Chick-fil-A Corporate Support Center

“I’d go to these recruiting events in college and I’d ask the speakers from public accounting firms, ‘What's your favorite part of your job?’ And they couldn't really give me a good answer. Then I’d ask the same question to someone visiting from Chick-fil-A, Inc., and they would respond with so much enthusiasm: ‘I love the people. I love what I do. I'm so excited to go to work every day.’     It's just two completely different experiences. The more I learned about public accounting, the more I thought, I don't want to work that many hours a week. I don’t want to always be on-call. I want to have a life. It made me reevaluate a lot of my assumptions.    A lot of the people who I graduated with who started in public accounting have since transitioned to Chick-fil-A, Inc. And what they find here is work that’s still challenging but is also fulfilling and isn’t going to wear them down and discourage them.”    — Abby Mathews, CPA, Restaurant Accounting    #LifeatChickfilAInc  #Accounting  #PublicAccounting 

“Being a working parent of a 15-month-old while also getting my MBA is a lot, I'm not going to lie. But the flexibility that Chick-fil-A, Inc. gives us makes it doable. The autonomy and trust that I’m given here allows me to manage my time effectively while still delivering excellent service to restaurant Owner-Operators, restaurant team members, and my colleagues. And all of it is made possible by the support and enthusiasm of my people leader and my team.”     — Abby Mathews, CPA, Restaurant Accounting    #WorkingParent #LifeatChickfilAInc #Accounting 

“Would you believe me if I told you that the first moment I knew I was truly seen and deeply cared for at Chick-fil-A, Inc. was at a team meeting about personality profiles?    During my first year working in Restaurant Development at Chick-fil-A, the leader of my team in Development and Construction scheduled an off-site to kick off the new year.     We gathered as a team, took a character traits assessment and talked about the ways we are all similar or different from each other. My results showed a quality that nobody else had – ‘deliberative’ – which means that I can see the other side of things during a discussion.     Everyone agreed that this type of perspective is valuable, but the challenge can be that I don’t always speak up right away during meetings.    In previous work experiences, I had at times felt pressured by the encouragement from my peers to speak out more and share my ideas right away.     But through this workshop, we discovered that in my quiet moments, I am still formulating my reasoning into complete thoughts. My peers and I had an ‘aha’ moment where we all understood each other so much more.     We came to appreciate each other’s valuable strengths and realize how we each operate best individually and together as a team.     Now, my peers know that if we’re working through a productive conversation about a construction project, it’s in my personality to brew on some thoughts for longer before I share them.     They will ask for my feedback and my ‘deliberative’ perspective, but it might be after the meeting or even later that day – especially if that initial meeting is a fast 30 minutes at 9:00am!    That initial off-site discussion about our personality tests made me feel really seen and understood. I’m so thankful for the way I feel cared for, working here at Chick-fil-A.”     - Courtney Yancy, Principal Construction Lead, SW Region    #LifeAtChickfilAInc #RestaurantDevelopment #PrincipalConstructionLead 

"We are always looking for ways to make unique twists to our entrée selection and the Maple Pepper Bacon Sandwich is a delicious spin on the Chick-fil-A flavors our Guests know and love. It is a delicious blend of sweet, savory and spicy, offering an entirely different flavor profile than any other sandwich we've launched. We have several new and exciting offerings in the pipeline and look forward to continuing to surprise our Guests with bold, new tastes in the future!" - Allison Duncan, Director of Menu and Packaging    This summer, Chick-fil-A® is inviting Guests to embrace the big flavors of a backyard barbecue with the launch of a new, seasonal entrée - the Maple Pepper Bacon Sandwich. Complementing the smoky flavors, Chick-fil-A's much-loved seasonal treat - the Peach Milkshake – has made its return for the 15th year as a perfectly sweet sidekick. Guests nationwide can enjoy these limited time menu items while supplies last.    Learn more: https://bit.ly/3KdpHJR.

Chick-fil-A, Inc. Interns and Co-Ops work in many different departments throughout our Corporate Support Center. Discover the experience of Annabelle Sarkissian, who recently completed her co-op program on the Sustainability Team.     Q: What types of projects did you work on as part of your co-op program?    A:  I’m majoring in environmental engineering in college, so I was super pumped about working in my field of interest. The sustainability team is a small but mighty group of about 7 people who manage a mixture of projects to reduce the environmental impact of Chick-fil-A restaurant operations.     In my first co-op term, I worked a lot on a project focused on energy savings for the restaurants. I led an outreach project contacting our restaurant Owner-Operators letting them know small ways they can reduce their energy use. My peers even worked on projects incorporating the use of solar panels and a microgrid for storing energy.     I also worked with our restaurants to help reduce food waste through composting or education on Chick-fil-A's Shared Table® donation program. I loved that I worked on real projects, doing meaningful work during my internship. That’s what will help me grow in my career after graduation.     Q: How do you balance your work commitments and personal interests?     A:   What’s super cool about Chick-fil-A is the genuine culture of care – and that also means balance. My coworkers cared about me personally, and they asked me about my hobbies and family. They knew that I really enjoy spending time with my family (I’m originally from the Atlanta area) and I would often go running with one of my friends on our college campus. I also love playing the guitar, and I’m in a band called “Under the Arrow” – we came up with the name when I was drawing a chemistry diagram for one of my environmental engineering classes.     - Annabelle Sarkissian, former Co-Op, Sustainability Team, Chick-fil-A, Inc.    #LifeAtChickfilAInc #SustainabilityTeam #ChickfilACoOp 

