Staff Retention: Investing To Survive The Labor Shortage

As restaurants emerge post-pandemic, most restaurants have felt the squeeze of the nationwide labor shortage. Some restaurants have limited their capacity, some have to offer much higher incentives, and some have even had to resort to closing their doors entirely. While there is no absolute fix for this ongoing issue, there are ways to combat staff retention, many of which being investments into the staff that you do have.

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Onward and Upward

Typically restaurants aren’t the most upwardly mobile jobs people can find, however making an effort to show the staff that you currently have that they have a path towards promotions and gaining higher levels of responsibility and pay can help you maintain the staff you currently have. Investing in the careers of the staff you have will embolden them to feel like they have a future within your restaurant as well as help them feel like the effort they put forward matters towards their career.

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Added Incentives

When trying to maintain staff, the first obvious option is to increase pay, however this isn’t always an option, especially now after many restaurants were closed for months. Adding incentives outside of standard pay is another way to try and keep your staff onboard. Whether it be offering extra days off, bonuses, free meals, prizes or anything that your staff would find beneficial, showing your staff that you appreciate their extra effort can go a long way towards making them feel valued, and in turn make them want to stay.

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Give Them Extra Tools

After you have addressed adding benefits for your staff, you can look into investing in tools that will help alleviate many of the pain points of being short staffed. Introducing technology, such as Ziosk, that allow your guests to browse, order and pay on their own can give your servers more time back to invest into the guest’s experience, which in turn can lead to higher tips.

Discover ways to combat the post-pandemic labor shortage in restaurants. Retain staff, offer incentives, and leverage technology like Ziosk.