12 tips on how to attract employees during a labor shortage

Recruiting potential employees is costly and time-consuming for any business owner, but for restaurant owners, navigating a labor shortage can be a life or death situation. The pandemic created an industry-wide staffing problem, where restaurant workers who lost their jobs due to shutdowns and layoffs decided not to return when those jobs came back. While unemployment benefits may play a factor in the short-term, the situation unveiled the drastic changes that restaurateurs must make to attract and retain talent.

Following best practices on attracting employees during a labor shortage isn’t just about filling open positions in the short term, but keeping and nurturing staff for the long haul. Staying fully staffed for longer will reduce the costs associated with the hiring process, as well as allow you to increase your capacity and provide a better guest experience.

How to attract employees during a labor shortage: 12 tips

Keep these tips in mind to make your restaurant stand out to the talent pool, as well as provide a win-win environment for team members and patrons alike.

1. Raise wages

Many entry-level restaurant positions have historically paid minimum wage. Even with minimum wage on its way to $15/hour in some states, those rates don’t allow workers to live financially sustainable lifestyles on one job alone. The pandemic accelerated talks about fair pay and the cost of living. While labor costs are already difficult for restaurateurs to manage, wages are one of the most significant factors in a labor shortage.

Offering above-market wages is a surefire way to attract potential employees, though this is much easier said than done. Higher wages must be accounted for somewhere to keep your restaurant profitable. Here are a few ways to allow for higher staff wages:

• Increase menu prices, with language noting that price increases go directly toward living wages for current employees
• Add a 3-5% to each bill with the same language
• Eliminate the need for as many positions by automating repetitive tasks

2. Post on social media

Reaching the talent pool in the first place can be half the battle. After you’ve created a job listing, make sure you’re posting it on channels where potential employees naturally gravitate. In the same way, you want content about your dining experience to reach the right customers, your job postings should take the path of least resistance.

While more formal job sites can serve as viable options, chances are your talent pool is spending much more time on social media. Chipotle is just one major restaurant brand that’s made headlines by using TikTok to share job postings. Instagram is another universal outlet for advertising open positions. LinkedIn focuses entirely on the professional realm and is typically the prime social media outlet for job postings. However, your talent pool may not be nearly as active on LinkedIn as they are on less formal social media channels.

3. Leverage your current employees

Social media isn’t your only organic recruiting channel. Your current team members have networks of their own that they can tap into. Offer a referral bonus to further incentivize staff to speak to their friends and family about working at your restaurant. Enabling your staff to recruit for you will save time, bring in trusted leads, and build up your culture by having friends work with one another.

4. Add a benefits package

Healthcare, dental, vision, life insurance, and childcare are often reserved for full-time, salaried employees. If you can afford to offer a benefits package to service-level restaurant staff, however, you’ll certainly stand out among job seekers.

5. Elevate company culture

Creating a positive culture among your team is perhaps the single most important thing you can do as a business owner, regardless of whether or not you’re facing a labor shortage. Valuing your staff with consistent communication, positive feedback, and mentoring will create tremendous goodwill that often spreads like wildfire among current employees. Creating cultural change certainly takes time, but it shouldn’t cost you a penny.

Here are few ways to improve your restaurant team culture:

• Make time for one-on-ones, where every team member can check in with their supervisor regularly
• Develop reward and improvement plans to motivate high-performing team members and inspire those who need a helping hand
• Be mindful of staff time, making sure to keep any initiatives during their shifts and compensate them for any overtime worked

6. Support health and wellness

You might consider a formal wellness program, which provides structured exercise, nutrition, and mental health coaching for team members. If this isn’t in your budget, further boost team morale, culture, and wellness by providing outings for staff to escape and enjoy one another’s company. This could be as simple as having a team member lead informal morning runs or yoga sessions. Building a sense of community outside the workplace with a health focus can boost wellness and culture at the same time.

7. Provide growth opportunity

Job seekers aren’t just looking for a paycheck — they’re investing their time and energy into a role where they want to come out better on the other side. Showcasing that your restaurant will help them reach that next step in their career can go a long way in recruiting top talent. Here’s how you can showcase these growth opportunities:

• Promote from within: Moving someone from busser to server, or server to manager, will appeal to prospective staff and motivate current team members to perform to their fullest potential.
• Establish mentor programs: Pairing senior and junior staff members together will build team morale and ensure that best practices are passed down.
• Sponsor trainings: From bringing in outside consultants to providing education stipends, sponsored trainings will be a huge differentiator if you have the budget.

8. Include fun perks

You run a restaurant, so one of your primary goals is providing experiences that people love. Chances are most of your staff got into the restaurant business because they love food. Providing staff discounts, priority reservations, and the occasional free meal, especially as reward incentives, will go a long way in boosting team morale and motivation.

9. Prevent burnout

Long hours, extensive time on your feet, and stressful conditions have long defined the restaurant industry, leading to burnout and attrition. These factors don’t have to define your restaurant. Providing team members with flexible schedules, time off, and sick days can likely increase productivity in the long run by boosting retention. Giving a team member a day off certainly beats that person quitting then taking several weeks to fill their position, considering the stress and opportunity cost of the recruiting process.

10. Promote diversity

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) rank among the most talked-about subjects across industries. The restaurant business naturally attracts a global workforce, with team members coming from across the world. Embracing different cultures, ages, genders, and backgrounds will make your restaurant a more equitable work environment.

11. Involve yourself in the recruitment process

Chances are you don’t have your own human resources department to handle recruiting for you, and play at least some role in recruiting new team members. Especially during a labor shortage, it’s imperative to meet with your management team to review recruitment strategy and how you’re going about finding and interviewing candidates. Sit in on interviews to make sure the process is efficient and personable for all parties involved. The restaurant business is all about making people feel comfortable. Making that impression as an employer will help convert potential employees in the same way a great ambiance will bring in new customers.

12. Refine retention efforts

The best way to combat a labor shortage is to hold on to your team members in the first place. Paying fair wages, maintaining positive company culture, and empowering team members to grow over time will keep top talent under your wing. In turn, those team members will better advocate for you as an employer, so the search is much easier when you have to recruit new talent.

Let a labor shortage challenge you to grow

Finding new employees to fill open positions is especially challenging during a worker shortage. Providing attractive incentives will certainly help ramp up your staffing, and creating a positive work culture will reduce attrition. One of the easiest ways to boost your restaurant’s culture is by automating otherwise time-consuming tasks, drastically reducing stress for new employees and current employees alike.

Yelp provides a full front-of-house system that saves countless hours for team members, reducing burnout and ultimately boosting retention, so business owners don’t have to go through the hiring process as often. Handle reservations and waitlists with ease by getting started with Yelp today.