4 Ways To Reduce Restaurant Staff Turnover

We knew staff turnover was bad in the foodservice industry, but it wasn’t this bad. Research has shown that it is crucial to retain your top talent in order to maintain high morale, satisfy customers and grow sales. The average turnover rate for the food service industry is 72% and it’s on the rise. This is more than 20% higher than the average turnover rate in other industries.

But how can we combat this problem?

The majority of managers believe that employees will leave because of poor pay. However, there are many other factors that can contribute to staff turnover, including feeling underappreciated, feeling overworked and a lack of advancement opportunities. All of this is why your staff retention strategies should be focused on improving the employee experience. This will help create a positive working environment and retain employees longer. Here are four strategies that will help you keep your best employees around longer.

1. In your restaurant, create a positive culture

While your competitors may copy your menu items and suppliers, they cannot copy your culture. Cultural diversity is a key aspect of any workplace. However, it can help to reduce turnover and improve your bottom line. You can create a culture by identifying the core values of your restaurant, which will help you hire people with the same values and work ethic. This will increase your chances of keeping your staff happy for longer. While Hell’s Kitchen may work for some places, we recommend creating an environment that is more positive, respectful, and fun in your workplace. Your employees will be more satisfied if they feel happy at work.

2. Recognizing your employees

While it is easy to focus on what isn’t being done right, have you ever considered what your staff does well? Employees who feel that their positive contributions are not appreciated are more likely than others to feel underappreciated and to believe they will get more recognition elsewhere. Your business can save money by creating a culture that rewards staff for their efforts and recognizes them for their hard work. This will help you retain staff for longer.

3. Career development

Retention is easier when employees feel loyal to employers that are willing to invest in their career development. Career development programs are also attractive to job-seekers when it comes time to recruit new employees. Your employees should feel that you are interested in their career. If there are opportunities, give your employees the option to learn more and apply for the job. This will not only show you care about your staff’s career, but also show you care about them personally. We all have to start somewhere.

4. Set up effective expectations and policies

Although you may not be aware of this, research has shown that 25% of employees don’t know what to do or what to expect. This can cause frustration and demotivation in your staff which can result in them seeking the exit. Communication is the key to success. Communication is the key to ensuring that they are clear about their responsibilities. Clear job duties and policies will help you hire more staff. They will also be more likely to stay with your company for a longer time if they have a clear understanding of their responsibilities. You should use commercial cooking equipment that is easy to clean.