Hiring and retention remains a critical issue plaguing the restaurant industry today. A panel of experts at the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit discussed how the pandemic affected their brands and shared tips for hiring and retention.

Photo by Networld Media Group

April 20, 2022 | by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Managing Editor, Networld Media Group

Having potential employees beating at a brand's door to work for them is a thing of the past. Labor shortages are affecting nearly every brand, and that's causing companies to rethink the hiring, onboarding and retention processes.

Four panelists discussed those challenges during a panel discussion titled "Streamlining Your Hiring Process to Cut Drop-out Rates" at the Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit in Nashville, Tennessee this month. The event, run by Networld Media Group, draws executives from leading brands to share successful ways to grow franchises. Networld Media Group is the parent company of Fastcasual, Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb. The media company's next event is a virtual pizza conference, the Pizza Leadership Virtual Summit, which will take place July 27.

Panelists included Steve Felson, VP of operations for Bonchon Korean Fried Chicken, Chuck Imerson, president and CEO of Asian Box and Zoup! Eatery President Jason Valentine. The panel was sponsored by FSSolutions and moderated by Brandon Bulcroft, background screening subject matter expert and results driven operations leader at FSSolutions.

Bulcroft asked the panel how the pandemic hit their brands and what they did to pivot when staffing got tight.

"The first thing you had to do was throw 30 years of restaurant experience out the window," said Felson. His company first asked current employees what their needs and wants were. "You had to care for them like you've never cared for them before."

Second, he said, the standards for hiring changed, including taking risks brands might not have taken before.

Imerson said it was a balancing act of watching revenue shrink and not needing as many people, while at the same time growing nervous that the company wouldn't be able to get those employees back. They tried to balance hours and take care of employees, too.

As Asian Box emerged from the pandemic, the brand learned to streamline the hiring process. At the beginning, it had to close some locations, and didn't know if it would see employees again. Keeping an open line of communication was imperative to hiring back treasured employees. "When it was time to come back, they were there still," Imerson said.

Toward the end of COVID, as Zoup! Eatery got busier, it had some failed ideas for hiring. Six to eight months ago, the brand took a step back and had to look at the core problem. As a franchise group, it took an intimate look at leadership at the store level and looked at whether franchisees were still passionate about the brand.

"It's a hard conversation to have," said Valentine, "but all the problems to do with labor in the restaurants, there's ways to solve them and processes to support. We started attacking the core problem of the leader in the restaurant. It was a huge initiative."

In the past, restaurants would look for "technicians" — people who were ready to run restaurants. Now, the "counselor/coach" aspect is much more important, said Felson.

Having managers who are involved in the hiring process, especially during the first 24-48 hours of an employee's start date, is critical, he said. Once they get hired, getting them to clock in that first day can be difficult, since only 30%-40% actually show up to begin their first shift.

Choosing the right franchisees is also critical for hiring and retaining the right staff. "Would I want to work for you?" Valentine asked. "Would I want my son to work for you?"

Keeping staff already onboard has became paramount to smooth operations both during the pandemic, said the panel.

"I think you have to realize you're lucky to have these people working for us," said Felson.

Providing swag to employees to bolster morale is one way to appease current team members. Talking to employees about more than just recipes, procedures and operations every day is another strategy, Felson said.

Valentine said flexibility is a tool that can help retain staff.

"Give them a reason to be proud," he said.

Registration is now open for The Fast Casual Executive Summit held Oct. 9-11 in Indianapolis. Click here to register.

Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.   An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living. 

Subscribe now to the Restaurant Operator Daily, which brings you the top stories from Fast Casual, Pizza Marketplace, and QSR Web.

Already a member? Sign in below.

sign in  or register now

You may sign into this site using your login credentials from any of these Networld Media Group sites: