BlogQSR industry operations vs employee satisfaction

What if a business looked at profits alone? Think again. A business runs on different concepts like work culture, public relations, customer satisfaction and employee engagement and satisfaction. Businesses are investing considerable time and money in keeping their employees knowledgeable and giving them a great workplace. Companies today realize that, its not just profits that keep their businesses up and running but it is also its employees. Of course, Happy Employees lead to happy customers which in turn lead to profits. Workplace morale does reflect on returns.

This shift in the business outlook and priorities has even touched the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry. Compared to other industries, the QSR industry is said to have the highest employee turnover rate every year, which varies from 50% to 100%. The QSR industry invests nearly 3.4 billion in recruiting and training its new employees every year. Surely there is room in that budget for retention technology.

Management has a huge responsibility of keeping their workforce motivated to progress in any business. Technology and connectivity can aid the business. But the workforce is the soul of the business. Employees are the face and brand of the QSR industry, keeping the employees happy is no less than a PR activity for the business. Although human interaction is reduced by apps, it’s not eliminated. This These places even more focus on how important the employee-guest interaction is to the business.

QSR industry and its employee turnover

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that the Food and Beverage service industry grows 14% between 2016 -2026. The turnover rate for the restaurant sector was 81.9% for the period 2015-2017. The industry estimates are much higher at 150%. QSR industry is growing and so are numerous job prospects.

As per Abraham Pizam the Founding Dean of Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida “No one who thinks of a job as temporary is motivated”. The challenges faced by the workforce in the QSR industry are:

• low entry level wage myth
• lack of career progress
• The belief that fast-food jobs are temporary

The above factors are contributing to the people looking at other career options.

The employer is at loss due to the turnover of the workforce. The turnover costs are inclusive of time spent to hire an employee, time to train an employee, and giving enough time for the employee to become proficient on the job. In the QSR industry, the time required for the process is two months until then the payment is considered a loss. The loss of losing an employee in the workforce is quite a lot.

Considering this, it is becoming vital for the management to ensure employee satisfaction at the workplace. The level of job satisfaction varies among employees. So, measuring whether the employee is happy to work in the current set up becomes a necessary challenge.

What can we do to understand employee satisfaction?

One way of understanding your employees are satisfied or not is having a direct one-on-one talk with them. But with the hierarchy and spread of employees across locations makes it a little difficult. The others ways could be an indirect way of measurement. Below are a few commonly used measures by the Quick service restaurants

Employee opinion surveys

Getting your workforce to answer a questionnaire related to working conditions and job satisfaction would give insight to their comfort level with the workplace. With quick-service restaurants being fast-paced the surveys need to be kept brief, so that they can be completed at work, and made available on a mobile device. The workforce should not feel the pressure of answering the questionnaire on their off time at home.

Group surveys

Conducting one to one with the team of employees with human resources would allow sharing their concerns. In the company of their team members, they open up and share their worries that are bothering them. Few QSR operators can afford to hold large meetings due to cost and time restrictions.

Feedback from customer

Customers are the best people to know about customer service. With a quick punch in the questionnaire, you can keep the questions short concerning service, on-time delivery, how the whole process experience was for the customer. The star ratings of 2, 3, 4 and 5 will give you an idea of where and how things are moving. Customer feedback is also an indicator where exactly the loophole is and which employee is not satisfied with work. The information can aid you to strategize on how to deal with the employee, a location, or a specific opportunity.

Self – assessment of employees

Self-assessment questionnaires to the workforce are another indicator of their satisfaction levels in business. Direct questions like “motivation while serving customers?” and how satisfied they are with the job at your workplace will give an indicator to their current satisfaction level. Before handling the questionnaire you need to assure your employees that their feedback would not have any effect on them at the workplace.

Employee – centric initiatives by management

If it is the belief that a job is temporary and there is no career growth then it is an opportunity to make them aware of career options available in the QSR industry. If they are lacking in skills, you can open the stream of options for them to skill-up. For employees who would like to pursue their studies, worried about how to go about, you can give an empathetic ear to their vows.

Workpulse employee quiz & surveys help us streamline operations and retain our best employees?

Skilled staff is always in demand. The chefs, computer literates and front end executives who can handle customers in tricky situations are much needed in the QSR industry. The management needs to have a keen eye to understand what makes these employees stick to their jobs. Knowledge of their needs opens up ways for the management to retain them.

Workpulse aids you with technology to conduct your day to day business efficiently. The Workpulse suite of applications helps employees across locations connected. With real-time data in hand, employees can think quick alternatives that need immediate attention and think of strategies to increase the ROI. Wouldn’t you like to know what your guest facing personnel is really thinking?

Having a happier and super-connected team is on “most-needed” list for businesses today. As the employees spend a long time with your quick service restaurants, they will know the operations like the back of their hand. With this knowledge and technology, they can turn things around which you cannot expect from a newbie. This also creates a more positive and communicative atmosphere that improves the overall operations, increasing the customer footfall, creating brand visibility and profits too. Exactly! You streamline your operations.

Put the Workpulse WoW app in the hands of your crew today to find the leaders of tomorrow.

Having your restaurant to compete in the QSR industry, the retention of employees is crucial. How you retain your workforce is employee-centric. Knowing what ticks employee satisfaction would be key for their retention. With employee satisfaction key and technology in hand, you really can make your business a huge success.

Call Today to schedule a demonstration of the Workpulse solution. 1-856-282-6044. Every second counts while growing your business. Email today or call Workpulse to take a step forward.

In the time it took the average multi-unit operator to read this post, a Workpulse subscriber could have sent a customized Quiz or Survey to their employees’ mobile device and already began receiving valuable feedback. A small investment in technology and time gives the operator the clear advantage of knowing what the guest and employee  experience is like at each location.