Talk of mass resignations has caused quite a stir in the restaurant and hotel industries, which are already suffering a labor shortage amid the COVID 19 pandemic. A recent study found that 58% of restaurant and hotel employees were planning to quit their jobs before the close of the year. Which raises the question—how should restaurants prepare for this mass exodus?

 

Find Out What Your Workers Want

A little research goes a long way. How will restaurant owners keep their employees happy if they don’t know what they want? That’s like serving customers without first taking their orders. The labor market is undoubtedly leaning toward employees. To be competitive in this market, owners and managers need to understand and respond to workers’ demands, within reason, of course.

 

A simple survey among employees can give great insight into what employees are looking for in a job. Owners may find that a bit of respect goes a long way. If employees feel their voice is being heard, they may feel more valued and boost morale. Moreover, this approach doesn’t have any cost, so it can easily provide insight into attracting new hires.

 

Value Your Workers

 

Recent efforts of restaurant owners to retain workers and hire new ones has involved increasing pay. It should come as no surprise that employees want to earn a livable wage. However, increasing pay is not enough. A recent study conducted by Black Box (check link – I got a 404 file error) found that successfully navigating the labor shortage and reducing the turnover rate requires a multifaceted approach.

Beyond paying employees what they’re worth, workers need to feel valued. General psychology tells us that feeling valued increases connection and bond. Workers want to know that they matter and their work matters. After all, who doesn’t? How should employees make their workers feel valued? Apply the golden rule—treat others, or in this case your employees, how you want to be treated. Simple actions like listening to employees, authentic praise or recognition for a job well done, and constructive feedback can really change the overall atmosphere of the work environment.

 

Streamline Your Business

Simplifying is key to solving any problem. Business owners should take a close and thorough look at all areas of their business, only asking—how can this be improved to make things simpler? Take notes, but be sure to be thorough and honest. Determine which areas need improvement, looking specifically at:

• Time management
• Unnecessary work
• Training
• Communication

Get Creative

New problems require innovative solutions. The restaurant industry of the past is gone beyond retrieval. However, this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. By nature, problems are the way we grow and improve. If we have learned anything through the economic and COVID struggle, it is to embrace creativity. To streamline business practices and retain workers, restaurant owners and managers will have to think outside the norm. Doing so will not only provide forward-thinking solutions to the mass exodus problem, but it can also help the restaurant industry as a whole.

Perhaps the best news is that business leaders don’t have to hire anyone to implement creative strategies. Do some brainstorming and research. After all, in this age of technology, everyone has unlimited information at their fingertips.

 

Invest in Restaurant Training

Many restaurant employees do not feel valued or properly trained to do what is expected of them and often leave their jobs out of frustration. Moreover, when there is a lack of systems and standards, employees feel like they are working in chaos. If you want to keep your team and have them deliver an extraordinary guest experience, you have to train them to understand what the expectations are. Synergy Sync is your go-to, all-in-one training solution. Simple, yet robust and built from industry experts! Learn more: restauranttrainingprogram.com

 

One thing the pandemic has made certain; we’re not sure what to expect with the new normal. Adapting to new rules and regulations has fostered creative solutions and recent trends. The restaurant industry, in particular, has suffered many blows.

However, one portion of the restaurant industry that has continued to grow is pizza. While the number of diners who ate in restaurants went down, pizza shops have seen increased orders. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a fresh, hot pizza? Even low-cost pizzas are good; they are delicious hot or cold, easy to clean up, and you can savor any topping you like.

 

 

It remains to be seen if local pizzerias will be able to compete against well-known giant chains like Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, or Domino’s Pizza. Restaurants like Papa John’s saw a 28 percent rise in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same time the year before. To keep up with this demand, they have 20,000 additional staff with plans to hire 10,000 more.

Pizza Hut has seen some of its best sales during the same time. In fact, they saw their most significant delivery and carry-out sales than in the previous eight years. This is an incredible increase, considering the fact that they have been underperforming for a few years.

However, few pizza chains have been as successful as Domino’s Pizza. According to Bloomberg, Domino’s is up at least 33 percent in 2021, a number that surpassed Wall Street estimates.

