The next time you pull up to the Wendy’s drive-thru to place an order, the voice on the other end may not be human. The fast-food chain has teamed up with Google to develop a conversational chatbot, which is capable of taking your order for a Dave’s Double and chocolate Frosty. “You won’t know you’re talking to anybody but an employee,” Wendy’s chief executive Todd Penegor told The Wall Street Journal. 

Wendy’s venture into drive-thru AI will begin at a single restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, next month after software engineers at the burger joint and Google worked together to design a generative AI tool capable of understanding how customers with varying dialects are likely to place orders. The robotic order-taker will not only be familiar with Wendy’s lingo, like “JBC” (for a junior bacon cheeseburger), but will be programmed to upsell hungry drivers with offers for larger sizes and special deals.

Drive-thru workers can rest easy, however, as this chatbot isn’t intended to entirely take over their jobs. Employees will still prepare the food and hand orders to customers. The goal is simply to streamline the order-placing process and reduce the time drivers wait to ask for a Baconator combo. A faster way of getting spicy nuggets? Count us in.

The Apprentice: Better than an internship?

The key to recruiting: Not forgetting about retention.

Fleishman: The trouble with burnout.

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(Source: Wiley)

There’s a good chance you’ve heard the term “apprenticeship” before. However, there’s roughly an equal chance you aren’t 100% sure of what it is or how it differs from its more popular cousin, the “internship.” You’re probably also wondering which is better for your business.

Here are six ways you can differentiate apprenticeships from internships:

1. How long is the program?

• Apprenticeships are typically one to five years.
• Internships are typically one to five months.

2. How structured is the program?

• Apprenticeships are structured and focused on teaching specific skills in an industry or occupation.
• Internships often provide general work experience (e.g., how to get coffee, navigate office dynamics, and withstand the often chilly temperatures of conference rooms — hint: keep a sweater on standby).

3. Is a mentor provided?

• Apprentices typically get direct skills training from an experienced mentor.
• Interns are lucky if anyone even notices they’re in the office. Just kidding. Kind of.

4. Is it a paid opportunity?

• Apprenticeships are paid opportunities.
• Internships can be paid or unpaid.

5. Does it lead to credentials?

• Apprenticeships typically result in industry-recognized credentials and expertise, and they can also lead to college credit.
• Internships can result in college credit.

6. Does it end in a job opportunity?

• 90% of apprenticeships result in a job offer.
• 70% of internships result in a job offer.

In all seriousness, both options can be a great way to develop young talent and get more diverse candidates in your recruitment pipeline. Apprenticeships and internships can exist in virtually any industry, although apprenticeships tend to be more geared toward skilled trades industries while internships are more common in white collar management sectors.

? DIVE DEEPER:

• Is a College Degree Necessary for Success?
• Why Are Recent Graduates Struggling to Get Hired?

The better option for your business will depend not only on your industry but on what you’re trying to achieve for your company and the program’s participants.

Your employees should be innovative and hardworking, but paying them? That job should be predictable and easy. QuickBooks Payroll empowers you to run payroll simply and confidently, with expert-backed tools — such as automated tax forms and filing — to make payday a breeze.

Approve payroll when you’re ready, access HR and benefits, and manage it all in one place. Same-day direct deposit lets you hold onto cash longer and pay your team on your schedule, and 24/7 callback support means you’ll get answers anytime.

With QuickBooks Payroll, you’ll enjoy trusted payroll from payday to tax time, freeing you up to focus on that innovation. Save 50% for three months when you buy now.

(Source: Shutterstock)

Dr. Ben Baran is an associate professor at Cleveland State University and co-founder of Elevating What Works.   

If you’re in an industry in which hiring continues to trend up, like leisure and hospitality, you know how hard it is to recruit. But while you’re busy recruiting, it remains critical to keep the good people you already have. In an especially tight labor market, high turnover means you’ll need to recruit even more.

Workers quit their jobs for many reasons, but their decision to leave often starts to form after something makes them think differently about their current job. They may receive an unsolicited job offer, hear about more amenable working conditions or pay somewhere else, or have a bad experience with a manager. They may begin to think about their own levels of pay and benefits, promotion opportunities, job satisfaction, and the degree to which their supervisors care about them as people and value what they do.

Based upon that evaluation and the extent to which they have other job opportunities, they may then decide to quit.

Managers, though, do have significant power over this process, and they should consider the following:

• Make sure your pay, benefits, and working conditions remain on par with your industry and location. Don’t rely on old data — be current.
• Recognize and reward high performance. Bonuses are great, but so are genuine words of appreciation when people deserve them. We all like to feel like our bosses notice what we do. Your workers are no exception.
• Don’t tolerate toxic supervisors. If turnover rates are particularly high in certain departments or locations, dig deeper and see if something is going on with the person in charge. Keep in mind that some people are very good at making themselves look great to their bosses while treating their direct reports poorly, so get feedback from a variety of sources.

Your current employees are the heart and soul of your “employer brand” — which is how people think about your organization as a potential place to work. If you prioritize making it a great place to work, word will spread and both retention and recruiting will benefit.

Learn how the best companies develop and retain better employees.  

• 1777: Filippo Lenzi placed the first-ever U.S. advertisement for ice cream in the New-York Gazette. 
• 1908: Nathan B. Stubblefield was granted a patent for his wireless telephone on this day. 
• 1911: W. Morgan Schuster led a financial team of experts to help aid Persia in restoring its financial system. He arrived in Persia on this day and was given almost full control of the government’s finances. 
• 1995: The Dow Jones hit an all-time-high for the fifth straight day, reaching 4,430.59. 

(Source: FX Networks)

In Hulu’s Fleishman Is in Trouble, there’s one question on every character and viewer’s mind: Why did Toby Fleishman’s (Jesse Eisenberg) ex-wife, Rachel (Claire Danes), abandon their kids and disappear without a trace? 

For most of the series, Rachel is undoubtedly made out to be the villain … until we eventually get to see her side of the story. Rachel’s POV of the breakup with Toby involves (BIG SPOILER) a mental breakdown that leaves her debilitated, hallucinatory, and caught in a cycle of uncharacteristically ordering beef lo mein. 

This big reveal of her mental deterioration is a humanizing moment as we get insight into how Rachel copes with the traumas of her past. Instead of seeking support after being assaulted by her doctor during labor, she pores over work, starts a talent agency, and becomes the textbook Type A CEO who works herself beyond her limits.

Eventually, burnout catches up to her, and she falls apart, taking her family down with her. 

If you’re a business owner who wants to do right by your employees, customers, and loved ones, be wary of overworking yourself. Seek help if you need it, and take time off when the pressure starts compounding. The truth is that you can’t adequately run your business if you’re dealing with chronic stress, falling into sporadic sleep patterns, or trapped in a manic cycle of ordering beef lo mein. 

Written by Skye Schooley and Ali Saleh. Comic by John McNamee.