San Carlo Restaurant Group Case Study

Renowned for its authentic Italian cuisine and exceptional service, San Carlo operates 25 sites across the UK, including Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and London. The Group continues to expand, bringing its signature Italian charm to new cities across the globe including Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Eqypt and soon to open in Miami.

Hospitality is often characterised by high employee turnover, transient workforces and a reliance on temporary staff. However, San Carlo defies this trend. With authentic Italian family values at its core, the Group appreciates loyalty among its employees. Many staff members stay for over 20 years, reflecting meticulous recruitment processes and a strong company culture.

Maintaining a happy, healthy workforce and strong employee retention amid expansion is a priority—and a challenge—especially when engaging a predominantly deskless workforce.

San Carlo partnered with Personal Group in 2024 to implement a tailored employee benefits solution. Recognising the power of reward and recognition, San Carlo aimed to ensure its workforce felt valued, knowing happy staff leads to happy customers and stronger teamwork.

Hapi, branded as 'Squadra,' supports employee wellbeing with access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and health tools. Initiatives like 'Wellbeing Wednesday' highlight these resources, while its mobile-first design ensures accessibility for deskless workers. Peer-to-peer and manager-to-peer appreciation tools enable a culture of gratitude. While just in its first year alone, over 40% of employees actively use 'Squadra' and the Group plan to explore salary sacrifice benefits and enhanced communications to increase this engagement - meaning the future of San Carlo's benefits package looks more than appetising.

Paul Jones-Nolan, San Carlo Group Head of People summarises the partnership:
'At San Carlo, our commitment to excellence extends beyond our menus and hospitality, to the wellbeing of our dedicated team. Partnering with Hapi has been a transformative experience, elevating our employee benefits to the next level. The platform's comprehensive offerings have been incredibly valuable to our staff, allowing them to access a range of invaluable benefits with ease and efficiency.