Changing Needs in Restaurant Staffing: 3 Key Trends
According to the National Retail Foundation, around 6 out of 10 adults consider restaurants a huge part of their lifestyle. But despite the demand, the restaurant industry has experienced staffing challenges in recent years. To keep up, restaurants are partnering with a food service temp agency to cover gaps in their workforce.
In this post, we will discuss changing restaurant trends and how they overcome them with the help of staffing agencies.
The rise of food delivery.
In the past years, the restaurant industry has shifted toward food deliveries. While in-person dining is here to stay, there’s no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic boosted meal delivery services.
Some people are no longer eating at restaurants as before and they prefer to enjoy their meals in the comfort of their homes.
With this enters delivery services. Currently, courier positions are now one of the most popular jobs in the restaurant industry.
So aside from hiring restaurant employees, food businesses also need to partner with delivery aggregators. Some would even hire their in-house delivery personnel. Meanwhile, those who prefer a more convenient and cost-efficient solution will seek outsource staffing as a solution.
The ever-challenging health and safety regulations.
As mentioned, the pandemic brought massive changes in the restaurant industry. The biggest would be the heightened approach to health and safety precautions.
Right now, restaurants utilize no-touch QR code menus, online ordering systems, and increased sanitation processes.
While this may not be a direct restaurant staffing issue, it still impacts how restaurants handle their manpower. New safety protocols require training, which can slow down operations if not done efficiently. At the same time, integrating new technologies to take and fulfill orders also requires training.
Aside from that, restaurants will also need to hire cleaning services to keep up with new regulations.
The dilemma of staffing shortages.
In the past years, restaurants have been hit with a lingering staffing shortage. Many people are now hesitant to work for front-facing positions, which spells trouble for the food industry. According to the National Restaurant Association careers survey, restaurants of any type say that their staffing levels are more than 20% below normal.
Also, news in the restaurant industry said that this shortage is said to persist for years. Good thing, temporary staffing helps solve the problem.
Temp agencies help restaurants to hire staff for any position without long-term commitment. Aside from that, they help businesses weather seasonal demands without the excessive admin work.
On the part of the workers, temp staffing gives them the chance to earn extra income without having to commit long-term or full-time. It also makes finding restaurant industry jobs easier as staffing agencies often keep a list of workers they can tap into when an opportunity arises.
Outsourcing staffing as the solution
As food businesses face industry challenges, recruitment agencies help them address restaurant staff hiring dilemmas. Instead of in-house efforts that are often expensive and time-consuming, they partner with experts who will handle all the HR responsibilities.
While they get competent workers right away, they are also freed up from the task of maintaining their manpower.
Whether they need to hire restaurant staff for kitchen, dining, storage, and whatnot, temp agencies are a convenient option. The best part is they can source candidates for any role in a matter of days, which limits any potential downtimes on your business.
Conclusion
The restaurant industry outlook for 2024 and beyond has its challenges, but staffing solutions are always available to help fill any workforce gaps.
The good thing about working with these agencies is that food businesses no longer have to worry about the recruitment process. Staffing agencies will handle everything while they focus on what they do best: providing delicious meals to customers.
