QSR February 2023

DEPARTMENT OUTSIDE INSIGHTS

FromResignation toRetention Perhaps the evolution of the restaurant labor market needs to start from within. B Y R A H K E E M M O R R I S

1. Facilitateongoing communicationwithemployees The restaurant industry is an incredibly peo ple-centric one, and the quick-service vertical is no exception. With numerous competing demands, focus on the hourly worker often gets outcompeted. This leads to a break down in communication between employers and employees that can leave workers feel ing unheard, unappreciated, and unengaged, which is especially critical in the first 90 days of employment, according to data. The solution is surprisingly simple: create a means of communication that is ongoing, purposeful, and provides an open forum for employees to voice their preferences, concerns, and questions. Facilitating two-way commu nication is a sure way to show employees they are cared for and valued. Expressing inter est in their work as well as their personal lives helps humanize corporate culture and create more of a sense of belonging in the workplace. When companies prioritize communication, actively listening and quickly addressing feed back, they will see retention, engagement, and overall happiness of their employees increase.

Communication and recognition are two of the most overlooked parts of the retention game.

A s operators in the quick-service space hope to solve the industry-wide labor shortage, the best solution might just be to focus on who’s already in restaurants. It costs at least $1,500 to hire and train a new employee, so f inding a retention solution is a financial game-changer. But how can you keep employ ees happy and motivated, with the table stakes for those seemingly shifts by the hour? As someone who worked more than a dozen hourly jobs while making ends meet and supporting my family, I learned that what motivates hourly employees differs person to per son. There is tremendous value in learning the preferences of your staff and adjusting your management to motivate and incentivize in line with those ticks. This early life experience shaped the way I approach work, and has fueled a lifelong passion to help transform and improve the lives of hourly workers and revolutionize what it means to work in the fast-food industry. Based on data and conversations with individual franchise owners who are seeing lower turnover rates and higher employee engagement, here are three ways to increase retention of your top talent this year.

2. Increase flexibility for employees to createpreference-based, on-demandand accommodating schedules A driving force in “The Great Resignation” and concurrent labor shortage was an increase in people taking more control of their lives by quitting roles that weren’t fulfilling to them. It’s not that people don’t want to work, it’s that they want to work with purpose, feel valued, and have more work f lexibility to offer more of a work-life balance. The gig economy is proof. During the pandemic, many restaurant workers left the industry to pursue gig work, finding the f lexibility they were looking for while driving for Uber or delivering for GrubHub, where they could work on-demand, at their own pace. Despite promises of better wages and more f lexible hours, many people who left the fast-food space for rideshare work have been let down by their new jobs. Quick-service owners need to focus on recruiting former employees and enticing them back to work. Returning employees bring along previous training and knowledge that speeds up or even eliminates the onboarding process. Creating a revolving door can ensure that your brand’s investment in train ing does not go to waste and that “new” hires [CONTINUED ON PAGE 55]

ADOBE STOCK / VADIM PASTUH

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FEBRUARY 2023 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com