 

How Domino’s Kept Growing

The pandemic triggered many things, including changing daily habits and behaviors. One such behavior includes staying home and ordering contact-less delivery. In many ways, Domino’s took stock of the situation and made the best of it.

Unlike other pizza chains, Domino’s never partnered with third-party delivery services like Uber Eats, Door Dash, or Grubhub. In addition, Domino’s created convenient, customer-friendly ordering apps, so customers could easily customize their toppings and even be notified when their pizza was out for delivery.

Convenience and comfort are crucial elements to customer satisfaction—and business survival.

 

 

Other pizza shops may be interested in noting these business models. After all, third-party delivery apps are known to tack on hefty fees, making it hard for restaurants to retain revenue. By investing in your own, company-owned delivery infrastructure, you get more control—and more profits.

If food delivery services continue to grow, customers will be interested in value as much as quality. Delivery services often include hefty delivery and service fees to the customer, making ordering dinner for a large family regularly cost-prohibitive.

By eliminating these unnecessary and costly fees, you and your pizza shop stand a good chance of surviving the rise and fall of industry trends.

 

 

The pandemic forced many restaurants and hotels to adhere to changing rules and regulations creatively. Some allowed for drive-through drinks along with meals. Others started serving bottled ready-to-drink cocktails (think gin and tonics or margaritas,) while others started delivering alcohol with boxed meals.

 

Recently, reports indicate there may be supply and demand issues regarding alcohol. A few states, including Ohio, New Jersey and Vermont, are currently experiencing liquor shortages  related to the pandemic. In some states like Pennsylvania, customers will be limited to two bottles of specific alcoholic beverages per day in liquor stores.

 

North Carolina liquor stores are putting up more and more “Out of Stock” warnings as the alcohol shortage spreads.

 

What Is the Reason for Alcohol Shortages?

 

If you remember the great toilet paper shortage during the start of the pandemic, you might remember how some items were in short supply in our local stores. Apart from toilet paper, commodities like flour, hand sanitizer, furniture, lumber, and even homes were getting harder to find in stock.

Like these impacted goods throughout the pandemic, we are experiencing a shortage of liquor due to supply chain issues.

These supply chain issues include a shortage in truck drivers, warehouse workers, raw materials, and reduced manufacturing. Even finding staff for bars and restaurants can be challenging. If multiple kinks develop in the chain, it will eventually directly impact consumers and businesses. In addition, alcohol requires time to ferment and age, so it may take some time to see an increase in supply.

 

How This Affects Restaurants and Taverns

Many restaurants and bars are in the same boat as consumers. They simply cannot get the level of alcohol supply that they are used to receiving.

The current strain on the alcohol supply chain may take some time to be resolved, so businesses need

Some restaurants are stocking up on ready-to-drink canned cocktails or ordering alternatives to specific flavors and brands.

 

The pandemic has highlighted how the restaurant and hospitality industry has learned to adapt to changing tides, even now. New experimental cocktail menus will likely emerge that work with available and sourced alcohol. Other restaurants may choose to focus on handcrafted cocktails with local ingredients, which could kickstart a new economic trend of supporting local businesses and vendors.

It’s unclear how long this shortage will last as we head into the holidays, but you may want to enjoy your favorite drink now (while you still can!)

by Natasha Reta – Culinary Consultant

Many optimists forecast that robotics such as the fry-cook robot “Flippy” will run our kitchens in the near future. While this would provide significant assistance to the many restaurant operators troubled with a lack of available employees, its advancements will need adequate testing and training that several operators cannot financially map in their current struggle to stay afloat.

The restaurant labor shortage is the number one challenge facing operators right now. The strain on labor trickles downstream and affects all back of house and front of house operations making the customer experience less than ideal. The pandemic pushed front-of-house service efficiency to the forefront of our processes, leaving the back-of-house struggling to maintain. Fortunately, there have been automated advances and equipment innovations that are allowing operators the opportunity to streamline.

Notable automation and innovations for restaurant owners to consider

These are a few of the notable automation and innovations restaurant operators can review to enhance their current operations without investing in the untested workings of robotics in their place of business.

