The restaurant business relies heavily on human capital, and the quality of service offered depends on the skills and experience of these workers. Even as the demand for qualified staff to work in a restaurant rises, business owners are still finding it hard to recruit and retain the right people. The biggest culprit to this problem is using outdated recruitment methods that have diminished in the modern labor market.
Hiring the right staff for your restaurant requires highlighting task roles, expected qualifications, and using the proper marketing channels like:
- Word of mouth
- Job portals
- Social media posts and ads
- Recruitment consultant
Additionally, proper training and benefits are crucial during recruitment.
That’s not all, as we need to look at these hiring methods in detail and the everyday challenges of staffing a restaurant business, which you will learn if you read on.
How do you Hire the Right Restaurant Staff?
A restaurant business is only as good as the people working there. Every staff member plays a crucial role, from top management that ensures things run smoothly to chefs and waiters who prepare and serve the customers. Getting the right people for the job is crucial to your business, and staffing has remained the biggest challenge for anyone in this line of work. But with clarity, you can manage to sort this problem effortlessly.
For starters, you need to highlight the roles and responsibilities of the position you’re filling. Giving a complete job description will help you target the right audience. Secondly, you should clarify the type of person you need to fill the role by mentioning their qualifications and experience. Once you establish these two, you need to use the right marketing media for advertising the position. The common ones include:
Word of Mouth
It’s the easiest and cheapest way of getting the right workers. You can ask your friends, other staff members, or trusted customers to spread the word. You can also ask other restaurant owners to help spread the word on your behalf. Many restaurants, especially small and medium-sized, rely on this recruitment method.
Job Portals
Many people turn toward job portals when looking for new positions and opportunities to advance their careers, and it would make sense to target these portals when looking for the right restaurant personnel. Popular job portals like Indeed Jobs, Glassdoor Jobs, and ZipRecruiter are perfect spots to find your next chef or restaurant manager.
Although some portals charge a fee to post a job post, there are higher chances of getting the right people to fill the vacancy. Additionally, the job portals will recommend the suitable candidates that you can contact, helping cut down the application time.
Social Media Posts and Ads
Any business needs a social media presence to grow its market share and spread awareness. Besides boosting your business, social media platforms can be used to recruit new people to fill the vacant roles. There are two ways you can go about this:
- Social media posts – write a complete job description and your expectation from interested candidates.
- Paid ads – create ads targeting people of a certain age, location, interests, and education qualification.
It’s crucial to follow these recruitment tips regardless of which social media recruitment method you choose:
- A proper job description – Highlight what the role involves, duties, and responsibilities. Make sure to mention working hours and location.
- Working environment – Show potential applicants why they should be excited to work in your restaurant. Do they work with renowned people? Do they get hands-on experience and industry exposure?
- Benefits – Besides pay, which other benefits are they going to get? Is there medical cover or dental? Paid days off or holidays?
Ensure they understand what they’re applying for to avoid going through unqualified applications and awkward interviews.
Referrals and Recommendations
Ask your employees or friends to recommend someone they know would fit perfectly into a job opening before advertising the position. The referred candidates are considered trustworthy, and most of them are experienced in their work and fit right into their roles. This recruitment method is mainly reserved for chefs and management as they’re crucial to a business. It’s a perfect staffing method on short notice and has most often resulted in long-term contracts.
Restaurant Recruitment Consultant
If all these methods have failed, or for some reason, you don’t wish to go through the hustle of recruiting employees, the best option is to outsource the entire process. Recruitment agencies have databases of qualified candidates seeking new opportunities, speeding up the recruitment process as a whole.
However, such agencies are known to charge the first month’s salary as their commission for getting you the right candidate. For instance, if you’re recruiting an operations manager with a salary of $4000, the agency will request the same amount as their fee.
Common Challenges when Hiring Restaurant Staff
Recruiting and retaining the staff has remained elusive to many business owners in the hospitality industry, with many unable to hold on to a promising employee for more than a year. Which are the common problems that contribute to staffing challenges in the hospitality industry?
High Employee Turnover
The hospitality industry suffers the most when it comes to employees quitting in large numbers. Restaurant owners have to go through the recruitment process over again. Employee turnover is driven by:
- Low pay and many working hours
- Poor benefits and remuneration
- Lack of long-term interest
Hiring and Training Cost
Finding and training the right employee requires investing time and money in the recruitment process. Not every business has the funds allocated to its budget, which hampers the recruitment process.
Declining Labor Force
Unlike before, when there was an extensive restaurant labor force, people are moving away from such jobs and seeking out lucrative careers. It’s getting hard for restaurant owners to find the right people for the job in a shrinking market.
Outro
Hiring the right restaurant staff can be done through word of mouth, referrals, social media posts or ads, and job portals. High turnover, hiring and training costs, and the declining labor force are among the problems facing restaurant recruitments.