Overview and Strengths
For over 20 years, Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group has been extremely fortunate to have an exceptional Human Resources professional in Jodie Stetz. Jodie creates highly effective systems, standards, and procedures. She develops powerful training methods and tools to bring accountability, efficiency, uniformity, and organization to streamline complex undertakings and produce optimal results. Her positive attitude, unrelenting follow-through, and penchant for defining and driving measurable and repeatable solutions empower Red Robin’s restaurants and team members to grow and achieve at the highest levels.
Jodie’s Career Beginnings
After graduating Summa Cum Laude, from West Chester University, Jodie started her career as a Job Retention Specialist with the Private Industry Council, now the PA Career Link, helping welfare recipients find and retain meaningful jobs. After growing weary of the nonprofit environment with its lack of measurable goals and sense of urgency, she moved to the competitive business world recruiting and placing institutional food service managers and culinary personnel. She then joined Binney and Smith, Inc., the makers of Crayola Crayons as their first Staffing Specialist. There she recruited and hired for numerous departments and led key initiatives including implementing their first HRIS system, developing & administering a formal internship program and performing audits for EEO/AA policy adherence.
In 2002, Jodie Stetz joined the Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group, as its first official Human Resources professional and her 25+ year record of building individual and organizational accountability and effectiveness has proven essential to the organization’s growth and success.
Specialties
- Recruiting and Staffing
- Training and Development
- Labor Law
- Employee Engagement
- Systems and Procedures
- Employee Relations
- Quality of Life Initiatives
- Accountability
- HR Automation
- Restaurant Start-Ups
- Project Implementation
- Standardization
Engagement and Accountability
Jodie’s contributions to LVRG’s Human Resources function have touched every team member in a positive manner. Hired when LVRG had 7 Red Robins, she continuously developed clear and actionable custom enhancements to Red Robin’s most valuable initiatives. She enhanced all training programs and successfully led the employee hiring and training for all 14 new Restaurant Openings including VIP night activities. She developed a progressive step path program to map, track, and lead Team Members into Managers (Mgr), Assistant Mgrs into General Managers (GM) and GMs into Multi-Unit Managers. She also led a team to transition the Manager and Team Member training programs to a mobile based platform including facets such as gaming and simulation.
Jodie conceived, developed, rolled out, and administered LVRG’s original Giving Fund allowing team members to donate money through payroll deductions to fellow team members in need.
The program was adopted and adapted into the nationwide Red Robin Giving Foundation. She currently sits on that Board and serves on the Committee to choose worthy recipients. She participates yearly in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Corporate Walk. Jodie serves on the Discover Lehigh Valley Board as Vice Chair.
Over the past few years, Jodie led her team to two HR Department of the Year awards and Five HR Excellence awards and earned a “Woman of influence” award from Lehigh Valley Business.
Leads and Manages HR Team
- Two Sr. HR Business Partners
- Sr. Manager, Training
- Sr. Manager, Talent Acquisition
Key Initiatives and Scope
- Leads all Human Resource
Functions for 2000+ ees - HRIS System Implementation
- Work-Life Balance Initiatives:
4 Day Work Week
Bottomless Vacation - Performance Management System update/implementation
- RAMP Certification Training
- Team Building
- Established a Safety Committee
- Benefits Analysis and Improvements
- Labor Law and Lawsuits
- Unemployment and Workers Compensation
- Budget Accountability
Accomplished Professional
- Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) Certified
- Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) Certified
- Dale Carnegie Human Relations Award two-time winner
- HR Department of the Year winner 2021, 2017
- LVB Woman of Influence 2021
Education & Training
- BA Psychology and Sociology West Chester University of PA
- MBA classes: DeSales University
- Red Robin Foundation: Board of Directors
- Discover Lehigh Valley: Board of Directors and Vice Chair
- SHRM – Lehigh Valley
- SHRM – National