By Kathleen Furore
Ask most any restaurant in any location about the challenges they face, and one topic is likely to show up across the board: hiring and retaining good employees.
According to the National Restaurant Association, 37 percent of its members said labor recruitment was their top challenge in 2017, up from 15 percent two years before. More recently, a Michigan Restaurant Association survey found that trouble hiring workers was the top concern for 61 percent of members who responded to the 1st quarter 2018 survey.
The labor shortage is, indeed, real— and it is impacting restaurants in every area of the country.
Luna Modern Mexican Kitchen in Rancho Cucamonga, California, is just one example.
“We have a family business. We own two restaurants and we are economically ready to open a third store,” owner Franciso Perez says. “What stops me is knowing that there is not enough staff.”
KTM Restaurant Group, which operates three Tacos Tequila Whiskey locations in Denver and one in Phoenix is another.
“It’s a tight labor pool in Denver. We’re paying salaried managers 30 percent more than what we did two years ago,” owner Kevin Morrison reports. “We’re trying to make [all our] employees think before they leave: ‘I may get 50 cents more an hour, but will I be working the same hours?’ If our guys want full time, they get full time.”
“In the restaurant business there is so much struggle and so much competition… you find people and then they leave,” says Elisa Munoz, corporate human resources director for Maudie’s Tex-Mex, a restaurant that currently operates seven locations in the Austin area and has been serving Tex-Mex fare for 25 years. “With employers facing recruiting and human resources challenges not seen in decades and minimum wages rising, it puts more pressure on the labor line. I keep hearing comments in the restaurant industry that it is very hard to find anyone and also to keep their current employees.”
The problem is so acute that major media outlets have reported on the tenuous situation restaurants are facing. Victor Albisu, owner of four Taco Bambas in Virginia, told the New York Times in April that the chef, sous-chef, cooks and wait staff became so overwhelmed by the crowd of customers that they left because they couldn’t handle the amount of business.
Katharine Gottfried, owner of YoBo Cantina Fresca in West Ashley, South Carolina, told the Charleston City Paper in April that the restaurant had lost such “an insane amount of staff” that the restaurant will close early weeknights and won’t be open on Sundays. “One day last week I had five interviews and only one showed,” Gottfried told the publication.
And this July 2018 headline in the Nashville Tennessean perhaps sums it up best: “Nashville’s restaurants are desperate for staff, even as the food scene booms.”
The Reasons
Hiring and keeping staff has always been an important and often challenging aspect of restaurant ownership. But why has it become such an overwhelming problem today?
There is no single answer, as many factors have converged to create the “perfect storm” bearing down on the industry today.
More restaurants on the scene; low unemployment, which means fewer candidates for what tend to be low-paying, entry-level jobs; and the politically hotbutton topic of immigration are among the issues impacting hiring today.
As Perez of Luna Modern Mexican Kitchen told el Restaurante Publisher Ed Avis when asked about the hiring problems he faces: “Instead of closing the doors on the border to people who want to have the opportunity to work in the United States, we should offer some kind of program like the ‘bracero program.
The Remedies
Whatever the reasons, hiring and retainingemployees has become a monumentalhurdle to clear. According to Munoz,Maudie’s—which employs 450 to 500employeescompany-wide—is taking several steps to ensure all locations are staffedwith quality, committed employees.
Caring for and communicating with employees. “When any of our employees have a crisis and need time away, we quickly and nicely assure them that they are covered and can focus on their personal situation,” Munoz says. The company also communicates with the employees while they’re away to show everyone cares about their well-being.
In addition, Maudie’s asks team members how they are doing on a daily basis, which “demonstrates you care about them more than just about their work product,” she adds. “Definitely, an important message is letting them know you have an open door policy, where they can come and express any issues or ideas either with upper management or the Human Resources department.”
Hiring the right people. “Our people are our greatest asset at Maudie’s,” stresses Munoz, who says the restaurant often looks to fill job openings with people who are family members and friends of current employees. “Word of mouth and referrals from existing employees are common at our business since it has been open for 25 years and has seven locations around Austin,” she says. There’s also opportunity for advancement in any position, which Munoz calls “a plus for us!”
Onboarding. New employees are more likely to quit for greener pastures in the first few days or weeks of employment, according to Munoz. “To avoid those no-shows, it is important to have a smart onboarding program,” she stresses. “The onboarding process is what makes the employee decide if they will continue with your organization.”
She says having a detailed plan for welcoming new hires—one that makes them feel comfortable, stimulates productivity, and introduces them to your restaurant’s products and culture—is key. And training should be an ongoing process that covers new menu items, safety, customer service and culture throughout each employee’s tenure.
“Training managers on new laws and regulations and technology is very important because they are the leaders of your business,” Munoz adds.
Recognizing team members. At Maudie’s, that means more than money. “The importance is to always recognize a team member with a simple ‘Thank You,’” Munoz says.
An element of fun is important, too. With Maudie’s new Meet the Maker contest, employees can enter a food or drink recipe; prizes include cash and the perk of having their item featured on seasonal specials menus. A monthly newsletter recognizes employees for birthdays, anniversaries, promotions and employee-of-the-month honors. And team members can participate in community events including “Maudie’s Cup” (a golf tournament that benefits Ruby’s Rainbow, an organization that grants scholarships to adults with Down syndrome), and “Maudie’s Moonlight Margarita Run and Party,” which benefits The Trail Foundation (a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing a local hike-and-bike trail).
“In order to select great people, you must first decide what essential qualities an employee should have to deliver the best iteration of your brand experience and positively contribute to your company culture. Any great employee can be trained and qualified to do any job, but it takes time and commitment,” Munoz concludes.
Kathleen Furore is editor of el Restaurante.
SIDEBAR:
Good News on the Hiring Horizon
Gen Z—that cohort of young people born between 1995 and 2010— could be the antidote to the industry’s labor problems.
That’s the message in a recent report from the National Restaurant Association’s Educational Foundation (NRAEF), in partnership with the Center for Generational Kinetics. According to the report, members of Gen Z are first and foremost interested in a brand’s good reputation before even applying for a job.
Gen Z’s also expect a fun work environment, the ability to advance quickly (more than half expect a promotion within a year), and the knowledge that they will receive a raise within the first three months.
They’ll leave jobs if they find a better opportunity, don’t make enough money, and/ or want to finish school, says the report, which notes many of them could stay if they earn a good salary, work with good managers and receive training. Interestingly—and perhaps most encouraging— is the fact that many respondents want to remain in the industry in some capacity. Thirtyfour percent want to own or operate their own restaurant, 33 percent aspire to be bartenders, and 31 percent plan careers in restaurant business operations.
Download the full report at chooserestaurants.org/genz.