Making the perfect burrito every time, no matter which Mad Mex you walk into, isn’t easy. We make it look easy, for sure, but that consistent quality about our Fresh Fuel for Life only happens because everyone in the familia has not only a passion for authentic Mexican flavours, but also the skills to deliver it.
That’s why we’d love to introduce you to Laura Tobey our National Learning and Development Manager. Laura’s the one responsible for making sure that every person in our familia knows their stuff and has the skills to go with their love of good food.
We sat down to chat with Laura about what drives her and makes her job a daily joy.
What attracted you to work at Mad Mex?
Firstly, I love working in hospitality and started my first role when I was just 14. With Mad Mex it was the people in particular that inspired me, as we have some amazing people both in the support office and the restaurants who live and breathe the company values. That in itself let me know that Mad Mex was going to be the perfect fit for me… I mean what an amazing organisation to have “cheeky” as an actual value!
What do you love about your role?
Training is such a fun department to head up at Mad Mex, because there is so much variety in what we do. I’m lucky enough to work on so many different projects and campaigns across the entire business. In particular, it is incredible to work with both support office and the restaurant teams to come up with rollout plans and then see successful campaigns or projects embedded into the business.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Every day is different depending on the priorities at any given time. With our current growth plans, I currently spend a lot of time speaking to new franchisees and checking in with our training restaurants to see how their training is going. I’m also busy making training plans for new Franchisees, organising new restaurant support teams for openings, and plenty more besides.
Outside of new restaurant openings, you’ll also find me working in communications for new campaigns or project rollouts, to make sure our teams feel prepared and have all the information they need!
What has been your favourite achievement in working at Mad Mex so far?
There have been so many “pinch me” moments at Mad Mex! I’m probably most proud of creating the Luchador and Supervisor Training Programs – these two programs took us about 2.5 years to put together and was amazing to see our restaurants take their skills and knowledge to the next level.
Finally, what Mad Mex menu item do you recommend to us, and why?
You can’t go past a naked burrito with chicken, medium salsa and guac (obviously!).