, with exemplary workplaces becoming Great Place To Work Certified™ or receiving recognition on a coveted Best Workplaces™ List.

Learn more at greatplacetowork.com and follow Great Place To Work on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

SOURCE White Castle