The lifecycle of a restaurant employee
The employee lifecycle begins from the time he/she joins the workforce to the time they leave the workforce. The journey begins with the recruitment process, getting hired, undergoes the training, successfully doing the job, until leaving the employer. The employee’s work-life in restaurants is too short, the restaurant turnover is the highest compared to all the industries across the globe. A study reveals that some restaurants are facing an employee turnover of 144% and an increase in labor costs by 48%. Here are a few challenges faced by giants in the fast-food industry.
- A Bread manufacturing giant is losing close to 100% of its employees every year.
- As per the industry measures, fast-food chains employee turnover is between 130% to 150%
- A leading fast-food giant spent close to $1 billion in 2019 to order kiosks and other technology to lessen the need for employees.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms that employee retention in the restaurant sector was 81.9% from 2015 to 2017. The estimate for the current year is 150%.
The turnover cost of an employee is increasing day by day. The time spent in hiring the resource and training and getting proficient in the job takes a minimum of two months. During this time half the salary is considered to be a loss. The loss reflects the guest experience. The national restaurant association estimated the turnover cost of an employee to be $2000 in the year 2019. This number might be slightly less in the case of the fast-food industry compared to high-end restaurants. The restaurants are feeling the pinch with higher minimum wage and higher business costs.
Witnessing the impact of employee turnover the industry is looking for ways to retain its employees. A few of the implemented ways are:
-
Create a restaurant culture
Restaurant branding plays a crucial role in restaurant culture. As the employees become aware of the brand culture, the employees set themselves up with the brand’s culture. The beliefs, the values the brand stands for is carried further by its employees. In short, the employees become brand ambassadors.
-
Professional hiring
Hiring is considered to be a big challenge by the restaurant industry. Having a professional deal with the hiring process will ease the load. The professionals will check the candidates with the restaurant’s core values along with the required skills. This eases the hiring process to a great extent.
-
Mentor the employees
Mentors can inspire employees. This is an integral part of employee retention. Mentors can lead by example. The values such as the meaning of work, leveraging the connection, to develop the art of handling stress and fear, and converting it to opportunities of growth will instill confidence in newly joined employees.
Along with the motivation, mentors’ character of integrity and handling risks will contribute to healthy working conditions.
-
Introduction to technology
Technology is an inevitable part of the fast food and restaurant industry. Motivating the employees to be tech-savvy will build trust from the employee towards the mentor. The bonus for rewards can be a motivating factor to inspire employees to perform better.
Technology like Workpulse Wow also aids in better working conditions and reduces the workload on employees. So, making the employee’s tech-literate is the need of the hour today.
-
Know what is ticking with your employees
Regular one-to-one with employees will reveal what is bothering them. It could be a personal reason like the ill-health of a family member, inability to continue with their education or hurdles at the workplace. If this is done over a chat, it establishes a trusting bond between employees and mentors. If this is done on a questionnaire it will be feedback to work on further. Feedback gives areas to improvise to make the working condition better for the employee.
Workpulse Quiz has a polling option in its application where the employees can poll their opinions. The management in turn can access these poll results and take necessary action to strengthen the bond with their employees.
-
Give good reasons to stay
As per the survey conducted the attrition rate is because the employees do not see future growth at their workplace. The organization needs to make their employees ‘belong’ to the workplace. So, if the employees need to be retained, they need to know their growth opportunities. One effective way is to make them aware of the organizational structure, their culture, and encouraging them to embrace it and encouraging them to become one of them. Following individual work ethic and rewarding best practices with Workpulse helps to create an atmosphere that employees don’t want to leave.
The pandemic has affected our economy and our lives immensely. Recently, one of the fast-food giants reeling under losses was on the verge of laying off their labor force. Another leading fast-food giant appealed to the public to purchase products from their competitor to retain their labor force. This act of solidarity to stand with each other for the benefit of the workforce and letting go of their competition will not only win the trust of the labor force but also extends goodwill to society. Employees can be retained by showing them you care. On gaining the trust of employees, employers will not only be saving on their employee turnover cost but also increases the profits due to a better guest experience.
Workpulse helps to simplify restaurant management with technology. So, why not have a technical assistant to help you manage your restaurant smartly. Give a call to find out how Workpulse can be the best addition to your business. Call 1-856-282-6044. www.workpulse.com
