Spring Forward in Your Career with April: Director of People Development

April’s Summerwood journey of 29 years began in the 1900s — 1994, to be exact. And it all began with a love of tacos. Of the thought process that prompted her to consider a career with Taco Bell, April shares that she was thinking at the time, “Oh, I like tacos, why not?” And the rest is history. Or, more accurately, her story. 

Beginning as an Assistant Restaurant Manager for a Summerwood Taco Bell restaurant, April quickly moved up the ranks to the Restaurant General Manager role, before assuming the Director of People Development position for Summerwood, where she remains today. 

“Summerwood is definitely about making sure that the people that work for them are trained for their positions,” April says. That’s where her job comes into play.

Training for the Job You Want

Anything is possible when you have the right people to support you. And Summerwood is committed to providing its people with the best resources in the restaurant business. Which is why, as Director of People Development, April is in charge of facilitating training programs designed for team members interested in career development.

 “Summerwood’s mission is to build trust and loyalty with our customers and each other.” – April, Direct of People Development

“My role is to uphold the brand standards and to ensure that we have trained team members, as well as external and internal managers as they come along,” she shares. Some of the advanced training takes the form of two levels of courses: Career Conversations and Leadership Essentials, both of which focus on promoting from within. But, as April stated above, training is not reserved exclusively for management level. 

“We encourage every restaurant to have team trainers, position trainers, because the more they know, the better they are with taking care of our guests. And that’s our ultimate goal,” April shares.

In the People Business

Summerwood may be in the quick service restaurant (QSR) business, but the core of what we do is in the business of people. And April understands that best of all. 

“When it comes down to a successful restaurant, of course we know that we have to have staff, we have to have a team. And in order to have teams that can excel and deliver to our guests, we need to also look at the promotion from within” she stresses. 

April’s positive energy is infectious. The saying goes, “Push yourself because no one is going to do it for you,” but clearly, they haven’t met April! As the person responsible for the career development of Summerwood team members, April leads with passion and loyalty.

“It’s very, very important that you start with us, you stay with us,” she says. “That is something that we’re big on because the investment that we’ve put into you, it’s going to eventually pay off for you. You can make this your career.”

If you’re reading this, take it as a sign! The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and April is here to help you on your journey.