How a Leading Fast-Casual Restaurant Chain Managed Labor Compliance and Optimized the Employee Experience

About This Leading Fast-Casual Restaurant Chain

With more than 60 restaurants across several states and over 6,000 employees, this fast-casual brand is known for its Chicago roots and diverse food offerings. The company operates across multiple channels—including dine-in, catering, online orders, and events—and continues to expand rapidly.

Despite low turnover and a strong family-oriented culture, leadership recognized the need for a scalable, automated solution to simplify scheduling, support compliance, and improve the employee experience during its expansion.

"Building a schedule is an art and a science, and Legion WFM provides the science."

-Operations Service Manager, Leading Fast-Casual Chain.

The Challenge

Rapid growth created mounting pressure on both managers and systems. Scheduling often took up to 10 hours each week, compounded by manual compliance tracking and time-off requests. Communication with frontline staff typically relied on post-it notes or texts, resulting in inefficiencies and frustrations. Expansion into new states also increased complexity, particularly around Fair Workweek regulations.

• Scheduling that took 5–10 hours per week per manager
• Manual handling of time-off requests and shift changes
• Limited visibility into demand forecasting
• Compliance risks from complex labor laws
• Inconsistent communication between managers and frontline employees

The Solution

Legion WFM provided an integrated, AI-powered platform designed to address the resort’s seasonal labor challenges with core modules:

Demand Forecasting

AI-driven forecasts replace manual spreadsheets, delivering accurate, intraday demand predictions across all channels. Managers could better plan for peaks, align staffing to demand, and minimize over- or understaffing.

Labor Optimization

Task-based labor modeling aligns staffing with forecasted demand and labor standards, ensuring the right people were deployed efficiently. This maximized productivity while maintaining compliance across locations.

Automated Scheduling

Compliant schedules were generated quickly and accurately, built on demand forecasts, labor plans, and employee preferences, and centrally configured to ensure compliance with rules. Built-in alerts flagged potential compliance risks, while smart suggestions identified the best employee for each shift.

Time & Attendance

Legion’s schedule-aware clocks automatically flag clopening violations, capture consent and attestations electronically, and calculate premium pay for missed breaks or late schedule changes. Legion’s Time Clock can also capture information at clock-in, supporting health and safety protocols.

Mobile-First App

Employees could set preferences, swap or claim shifts, and request time off within the app. This self-service flexibility strengthened engagement and ensured compliance was never compromised.

 

"We know more about our family, and that means we can respond better as managers."

–Operation Services Manager

The Results

By rolling out Legion WFM, this fast-casual restaurant chain achieved measurable improvements tailored to its rapid growth.

• • Scheduling Efficiency – Managers cut scheduling time from 5–10 hours to just 30 minutes, saving 7–8 hours per week to reinvest in employee development and customer service.
  • Compliance Confidence – Automated compliance tracking and audit-ready records saved 2–5 hours per day, ensuring adherence to Chicago Fair Workweek regulations with full documentation.
  • Improved Forecasting – Granular, intraday forecasts gave managers clear visibility into demand across dining, drive-thru, online orders, and catering. This allowed them to compare forecasts with actuals, plan more accurately, and respond quickly to peaks.
  • Manager Productivity – Automated scheduling and workforce sharing enable managers to shift focus from administration to proactive workforce planning and cross-training team members. Moving staff between stores became seamless—employees could clock in and start work immediately, without delays or extra paperwork.
  • Supported and Streamlined Communication – Two-way communication reduced friction between employees and managers, streamlining time-off requests and shift swaps. Messages consistently reached frontline employees, reinforcing the brand’s family-oriented culture and values.
  • Employee Empowerment – With greater control through the mobile app, employees gained flexibility and transparency, driving adoption and contributing to one of the industry's lowest turnover rates.

 

"Legion helped us understand our business even better because now we have more visibility."

-Operations Service Manager

Conclusion

By adopting Legion WFM, this leading fast-casual restaurant chain transformed scheduling, compliance, and workforce engagement, enabling managers and employees to thrive during rapid growth. With scalable forecasting, automated scheduling, and real-time compliance automation, the company confidently expands into new markets while maintaining its strong family-oriented culture.

This brand is "all about the team member experience. We call everybody here family. So, great family communication plays a big role, and we need two-way communication between managers and team members."

–Operation Services Manager