KDS – If you don’t know, well, you should. KDS is a kitchen display system that helps BOH employees operate more efficiently and keeps them organized in preparing orders.  Orders coming in through a POS system, online, or kiosk are populated on the KDS and color-coded for time awareness. Cooking directions and pictures can also be incorporated to assist even the most unseasoned cook.

 

Kiosk Ordering– Front-of-house self-service kiosks are helping offset the need for multiple order takers. This has been a great asset to fast-casual operations when volume levels extend beyond what a physical cashier can maintain. Allowing guests to view the menu, make modifications, order, and pay all at once.

Tableside payment processing– While this is not the newest advancement, it significantly expedites the payment process for the guest, allowing them to pay and depart as soon as requested. Often, service staff is tied down at the POS, struggling to get orders in, entering modifications, and processing payments.  This option takes the struggle off service staff and makes the close-out process simple for the guest.

Enhancing Restaurant Guest Experience

We have noticed now more than ever that the customer experience can make or break your business.  Many guests do not want to dine out without confirming reviews first, so the slightest negative review can steer guests away. Testing automation in your operation will significantly enhance the experience and ensure positive reviews for future guests.

What has worked for restaurants pre-pandemic isn’t cutting it today.  The industry is facing an unprecedented labor crisis.  With the shortage of available workers, job openings are at a record high, and restaurant operators have experienced significant obstacles in their rehiring efforts.

To counter these difficulties, many operators are turning to more creative solutions to address their staffing shortages.  With some immediate benefits for owners, staff, and guests, restaurant automation is gaining momentum.

Looking to Restaurant Automation

Automation is answering many of the fundamental challenges operators are facing today, including:

• Ongoing staffing issues
• Increased labor costs
• Standardizing operations
• Reducing errors
• Better consistency
• Increased efficiency – automated robots can work 24 hours a day without rest if needed

Ten Restaurants Utilizing Robotic Automation:

 

1. Spyce Kitchen, a fast-casual restaurant in Boston, serves grain and vegetable-based bowls prepped in-house before being fed into a robot called the Infinite Kitchen, “that is able to properly cook individual foods with its separate griddle, steamer, and dispenser.  The robot can make up to 350 bowls an hour and can complete an order in two to five minutes.”
2. Cali Burger uses a high-tech kitchen assistant, Flippy. Flippy, created by Miso Robotics, assists chefs in the kitchen in preparing burgers.  It helps with cooking and flipping burgers, placing on buns, and adding toppings.  Using Flippy aims to increase the quality and consistency of products and increase food safety.
3. CaféX offers the fastest, most advanced, fully automated café system to operate a Robotic Coffee Bar. They use assembly-line-style robots to serve coffee orders.
4. Haidilao Hotpot – with worldwide locations features robots that take orders, prepare and deliver raw meat and fresh vegetables to customers to put into soups prepared at their tables.
5. McDonald’s – already using digital ordering kiosks worldwide and adding automated drive-through ordering and robot fryers to boost production and efficiency. One location in Phoenix, Arizona, is entirely run by robotics.
6. La Duni in Dallas has rented three robots from Robotech “to serve drinks, seat guests and belt out Happy Birthday if the need arises.”
7. White Castle – Flippy works 23 hours a day (one hour is reserved for cleaning) at the fry-station of Merrillville, Indiana, White Castle location.
8. Sugar Mediterranean Bistro in Stockton, California, was struggling with a worker shortage, so it purchased a food delivery robot to ease the burden on staff.
9. Noodle Topia in the Metro Detroit area uses a robot that looks like a rolling bookshelf, with four trays, a touchscreen, and an upward-facing infrared camera that helps it navigate around the dining room. Staff loads food onto one of the trays, enters a table number, and the robot takes off to deliver the food to the table.
10. Sergio’s Restaurant in South Florida has brought on its robot, “Astro,” short for Automatic Service Tray Removal Organizer. CEO Carlos Gazitua says this robot “came out of the crisis that we have currently in the labor force where we can’t get employees to come in to work.”

 

Improvements in technology allow robots to do many tasks that previously required people – tossing pizza dough, flipping burgers, cleaning floors, and taking or delivering your food order.  In addition to robots, we are seeing software and AI-powered services on the rise. Starbucks has been working on automation to keep track of store inventory. More stores are moving to self-checkout options.

