8 Strategies to Reduce Unexpected Restaurant Employee Turnover

The restaurant industry has often had a high employee turnover rate. There’s some truth to this assertion. In 2019, it reached as high as 75% in the US. However, it can differ from sector to sector and restaurant to restaurant. This variability can help illuminate how to reduce turnover in areas where it remains high. 

Before we look at these, we’ll examine what causes swollen turnover rates. So what exactly is staff retention, and what unique factors apply to staff retention in the restaurant industry?

Understanding Employee Retention

Ideally, a business seeks to keep its employees for a significant amount of time. Why is this? The chief reasons are in the areas of cost, efficiency, and expertise. 

Filling a vacancy comes with a price tag attached. It costs to advertise the vacancy, go through the selection process, and then give the recruit all the required training.

Meanwhile, the organization’s efficiency suffers while the selection process is ongoing. This is because resources, particularly time, are used up that could be more profitably deployed elsewhere in the business operations.

Finally, every time somebody leaves, the expertise can become depleted. It can recover with training and cross-learning, but this can take time. Meanwhile, the business suffers. 

But what causes high employee turnover in the first place?

Causes of High Restaurant Turnover Rates

Every industry has its downside, and restaurants are no exception. Various elements of restaurant work will inevitably lead to high staff turnover and staff shortages. These include long and antisocial hours, low pay, and stressful conditions at peak times. On top of these factors, three other huge contributors are worth highlighting. 

Confusing expectation setting

Somebody interested in food might think that a job involving serving great lunches to delighted customers looks like a pretty good gig. However, in familiar with a lot of jobs, what takes place once you’re in can be eye-opening. 

You must characterize the job in a realistic way. The interview and selection process should communicate in very precise terms what the successful candidate will need to do once they start. When they do, the manager must set clear expectations so the new employee has the best chance of delivering what the restaurant needs.

Mismatch selection process

If a restaurant’s waiting staff selection process is very good at bringing in people who can make a great salad but struggle with interpersonal skills, then it needs looking at. 

The selection process has to deliver beyond just coming up with staff generally interested in food. It should be able to find new team members with specific traits and attributes useful in that particular role.

Deficient onboarding

Finally, even the most suitable new team member will struggle to work to their best potential if the training and induction aren’t fit for the task. Their commitment to the work can then suffer. 

Deficient onboarding will likely leave staff with a wrong impression of their new workplace and feeling less integrated into it than they would probably like to be and should be for team cohesion. 

8 Ways to Reduce Your Restaurant’s Employee Turnover Rate

1. Train staff appropriately

If you get the first stages right, retention will increase. Good onboarding can result in an 82% improvement in new hire retention. 

In a similar area, training is another case in point. The quality of training makes all the difference in how successful a new employee becomes. Any business must know that raw aptitude will only take a new recruit so far.

This is particularly the case where training is a means of communicating requirements unique to that working environment. All restaurants are different: cuisines, virtual brands, clientele, tradition, ambiance—all these are aspects a recruit needs to be instructed in to hit the ground running and be a helpful employee from the get-go. 

Crucially, the new team member will feel you have invested in their career. This can increase loyalty and improve retention.

2. Reevaluate salary and benefits 

Turning a profit in the food and beverage game can be tricky, and there’s not a lot of extra cash sloshing around waiting to be redirected into staff’s pockets. However, it might be possible to work on some performance-related bonus scheme, for instance, or it could be the case that you could change up the staff benefits.

You don’t need to think purely in terms of internal benefits. There might be other businesses in town that would love to trade perks. For example, a local cinema might offer your staff comps in return for discounts in the restaurant for its staff. 

Think about other valuable enhancements such as health insurance. Do check on how this might impact taxation issues before you go festooning your staff with an array of perks that add up to an excellent little financial package in the eyes of the IRS.

3. Offer incentives

You can encourage effort by setting out clear incentives. For example, for every 5000 covers served, offer staff an extra day off or a material reward as high-end as your budget allows, such as a new phone. Again, always check the taxable status of such deliverables before you go and bestow them.

Of course, incentives don’t have to end up costing a business anything at all. There’s a lot to be said for Employee of the Month awards, where the prize is simply the recognition of a job well done. 

4. Create a positive and strong workplace culture

The culture that a workplace exhibits can massively shape employee experience. An atmosphere of inclusivity and mutual support will make itself felt in the quality of the work delivered and in the value each employee attributes to their place in the team. 

Offer support, and not just for work concerns. If an employee has a query over a domestic matter, such as a property lease agreement template or a contact for a handyman, put them in touch with somebody who can help them. Any advice you can offer will help them feel appreciated and supported.

Work on improving culture by encouraging everyone to attend new menu-tasting sessions. Got a new wine supplier? That’s a terrific opportunity for a morale-boosting event.

5. Utilize new technologies

Consider investing in an up-to-date POS package that helps with workflow and eases pressure points. Look at how you can optimize communication from customer to frontline staff to the kitchen with the right tech solutions. See how the best systems can speed up table allocation so that you can minimize queues.

Think about how you can encourage more self-service with online ordering and customer kiosks. This can help to alleviate workload and stress.

6. Celebrate successes

If the restaurant has achieved a milestone, get the staff to celebrate the accomplishment. You could organize a team day out or just a well-earned after-hours dinner when the restaurant schedule allows.

Don’t forget opportunities for team bonding, such as award ceremonies. These ceremonies can be terrific ways for staff to remind themselves what’s so special about their work and why they want to stay there for as long as possible. If there’s a local award for best restaurant, do what it takes to get nominated.

7. Encourage career development

If a staff member shows promise and appetite for advancement, do what you can to nurture it. Invest in external training and qualification opportunities. If the staff member is itching to get ahead, they won’t stay put where they’re discouraged from progressing.

8. Prioritize staff wellness

Always remember that your business is only as healthy as your staff. Nothing will encourage a staff member to abandon your restaurant like a stressed and unhealthy atmosphere. This can manifest in rudeness, short tempers, and aggression, none of which you want to see in a workplace. Or most other places. 

There are two steps to good staff wellness and happiness.

Firstly, your employees are free to take up health and wellness benefits, such as massages and counseling. Make sure that all staff is aware of these benefits. Enable them to use them by being as cooperative as possible with their requests for time off.

Secondly, be vigilant for the signs of deteriorating well-being, and when you spot them, act. Talk to the staff member sooner rather than later. These things are invariably easier to deal with early on. Leave things too long, and your business will suffer as much as the employee. 

Bear in mind what can affect staff well-being. The physical work environment itself can make a significant impact. So, be sure to check your restaurant’s cleanliness standards. If you outsource your cleaning, communicate well with your contractor so they’re clear on what is a housekeeping contract and what they are supposed to deliver. Having specific cleaning staff can help reduce the pressure on your kitchen staff.

Real Solutions for Staff Retention

Improving staff retention may seem significant, but it will help your restaurant in many ways. A solid onboarding plan and fostering a healthy work culture will go a long way to reducing employee turnover.

With this in mind, we’ll leave you with one big takeaway: Staff turnover in the hospitality industry is reckoned to cost around $5,864 per person for a typical front-line employee. That’s a consideration that’s got to be worth some of your time. 

So, think about how you could delegate some of your other tasks and free yourself up to address staff retention. Your staff and business will benefit hugely. You might enjoy it too.