Gastronomy breathes a sigh of relief - labour market buckles: 3 ways to the staffing peak season
Horw, Switzerland - 23 August 2021 - Next to the Christmas season, the gastronomy generates the highest turnover in the summer season. Especially in holiday regions, restaurants and pubs can usually look forward to a significant increase in demand. This year, however, many catering businesses are facing a problem: although they are allowed to reopen their establishments, they still have to comply with some important hygiene measures to protect against Corona infection. This requires more logistical effort and ties up more staff resources.
Tense staff situation
However, there is currently a shortage of staff in particular, because they are often lacking in the catering industry. Due to short-time work and layoffs, many restaurant employees have changed employers. Instead, they work in retail, warehousing or transport. Many of them also do not necessarily want to return to their old jobs because they fear that the situation in the catering industry will possibly worsen again due to a new lockdown and that they will have to expect wage losses or even dismissals there again. In turn, restaurant operators are urgently looking for energetic helpers, but the market for waiters and waitresses as well as cooks is currently virtually empty. At this point, the experienced Swiss gastronomy expert Thomas Holenstein from Pogastro gives three valuable tips on how it is still possible to acquire staff and retain them permanently in one's own business.
1. Go digital
Most people who could potentially be considered for a job in gastronomy are digital. This means that they generally no longer read newspapers, and any job ads there are of little use. Instead, restaurateurs should rather rely on job boards on the web. Local job marketplaces are particularly effective, so not necessarily those that operate nationwide. The first thing to do when looking for a job is to get an overview of which job exchanges or portals might be interesting at all. Another important portal on the Internet for finding qualified personnel are the platforms Xing or LinkedIn. The first step is to create a profile. Then a targeted search can be made for people in the region who might be interested in a job. Even if these people have a job, it can still be worthwhile to ask them if they might be interested in changing jobs. Those who are approached directly think more intensively about whether or not employment in another company makes sense. There are statistical surveys that show that 60 per cent of job seekers prefer to be approached directly by the employer.
2. Describe the company in detail and present its advantages
In the past, job advertisements were often extremely brief. Texts such as "Looking for kitchen help, applicants please contact me at xxx" were often enough to arouse the interest of many job seekers. In situations like now, however, when there are too few vacant staff on the market, such short advertisements are no longer sufficient in most cases. Therefore, applications should describe in detail the advantages of the company. For example, that employees can expect a pleasant working environment in a nice group of colleagues. The simplest benefit in the restaurant business is to offer employees free drinks and free food. Job applications should be described as creatively as possible - even with a bit of humour. A little effort should also be put into the layout so that the advertisement immediately stands out visually. If the necessary skills are lacking, there are experts who can take on this work. Such services cost money, of course, but it still makes more sense to invest in this area instead of missing out on sales afterwards because of a lack of staff.
3. Involve existing staff and entice them with bonuses
A third very good way to get new employees is always to use the networks of your own staff. If your own employees are convinced of the quality of your work, they are more than willing to recommend your employer to others. On the other hand, this also means that employees must be treated in a friendly and always fair manner. In order to increase the willingness of employees to seek new staff for the company a little further, bonuses can be used to entice them. Offer employees a bonus - perhaps in the amount of 100 euros - if they organise a staff member who meets the desired requirements. In addition, you can also go looking for staff in your own pub. Putting up posters on the walls or table displays usually has a great effect. It should also be remembered to emphasise the advantages in the company. Past experience has shown that customers often become new employees in this way. Increased commitment can pay off, if the suggested possibilities are followed, the chances of getting new staff increase significantly. The commitment in the job search has to be increased and calculated with higher costs, but in very many cases it pays off. Those who put more effort into the job search than their competitors are often rewarded. It is important to maintain good relations with employees even after they have been hired. If they are satisfied with their work, they will not be so quick to look around for other employers and possibly apply to them.
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