 

Dina Marie Zemke, an associate professor at Ball State University, recently published a study called “How to Build a Better Robot for Quick Service Restaurants” in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research. In this study, she found that the “overwhelming majority of respondents believe there is no stopping the robot transformation of the foodservice industry, including quick-service restaurants (QSRs).” In the end, Zemke believes rising labor costs will force restaurants owners to turn to robotics.

 

As the restaurant industry continues to rebound from the pandemic, innovation and automation are of paramount importance and is essential and beneficial for both restaurants and customers alike.  Are you looking for solutions to ease your staff shortages? Need help finding ways to make your operations more profitable and efficient? Reach out to Synergy Consultants today!

As a whole, the restaurant industry has faced tremendous challenges due to the COVID pandemic. To the surprise of many, franchise restaurants have suffered just as much as smaller businesses. Some 20,000 franchises closed their doors in 2020.

 

Although experts projected a recovery in 2021 with the introduction of vaccines and government aid, the Delta variant has thrown a wrench into the works. This strain spreads faster and more easily than previous strains of COVID, leading to less spending and more workers calling in sick, further aggravating the already pronounced hospitality labor shortage.

 

McDonald’s was on track to meet 100% reopening by Labor Day. However, with the Delta variant, corporate leaders of the fast-food chain recently instructed franchises to close their indoor seating in areas with heavy infection rates. Reuters reported that one owner had closed indoor seating at several of his McDonald’s franchises.

 

One owner of Subway franchises in South Carolina told Forbes that lack of business and workers caused him to close one of his restaurants. Among his other 23 franchises, hours and expansion had to be cut back significantly.

 

In Alabama and Georgia, KFC and Taco Bell had to start closing at 8 p.m. instead of their usual midnight closure due to workers becoming infected with the Delta variant, adding to their significant labor shortage.

 

 

 

Facing the Restaurant Labor Challenge

The great debate as to the cause and solution of the labor shortage continues. Some say it was caused by enhanced unemployment and government payouts, while others say it is due to workers changing industries, lack of childcare, and fear of getting sick.

 

While the likely cause of the lack of restaurant workers is a combination of factors, many franchises embrace creativity to draw workers back into the franchises. Some of the incentives owners are offering are signing bonuses and free appetizers. McDonald’s has increased wages and reported some relief as a result, and one of the franchises even offered $50 to each person interviewed.

 

There is still hope among the uncertainty, as businesses learn to adjust and get by in the best way possible. According to the International Franchise Association, there is a projected growth of 23,000 franchises, which is a rate of 3.5%. At this point, any increase is better than none. As the owner of a Your Pie franchise, a restaurant in Dublin, Georgia, said, “We gotta figure out a way to get through it.”

The restaurant industry has faced many challenges as a result of the COVID pandemic. Many restaurants were forced to close their doors or operate at a limited capacity due to restrictions. According to Time Magazine, “one in 10 permanently closed.” The result? Nearly six million employees in the food and drink industry left or lost their jobs by April 2020.

 

With the introduction of vaccines and increased demand for dining, restaurant owners are eager to open at full capacity. However, a new challenge has presented itself in recent months—an industry-wide labor shortage. The situation has incited a heated debate among restaurant owners, experts in the industry, and researchers over the cause of this shortage.

 

Some say people don’t want to work because they’d rather receive unemployment or have become accustomed to being off work. However, research has shown that many workers switched industries to support their families during the pandemic, citing concerns for safety and lack of decent wages that make the risk worth it.

 

While the debate is likely to continue as to the cause of the labor shortage, restaurants should consider ways to retain their current employees and attract potential hires. According to a recent report by BlackBox, the top four areas of concern for potential workers are as follows:

 

Wages– This is not a new issue in the workforce. For far too long, restaurant workers have received low wages, skirting just above or below the poverty line, and are highly dependent on tips. Recently, many owners have attracted new hires by increasing wages, and other restaurants should take notice. Due to inflation, the cost of living has increased. Workers are not asking for much. They want a wage that affords them the ability to live comfortably, given the risk they are taking.

