The food service industry is almost completely dependent on human capital. Right from the preparation of food to serving it, your restaurant’s employees are your biggest assets. However, hiring and retaining talent remains one of the biggest challenges of running a restaurant.
High competition, low pay, and severe work conditions all contribute towards the high attrition rate in the industry. However, as any successful restaurant owner would tell you, a great restaurant team leads to great customer service. Therefore it is important to put in efforts and focus on hiring the right people for your restaurant and then training them well.
This article will serve as your restaurant staffing guide, and tell you how to source and hire employees for your restaurant.
How to do Restaurant Staffing
1. Word of Mouth
The traditional method of hiring for restaurants has been through the word of mouth. This is especially true in the case of junior employees. Usually, chefs recommend their own friends and colleagues with whom they have previously worked. Restaurateurs can also spread the word about the respective openings at their restaurants among their employees and acquaintances.
2. Classified Newspaper Ads
Running classified advertisements in newspapers is one of the most effective ways of restaurant staffing. Classified ads work wonders, even for hiring lower level staff such as housekeeping. It is cost effective and also targets the masses. It is important to keep the target audience in mind while sending out an ad. For example, an advertisement in Hindi newspapers is more likely to generate a response, than that in English newspapers. A small 30X40 classified ad may not cost more Rs 4,000 in leading Hindi newspapers.
3. Ads and Posts on Social Media
Social media has emerged as one the most successful ways of reaching out to the masses. Facebook especially has completed its digital penetration among people of all age group and profiles. There are a number of thriving communities and groups on Facebook where people of similar interests interact with other. A lot of consultants and restaurant owners are now using these restaurant industries specific groups and pages as a tool to hire employees. It is also easier to recommend and share job vacancies to relevant people.
4. Referrals & Notice Board Bulletin
According to an HR Professional of Lazeez Affair Group, Notice Board bulletins work best. This method has worked very well for Lazeez Affair, which employs 150–200 employees. Employees within the same organization often refer their friends and family members as well. Referred candidates usually turn out to be more trustworthy and a better fit than the ones who apply directly. Doing a background check is also important, which can be done easily in case of referral candidates.
It is advisable to run a referral scheme is you have a small outlet. You can pay a commission of Rs 500 or Rs 1000 as an incentive for each hired referral, depending upon the position.
5. Job Portals
There are various portals like Naukri.com, Shine and Times Jobs.com, etc which can help you in recruiting well-versed employees. Posting jobs on these websites don’t cost you much. To search their database of the employees, post jobs, and send 1500 emails to the target candidates, it will cost you around Rs 6,000. Then, you need to fill the necessary details related to the job such as position, job description, salary bracket etc. However, these portals can only help you get the top grade employees only like Managers, Accountants, Executive and Sous Chef.
6. Hiring Consultants
Going to recruitment agencies or consultants is usually considered as the final resort for restaurant owners. If all fails, you can easily hire a human resource for your restaurant through these. The agency shortlists the candidates and you can choose the ones suiting your requirements. The consultants also guarantee that the hired employee would work for more than six months once recruited by the restaurant. If they move before the designated time, the agency provides a replacement. However, hiring through recruitment agencies can be expensive as they charge a month’s salary of the hired employee. For example, if you hire one Commi -1 level staff, having a salary of Rs 15,000, then the consultant/agency would charge Rs 15,000 as their fee.
Hiring employees is not a cakewalk. Finding employees who are just the right fit for your restaurant in terms of skill and behavior, is a difficult task indeed. Much thought should go into hiring new people, as your employees are the ones who build your brand. It is also far less cheap to retain an old employee than to hire a new one. Find out how to keep your restaurant staff and motivated here.
Must Read: How to Create a Human Resource Structure for Your Restaurant
Originally published at blog.posist.com on January 18, 2017.
