Dine Brands Global Inc.

In conversations with Newsweek, Christie Cook, VP of Human Resources at Dine Brands Global answered the following questions:

1. Can you provide an overview of your company's workplace culture and values, and how they contribute to a positive work environment?

At Dine, we have a deep commitment to and a focus on our people as our team members are our most valued resource. Our success is connected to our ability to offer a space for team members to be their best, authentic selves at work. Through our 5 values: Take Responsibility, Further Together, Always Better, Recognize the Good, and Embrace All, we aim to create and foster a work environment our team can be proud of. That is, we work to build a culture for our team members that is based on trust and mutual respect, and responsiveness to their needs, all of which enables us to unleash their full potential, maximize their opportunities, and appreciate and recognize their contributions.

2. What kind of professional development and growth opportunities are available to employees? How does your company support career advancement?

Dine Brands team members have access to more than 10,000 online courses via the company's updated digital learning and development platform that was introduced in 2022. Dine Learnings (our internal LMS) is integrated with LinkedIn Learning and provides a broad array of live and self-paced online training modules for personal and professional growth. Dine Brands has also established several relationships with organizations dedicated to helping team members from historically underrepresented backgrounds develop professionally, such as the Asian Corporate & Entrepreneur Leaders (ACEL), the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), Women in Technology International (WITI), and the Women's Foodservice Forum (WFF). These organizations create opportunities for networking and learning best practices to succeed and advance in the workplace.

3. How does your company ensure transparency and open communication between management and employees, fostering a sense of trust and belonging?

Dine Brands holds virtual town halls during each quarter. This space provides an opportunity for management (CEO, CFO, Brand Presidents, and Head of HR) to speak with all our team members transparently about our business operations, results, and priorities. We also take the time to celebrate and recognize the hard work of each of our departments throughout the quarters and the year. Our virtual town halls always include an open Q&A session with our management, through our chat feature and an anonymous feedback submission form, so our team members can ensure that their thoughts are being heard and questions answered.

4. How does your company handle feedback and suggestions from employees? Is there a system in place for employees to voice their concerns or ideas?

In addition to our quarterly virtual town halls, Dine Brands has an annual Pulse Engagement Survey. This is an opportunity for team members to share their experiences and aspirations for Dine and our organization in a confidential and anonymous way. We encourage our team members to share their open and honest feedback to help us identify what we're doing right and where we can drive meaningful change. Throughout the year, our people leaders follow up with their teams on these results and dig deeper departmentally to develop action plans that address team member concerns. Over the years, we are encouraged to see our team member engagement scores grow to some of the highest levels in Dine's history.

5. How do you engage with underrepresented groups within the company to understand their unique challenges and needs?

Dine Brands Team Member Resource Groups (TMRGs) enhance and inform our efforts to understand and meet the needs of our team members from underrepresented backgrounds. Our TMRG leaders help inform our organization about relevant issues and historical challenges that are important to their groups. They also offer recommendations for how we can improve as a company and meet their group's needs. For example, we have added new benefits to our Total Rewards plan, including enhancements to our paid parental leave and educational assistance program, at the recommendation of our TMRG leaders.

6. How do you work to create a sense of belonging for employees from diverse backgrounds?

In addition to making recommendations for policy improvements, the ultimate aim of our TMRGs is to provide a support system within Dine Brands for members who share a common, most often underrepresented, identity. Our TMRGs help us create a space for our team members to connect and gather, speak to topics and issues that are most relevant for them, and celebrate their cultural heritage, so everyone feels like they have a place to be themselves. Our team members are also welcomed and encouraged to participate in learning sessions that emphasize the importance of celebrating our differences and being our best, authentic selves.

7. How do you ensure that DEI is embedded in the company's values and not just seen as a checklist item?

Dine Brands' Embrace All and Further Together values state "we are strengthened by our differences as an organization and as a business," and "we can only reach our potential by working together." At Dine, these statements are not just nice-to-haves, we strive to place actions behind these words. We offer ongoing discussions led by our TMRGs centered around inclusion and equity, so all team members can feel seen and heard. We provide learning workshops such as "Belonging at Work," our foundational inclusion and belonging workshop provided to all new team members, as well as ongoing equity and inclusion workshops, and our Embrace All Learning Sessions. These experiences aim to help team members understand the factors that influence who we are and how we see others. We also ensure that we are listening and acting on the feedback we receive from our TMRG leaders on our organizational policies. We believe everyone has a role to play in nurturing a culture of belonging, to ensure that all team members feel seen, considered, included, and valued.