 

Promotions– Owners should also consider promotions for reliable and hardworking employees. In any industry, no one wants to take a job without any prospects for the future. Promoting within the company also helps retain employees, and it allows workers to feel valued. This is a win-win situation for employees and owners, making it no longer necessary to look outside the pool of workers that already exists within the establishment.

 

Flexible schedules– Everyone wants a flexible schedule, and the restaurant industry bend to allow it. Owners can work with employees adjusting to fit different schedules, attracting more employees to fill the positions, especially potential hires with children. If there are only full-time positions available, it might be helpful to post several part-time positions as well. In the current market, flexibility wherever possible is key.

Benefits– With many other industries offering benefits, restaurants need to follow suit. Healthcare is of utmost importance given the current state of the pandemic, and that alone may be enough to attract additional interest in the position. At the very least, paid time off should be offered. Owners should look at the return on investment. A couple of paid days off could fill a role, resulting in higher capacity and increased revenue.

 

Currently, it’s a job seeker’s market. Employers need to be open to current and potential hires’ concerns to fill the labor shortage. The good news is that 66% of workers say they would return given the right conditions. So what steps will you take to respond to this labor shortage?

“Hey! Who wants to go out to eat?” has been an often-asked question for the vast majority of American citizens. Dining out in restaurants has been a staple in American culture for more than one hundred years. So, what do we do when a restaurant doesn’t have the food we want, or they close? For many people, the first thing to do is ask why this is happening. As of 2020-2021, the short answer to this question is COVID-19. A more in-depth look can explain further.

Although it is a complex situation, the root of the problem is the supply chain

 

As COVID-19 infection rates spread among side-by-side labor-intensive workers, restaurants began to suffer. Agricultural production and meatpacking were particularly affected. Jobs such as field working, meatpacking plant production, food delivery, and retail became increasingly dangerous as infection and, potentially, death became a common concern. Several meatpacking plants closed, as this environment can act as an incubator for the virus to spread.

 

 

Nonessential workers stopped working because they lost their jobs when the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders were put into place. Essential workers stopped working when they became infected. Some people stopped working when the fear of infection became too great. The loss of these workers created a gap in restaurant industry processes. The problem of decreased number of workers extended from farmers to wholesale buyers to servers and restaurant owners. Adversely affecting production capacity, lack of workers hurt the restaurant supply chain despite policies to social distance and practice increased sanitization.

In addition, the risk of exposure to COVID‐19 changed the willingness of workers to accept jobs. Currently, supplemental hazard pay is in discussion with labor unions as an option for restaurant workers at some fast-food restaurants. There is hope that by increasing the wage specific to these jobs, workers will accept the jobs offered during the pandemic, and the restaurant industry may recover.

The supply and demand of international trade using ocean freight has experienced slower delivery times due to COVID protocols. Labor shortages and restrictions on vessels coming and going have created congestion in some countries’ standard pickup and delivery procedures.  As of August 18, 32 cargo vessels were waiting at sea to unload at the Port of Los Angeles. This backlog of ships was due in response to the increased demand for imports via ocean freight carriers. In addition, transportation proved to be an obstacle, with a shortage of long-haul truck drivers and major railroads pausing new pickups for a week due to backup of railroad cars in the Midwest.

 

The restaurant supply chain has been severely fragmented due to COVID-19. While the world continues to find ways to rectify the situation, being patient while ordering your favorite food at a local restaurant may help.

As for restaurants, you may have to reassess your menu items to pivot during this still difficult time. Wingstop pivoted by creating a virtual brand (orderable online only) named, “Thighstop”—a menu that focused selling just chicken thighs. Selling these lower cost chicken thighs would help offset the rising costs of chicken wings.

 

Restaurant Owners: What do you do now?

Let’s talk. It’s a great time now to dig into operations, restaurant training, as well as menu optimization. Synergy Consultants has been helping foodservice operators through great times and tough times for over 32 years.

by Rita Imerson – Operations & Training Consultant

When rolling out new menu items it is critical that your service, takeout, host and entire FOH team know how to best suggestively sell the featured menu additions.

