Break the Restaurant Hiring Cycle with Modern Approaches to Workforce Management

The restaurant industry is notorious for its turnover. The sector’s annual employee churn averages nearly 80% over the last 10 years. One report found that barely half of new hires make it 90 days before quitting. 

As a result, managers and operators get stuck in a cycle of attrition, constantly hiring, training, and hiring again. The seemingly endless loop hampers operations. The time invested in recruiting and onboarding reduces productivity, while the inefficiency of new employees and constant workflow disruptions compromise service quality.

While some turnover is inevitable in the hospitality industry, restaurants can reduce churn by creating a work environment that addresses common challenges and encourages employee engagement. Supported by technology, operators and managers can make their workplaces more supportive, satisfying and engaging, so employees will both do better and stick around longer.

Long hours and rigid schedules

Hospitality never sleeps. The nature of the business can entail unusual shifts, long hours and rigid schedules. Meanwhile, today’s workers desire more flexibility. Managers can improve the employee experience by giving them control over when they work. 

Spreadsheets are insufficient to implement a flexible scheduling model. Digital workforce management systems empower staff to easily designate availability and swap shifts — providing them agency over their schedules while maintaining operational coverage. 

These tools help managers distribute schedules in a timely manner, with automated notifications delivered through an employee’s preferred channel. Staff can better plan their personal lives and reduce work-related stress, and by providing advance notifications, digital tools can decrease no-shows and late arrivals.

Working an under- or over-staffed shift is also frustrating for both employees and managers. By aligning staffing with demand, restaurants can reduce this stress. Data-driven workforce management platforms analyze historical patterns to better match labor with anticipated customer traffic. Managers can easily translate this information to build an optimized schedule. 

This technology-enabled flexibility elevates employee satisfaction while ensuring business needs are met.

Poor communication and low engagement

Poor communication can suffocate morale by creating confusion, uncertainty, misaligned expectations and team conflicts. 

The dynamic nature of restaurant operations makes regular communication essential but very challenging. Digital platforms allow restaurant managers to integrate communication into their workflow, automating distribution and ensuring the information reaches employees. This consistent communication reduces errors, maintains standards and helps create a more cohesive team environment.

Many operations fall behind in their efforts to engage employees and identify problems that lead to turnover. Why? They rely on traditional engagement tools that aren’t built for how real front-line workforces operate. 

For decades, annual surveys have been the go-to approach. These surveys are deployed via corporate emails and generate low participation rates. By the time senior leadership reviews the results, the window for timely intervention has closed. Beyond those delays, the intermittent nature of the feedback (once a year at best) allows pressing issues to fester. 

A better approach builds engagement into the regular workflow, such as implementing pulse surveys directly within the restaurant’s time-tracking or scheduling system. This approach allows for quick, targeted touchpoints that encourage quick, honest responses and provide immediate insights. With this real-time information, managers can learn about and address issues before someone quits. What’s more, this kind of proactive engagement and acting on feedback cultivate a supportive environment. 

Increasing employee touchpoints during the onboarding period, in particular, helps build relationships, correct misunderstandings and establish a positive working environment for long-term retention. 

Recognition is often an undervalued aspect of communication. Establishing ongoing recognition programs makes employees feel valued and boosts morale. Digital tools enable managers to acknowledge good work instantly and regularly. Some systems can even analyze performance data to suggest recognition opportunities.

Limited growth opportunities

Hospitality roles often lack a clear career progression. Envisioning a successful future is hard when an employee has no idea what it could look like. Career pathing provides that clarity, offering a structured approach for professional development. 

Restaurants can start by identifying and documenting paths for common career progressions. For example, how can an entry-level server advance to a shift manager? Digital platforms support plan development and make the information available to employees. During 1:1 meetings, managers should ask where employees see themselves within the organization to get them thinking about the future. 

Leadership development programs and technical skills training equip employees with critical skills, boosting their confidence and job satisfaction. These programs also demonstrate that the business cares about employees’ long-term success, not just their immediate productivity. Digital learning platforms make this training accessible and relevant.

Incorporating mentorship programs into the restaurant culture supports both the mentor and mentee. The experienced employee passes on their expertise while also learning new leadership skills and perspectives. Just as importantly, these pairs or cohorts build personal relationships. Gallup reported that having a best friend at work drives engagement, productivity and retention. 

Thinking big picture about employee retention

The cost of continuing the hiring cycle is too high, and restaurants’ enduring high turnover rate reveals that the way things have always been done is not working for employees. Restaurants can break the hiring cycle by building an employee-centric culture that moves at the speed of your workforce.