CASE STUDY
How Chopt Hires Better General Managers
Chopt replaced instinct-driven hiring with a process built around what actually drives success in their top GMs.
68%
More likely to perform above expectations
THE CHALLENGE
Their Hiring Process Wasn’t Built to Identify Great Managers
Chopt relies on strong General Managers to keep teams engaged and restaurants running smoothly. But their existing assessment wasn’t delivering. Feedback was limited, the scoring felt arbitrary, and hiring leaders couldn’t easily identify who had the qualities needed to lead well.
Without a reliable way to evaluate leadership candidates, hiring decisions came down to resumes and gut feel, neither of which consistently identified the right people.
The Hiring Challenges
Weak Insight
Existing tools offered little usable insight into candidate fit.
Unclear Scoring
Results felt random and hard to act on.
No Clear Benchmark
Hiring teams lacked an objective way to evaluate leadership potential.
THE HIGHMATCH APPROACH
Built Around What Actually Drives Performance
Chopt partnered with HighMatch to define what success looks like in their General Manager role, using real performance data instead of assumptions.
HighMatch benchmarked their top-performing GMs to identify the traits that show up consistently, including drive, integrity, and critical thinking. That profile became the foundation for a tailored assessment aligned to how the role actually operates.
Every candidate is now evaluated against what success looks like at Chopt, not a generic leadership model.
BENCHMARK
Identified the traits shared by Chopt’s highest-performing General Managers.
BUILD
Developed a tailored assessment aligned to that proven leadership profile.
VALIDATE
Tracked outcomes to ensure assessment results matched real on-the-job performance.
THE RESULTS THAT MATTERED
68% More Likely to Perform Above Expectations
70% More Likely to be Retained
68%
More Likely to Perform Above Expectations
70%
More Likely to Be Retained
Once the new process was in place, the impact was clear. Preferred candidates consistently outperformed their peers and stayed longer — giving Chopt’s hiring teams a confident, repeatable way to identify strong General Managers before they ever walk in the door.
HighMatch took the time to understand our culture and built an assessment that identified candidates with the same leadership traits as our top performers. They used performance data to keep it aligned with what our teams need in new leaders.
– David Curtis, Director of Talent Acquisition, Chopt
Do You Know What Drives Success in Your Managers?