 

 

If possible, slowly introduce menu items by running each item individually as a special during the weeks leading up to the full rollout. This not only gives the culinary team an opportunity to practice preparing the items, it allows the service team to taste and see the items before they are added to the menu. Other tips to help FOH staff become comfortable with new items:

• Make all menu items and have a full food and/or beverage tasting to allow the staff to try the items. This tasting helps them better describe the items and contributes to excitement about the fresh new options. As a team-building opportunity, have BOH or the culinary team each describe and take ownership of one menu item.
• Post menu items with photos and descriptions in high-traffic employee areas. Also, use online information distribution platforms to share items each day with pictures and descriptions.
• Incorporate an upsell contest and offer a prize on a daily or weekly basis that rewards the service team that sells the most new items.
• Develop tests to assure team members are learning new ingredients and descriptions.
• Coach suggestive selling techniques and discuss and role-play how to upsell during pre-shift meetings every day.
• Always validate and praise team members that do a great job with salesmanship!

 

Remember, the key to successful salesmanship is to teach your team that suggesting menu items is how we assure a great guest experience. We don’t want to push extra items unnecessarily; we want to craft a wonderful dining experience by offering items that will elevate the experience for our guests!

by Natasha Reta – Culinary Consultant

2020 accelerated new restaurant and dining trends that may not be going away anytime soon. With staff shortages and commodities increases, operators will get creative this Fall and embrace these new and continuing trends born out of the restaurateur’s resiliency and commitment to this business.

Some innovative 2020 trends to embrace and elevate for Fall:

Delivery and Take-Out

• It’s not hard to find food for delivery nowadays, which makes the competition even harder. Before the pandemic, 80% of full-service restaurant traffic was on-premise. We quickly adjusted our dining habits, and now off-premise sales replace that 80% and anticipate it increasing in the future. Now is the time to review your options and develop strategies to enhance your delivery and take-out offerings.
• Try ordering online from your website or third-party delivery.  Assess the platform from the guest’s perspective:
  • How user-friendly is it?
  • Does it take a long time to load or search?
  • Are all your menu modifications and correct menu specifications notated?
  • Is the pricing accurate?
  • How long did it take to receive your order?
  • How did it arrive? Was it at an accurate temperature? Presentation?
  • Don’t forget to review your take-out packaging. Companies are getting creative with eco-friendly, recyclable, and compostable take-out packaging.  The type of packaging you use can significantly enhance the guest experience.

Reduced and Streamlined Menus

• We are and will continue to see smaller menus.  Staff shortages, increasing commodities costs and difficult sourcing make for three important reasons why NOW is the best time to review, reengineer and reduce your menu.  Streamline your BOH prep processes, and cross utilize inventory to reduce waste.  An onion is only an onion until you think – julienne, diced, caramelized, pickled, grilled, sautéed, smoked, roasted, pureed – just to name a few.

Beverages To Go – We’re Talking Alcohol

• States have loosened restrictions on off-premise alcohol sales, and it’s been going well. A third of off-premise customers surveyed said they had ordered alcohol to go since the pandemic, and they plan to do so in the future so long as it is permitted.
• Don’t have a license to sell? Try the new “mocktail” craze.  Utilize in-house ingredients to make mocktails, agua frescas, or even juice bases. Someone wants it boozy? Consider teaming with your local community market, where a juice purchase gets you a discount on alcohol. (21+ only)
• The holidays are around the corner; enhance your beverages with a festive holiday twist.

Meal Kits

• Consumers are dining in more; that’s a fact. But they grow tiresome of stale delivery boxes and lukewarm food. Meal kits have grown in popularity for consumers who want a “hands on cooking experience” with measured guidance.
• Design holiday meal kits for the guest who wants to bring the restaurant experience home.

Monthly Meal Subscriptions

• Of consumers surveyed, more than half of them said they would sign up for a monthly delivery or pickup option from their favorite place if offered.
• Customers sign up to get meals delivered monthly at a discounted price. Your subscription can offer a rotating menu, including meal kits and even cocktails.  It ensures monthly sales and guest retention.

One thing is sure, restaurant trends and consumer’s expectations are ever-changing. With some creativity and an ongoing commitment to examining your current offerings and improving and enhancing where needed, your operation will be better aligned and prepared for the days ahead.