Meet our Benefits Manager Brittany McPherson. She started working at a Taco Bell in 2010 at age 16 (under previous ownership) and today, manages DRG’s entire benefits department!
What does Brittany say about her early beginnings and eventual switch from the restaurant scene to the office?
“With continuous growth, you get to work many positions and gain so much knowledge,” she shares, which is not always the case with other employers, according to her.
The Path to Payroll
Working in a Taco Bell restaurant was Brittany’s first job. She eventually became an Assistant General Manager (AGM) and next thing she knew, was running her own restaurant. In 2015, DRG acquired Brittany’s location as part of a major acquisition — 63 Taco Bells in Nevada. According to Brittany, she’d just started transitioning over to office work prior to the ownership change, and was in the middle of splitting her time between restaurant management and receptionist duties for the previous owner.
She remembers it as an exciting time! Outside of work, Brittany and her partner had just welcomed their son two weeks prior to the acquisition.
“I had the truly amazing experience of watching DRG become DRG.” – Brittany McPherson, Benefits Manager
For the most part, Brittany recalls that time as being very much “business as usual,” even with new faces around.
A promising career with DRG took off! She started at the front desk fielding phone calls; then dabbled in payroll; and eventually found herself handling payroll, benefits and loss prevention for all of our entities for several years! She says she’s grateful to DRG for having allowed her such tremendous growth.
“I was blessed to be here from the very beginning,” she says.
Now Look at Her!
Today, Brittany has the pleasure of directly impacting the lives of all of our employees from team members on up in our restaurants to office staff and the Executive Team at the Restaurant Support Center (RSC) in Las Vegas, NV. She exhibits a genuine passion for helping DRG people and “making their lives as easy as possible.”
“My home is benefits. I truly enjoy finding things that positively impact our employees’ lives.” – Brittany McPherson, Benefits Manager
Brittany proudly shares of a recent win with health insurance. “This is a really exciting year because we were able to change vendors [and] offer top-market coverage,” she says. “More people are accepting coverage because it’s better and more affordable.” In some instances, she says, DRG team members are now paying a third of what they used to!
Better Benefits for All
As an “ever growing, ever evolving company,” Brittany says her team’s goal on behalf of DRG is to be as innovative and open-minded as possible. After all, DRG benefits need to remain relevant — “one shoe doesn’t fit all.”
“In our department, we want to break out of the standard … what else is there?” she asks. Newer benefit offerings she mentions include the launch of a wellness newsletter and pet insurance. Last fall, for the first time in company history, DRG had paid office position internships.
“I’m excited for the continuous growth DRG has because with their growth, comes my team’s growth: what we’ll be offering, [adding] more people,” she explains.
And grow we will! In addition to continuing to be a leader in quick service innovation with the introduction of new concepts like the Live Más Cafe and Arby’s Food Truck, new cantinas, and more!
