The universal challenge for those in the Foodservice and hospitality industry is finding and retaining staff. Irrespective if you are a small owner-operated venue or a multi-site chain, this is something that everyone is grappling with.
It’s fair to say this industry has always had a transient nature regarding staffing. However, the lockdowns experienced in the last two years have only made this challenge even harder, with owners having to step down staff due to a downturn in revenue and the flip side, the short supply of staff with a lot of visa led team members returning home.
The industry is seeing some green shoots; however, with the further lifting of covid regulations last month and travel starting up again. There is a positive sentiment toward hiring with 9 out of 10 saying they would be recruiting staff in ’22*.
So, this begs the question, once you find good staff, how do you keep them with you, improve the customers’ experience, and reduce your recruitment and onboarding costs.
Having great team members can be the difference between your customers choosing that extra menu item, telling their family and friends about the excellent service they received and coming back time and time again. Great staff are integral to your customer experience.
Some ideas to demonstrate how you value your team:
- The Culture Paradigm: those who feel valued and able to contribute to something bigger generally stay for longer. Creating a culture where your team is encouraged to put their ideas forward and be fed back on is a great way to demonstrate their value.
- Growth Pathways: these need not only be opportunities to progress within your business, but it can also be incredibly motivating to provide new skill sets beyond their day-to-day roles so they are getting life skills as well as those they can apply to their future work life growth.
- Training is Key: if you want to ensure your customer experience is consistently delivered, you have to make sure your team understand what you’re trying to achieve and how to deliver it. Don’t make assumptions that everyone has the same vision you do. Set them up for success by training them, and you won’t be disappointed.
One thing is for sure, finding great staff is like hitting the jackpot, so it’s worth mapping out how you plan to keep and motivate them as a good staff member creates the environment for everyone to lift! This is such a pain point for so many of our customers, and we hope that sharing some of these ideas with you helps spark some thoughts.