On #NationallnternDay, we’re reflecting with gratitude on an amazing week, and summer. This week at the Support Center, Chick-fil-A Inc. CEO Andrew T. Cathy took the time to meet and connect with our intern/co-op cohort. We are grateful for Andrew’s time, and hopeful that this experience will have a lasting impact on these young professionals as they advance in their careers.

“What I enjoy about this work is I get to build new connections. My project is heavy on creating new integrations. It’s a lot of discovery, and we’re constantly blazing new trails. That’s something I’ve always enjoyed.” — Jonathan Johnson, Customer Market Insights Team   #DataConnections #DataEngineering #LifeatChickfilAInc 

"One of the most meaningful deals that I have done in real estate for Chick-fil-A, Inc. was our 3,000th store opening. And it wasn’t because of the novelty of that milestone.  It was because of the way that community is undergoing revitalization.   We had previously operated a Chick-fil-A restaurant in the adjacent mall. Unfortunately, the mall had experienced a decline over the years, and that restaurant was closed for quite some time.  Now, as of November 2023, we have opened back up as a free-standing restaurant, returning to a community that we were a part of before. It brings a lot of hope back with it. I was honored to participate in the real estate negotiations for the new property, located right at the entrance to that same mall in Red Bird, Texas. The developers were great to work with, and it worked out that the property was big enough for us to build there. Being there now - especially being positioned on the main entrance road - it feels like we’re there to welcome the community back to an area of town that we are grateful to be a part of.” - Kyana Bascomb, Real Estate, SW Region 

Recently our Support Center held a celebration marking five years of Chick-fil-A Supply, which ensures Restaurants have the food and products they need through a seamless delivery experience that extends the Chick-fil-A culture of care. Here’s the story of Steven Hammond, a Lead Engineer for Chick-fil-A Supply.    “My mom was the fifteenth employee hired to work at Chick-fil-A's corporate office in 1976 and even worked for Founder S. Truett Cathy. My dad and brother also spent time working in Chick-fil-A restaurants. This early connection to the company had a lasting impact on me.    After I graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in industrial engineering, I was planning to go on a mission trip to Chile and to help make money, I got a job as an AV tech at the Support Center. At the time, there were only two flat-screen TVs, and I would wheel them from room to room for meetings.    There weren’t many opportunities that utilized my engineering experience, so I worked for other companies. Many years later, I applied for a role with Chick-fil-A Supply and joined the construction team, where I help design Chick-fil-A Supply distribution centers.    The unique aspect of Chick-fil-A Supply from an engineering perspective is the genuine opportunity to innovate and try new things, which is both inspiring and exciting. The company's emphasis on safety and care in every design aspect is a testament to its values. Moreover, Chick-fil-A's approach to restaurants’ Team Members, seeing them as integral parts of the family, fosters a sense of belonging and shared values." Read more: https://bit.ly/4f1Zn3S

“I always thought about leaders as people who were charismatic and outgoing, who had big, outward-facing personalities. I’m an introvert. I knew I couldn’t be that.    But the more I talked to people leaders at Chick-fil-A, Inc., the more I started to see leadership as something different. Here, leaders focus on servant leadership. They bring a servant heart, a sense of humility and a deep care for those they lead.    Yes, I’m an introvert, but I enjoy people. I love seeing people grow, helping them learn, and helping them to find where they fit best and are most fulfilled. It's so energizing to me.    Now, as a people leader myself, I have continual conversations with the people on my team about how they want to grow. I’m always asking them: “What are you learning? What's the next thing you want to tackle? Where do you want to be? How can we carve out a purposeful path that leads you to your destination?”    Service is so ingrained in the heart of Chick-fil-A. We serve each guest. And here at the Corporate Support Center, we also serve the franchisee Operators and restaurant team members — and we serve each other. For me, it just aligns with who I am as a person. It’s really exciting to me that I don't have to put one face on at home and one face on at work. I know in my heart that it should be that way, but Chick-fil-A’s culture really makes that possible. And that is pretty awesome.    — Matt McElreath, Restaurant Accounting  #Accounting  #LifeatChickfilAInc  #Service