Limit workforce attrition in your restaurant

Transition times of the year lead to higher workforce attrition. These next few months are some of the busiest for the pizza industry. It’s great to have an influx of customers, but to give the best experience possible, you’ve got to have service that matches the demand, or it can turn into a negative if people feel burned by the experience.

COVID changed hiring forever; it is different now. The industry is not the same as it once was; the employee is in the power position of where they will work, and their expectations of their employer have never been higher. The key is to match that standard as an employer and increase expectations of output and attitude in line with those higher standards.

So, how do you find talented applicants? First, you must come to terms with the fact that you’re not the only place looking for good hires. Everyone is. Rather than interviewing the applicant, the applicant is interviewing you. To have a successful hiring process, you have to make your restaurant somewhere they want to work, and here is how you pull that off:

1. Warm Blanket First Impression

The best employees want a welcoming environment and a workplace that inspires growth.

The whole application process should be an overwhelmingly accepting and kind experience that inspires them to stop applying for jobs and see this opportunity out fully instead. That means they are seated when seeking to apply, offered food, and everyone working stops to say hi and introduce themselves. This costs nothing and moves the needle.

Keep in mind a motivated staff intrinsically will attract people who want to be motivated.

2. Compensation

Paying more is the seemingly obvious way to attract applicants, but incentive pay and profit sharing are much more powerful ways to keep staff engaged and create a paired interest strategy that ensures they seek your wins because they lead to their wins. Pay alone doesn’t matter as much as the belief that this restaurant is a positive place for their growth, not just financially but as a person, however, they define that.

3. Culture and Communication

The culture of your restaurant is vital for retaining employees. You and your staff should be on the same team, all working to make your restaurant the best it can be. This can be done through team-building exercises and communication via staff meetings and effective messaging platforms. Everyone should feel comfortable about communicating issues along with successes, and most of all just like being around each other.

Using messaging software to create an open line of communication between you and your employees is a great way to foster teamwork. It keeps your employees on the ball without becoming too intrusive. You can keep tabs on employees outside work hours but remain in a work-sanctioned context.

The culture of your workplace also depends on the relationship you have with your employees. Go out of your way to make them feel comfortable enough to come to you with problems. Your staff sees elements of your restaurant you don’t, this gives them a valuable perspective you should cherish.

4. Training

A comprehensive and detailed onboarding program is also attractive to worthwhile applicants. If your training process is less than three days long, it’s not robust enough. If you want your staff to take their job seriously, you have to take your staff seriously. Off the bat, you should convey your restaurant’s values, expectations and culture. The more detailed and comprehensive the onboarding process, the more confident a new hire will be.

Now, once you’ve got your five-star employees, keep them engaged and motivated by design not by accident.

5. Empathetic Scheduling

A major point of stress for employees is inconsistent scheduling. You should be flexible with scheduling, taking into consideration your employees’ personal lives while also meeting the needs of your restaurant. They should have to request off well in advance, and you should post the schedule at least 10 days in advance. This mutual expectation leads to stability and trust.

Technology means you can create schedules that the employees have a say in. Allow them to provide their availability and trade shifts if necessary. This avoids last-minute call-ins or animosity between you and a busy employee. Give schedules in advance so you know who won’t be able to work, and they can plan their personal lives accordingly.

6. Cross training

What was once a content and hard-working employee can become bored if there isn’t any opportunity for growth. Many of the most motivated employees don’t want to work at your restaurant for the rest of their lives, but give them opportunities for development while working for you. Cross-training opportunities and training programs provide employees with a diverse skillset they can bring to their future careers. Think of it as an apartment with all the amenities, they don’t have to leave if they already have everything they need.

These hard-working employees are also drawn to upward mobility within the workplace. With your staff, stagnation is the enemy. Make leadership roles within the staff. If an employee is exceptional, reward them with more responsibility. This not only puts your restaurant on good shoulders, but it also provides inspiration and competition for your other staff. A clear path to improvement makes employees more likely to stay for the long term.

Remember, a kind word can go a long way. Making room in your restaurant’s culture for praise and recognition can make an unsure or unconfident worker get their footing. It creates the motivation to work harder and do better. With no clue what an employee is doing right, how would they know what to change and keep constant?

Where there are praises, there are also bound to be mistakes. When your team messes up, meet them at their level. Mistakes usually aren’t at the hands of a singular employee, it’s a domino effect. As the boss, it’s your job to address the issue, be kind and forgiving, and ask your staff for ideas on improvement. Once again, they have a perspective you don’t; listen and make your adjustments to what they say.

Running a restaurant is a ton of spinning plates, and you can’t spin them alone. Make your restaurant a place where hard work = getting noticed. Cultivate a culture of constant improvement to attract A players who want the ball and want to keep moving it down the field.

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instagram: @mikeybausch