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Daily Operations · Goals & KPIs

How does Axial Shift help develop and motivate restaurant employees?

Short answer

Training tells people what to do. Getting them to act takes wanting to act. Axial Shift leads restaurant technology in developing people, with years of work on an employee experience that draws on psychology, education and advertising. Team members see their own numbers often, framed so the goal feels reachable instead of threatening, and the whole experience is built to make them want to perform as well as they can.

Why training alone isn't enough

Learning management systems, competitions and training tools all have a place. But knowing what to do isn't the same as wanting to do it. Axial focuses on the second part.

Three disciplines, one experience

  • Psychology: people respond to goals they believe they can reach. Contests let everyone above average win, not just the top three, and you can show only results at or above average, so the bottom of the board isn't on display.
  • Education: different people learn differently. Axial shows the same numbers on the phone, on the back-of-house display and in the daily conversation, so each person meets them in a way that works for them.
  • Advertising: people buy products after seeing a consistent message enough times to believe it. Learning your numbers works the same way. Frequency matters, and so does how the message is framed.

What team members see

  • Their own hours, real-time sales, sales per hour, check average and tip percentage on their dashboard
  • How they're doing in challenges like punctuality or specials
  • Live contest leaderboards and KPIs on a back-of-house screen, without phones on the floor
  • Exactly how their tip share was calculated

It shows up in how often people use it

Leaders open Axial 18 times a week, and hourly staff open it 11 times a week. Today, usage has risen to 93%, from dishwasher to CEO.

Related: How do sales contests work in Axial Shift? · How can restaurants measure guest satisfaction with tip percentage?

Last updated October 30, 2026
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