What’s Going On With the Labor Shortage?
Restaurants are experiencing a labor shortage right now. Employee turnover skyrocketed during the pandemic, creating difficulties in finding workers who would stick around long-term. Even as restaurants reopen this summer, they don’t have the staff for full capacity There are a few reasons for that, among them low pay and concerns about COVID-19. Whatever your workforce’s reasoning, restaurants are struggling.
The first step to reducing employee turnover is understanding yours. Calculate employee turnover by:
Deciding what time period you want to focus on. For example, monthly or quarterly metrics are useful for comparing your restaurant against the national average.
Add together how many employees you have at the beginning of the time period versus the end. Then divide by two. That’s the average number of workers you had throughout the period.
How many workers left you this year? Take that number and divide it by the average you just calculated. Turn it into a percentage to see your turnover rate.
Once you have your turnover rate, see how it compares to other restaurants. With an advanced Point of Sale system, you can break down your numbers further and further until you pinpoint what’s driving off new hires. Smart POS makes that kind of streamlining easy.
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Why Employee Turnover Matters
In 2020, restaurant turnover reached 130%. That’s a significant hike from the previous year. Although restaurants no longer have legal barriers to opening, the cost of living and the wages earned at a restaurant job rarely align. Thus the people willing to work might find they can’t handle the stress without better payoff; or else it’s difficult to find candidates who are both qualified and willing. So the question is: How can your restaurant recruit suitable applicants, and then keep them?
The issue goes deeper than just the costs of recruitment (which can add up to thousands of dollars to replace just one worker). The constant cycle of new hires severely impacts morale. When the team can’t bond, they’re weaker. Turnover hurts the overall workplace culture, engagement and performance. Restaurants work better when its staff has time to develop systems together and find their rhythm as a team.
How to Reduce Employee Turnover Long-Term
Focus on hiring the best candidates for your particular workplace; that won’t look the same for every business. Choose somebody with the makings of a good fit, even if you have to train them on important aspects of the position that a more qualified applicant would already know. It’s worth the time to invest in current employees and mentor them into the workforce you want to see.
When it comes to making your staff happy, ultimately they’re the ones who know best what would incentivize them to stick with the company. Talk to them directly and find out what will help them perform their jobs more effectively and make them want to stay at this particular restaurant. Then streamline your new, more productive team with a smart Point of Sale capable of superior workforce management.
