If turnover is the bête noire of employers in all sectors, it's even more so in the foodservice industry, where job supply outstrips demand, and where working conditions and schedules can be atypical.
Today, employees are no longer as motivated by the prospect of a permanent contract as they once were. Above all, they are looking for a fulfilling job with good working conditions, and don't hesitate to change jobs as soon as a better opportunity presents itself. These departures, whether in the form of resignations or redundancies, have a considerable impact on your company. So how can you retain your employees and combat staff turnover? The answer is here!
Restaurant turnover
The foodservice sector is subject to higher-than-average turnover. Find out how this impacts your business.
Defining and calculating turnover
Staff turnover measures the number of employees who leave the company during a given period, either through resignation or dismissal.
To calculate it, first define a period (year, month, week). Then divide the number of employees who have left your restaurant by the average number of employees in your establishment. This gives you your turnover rate.
Turnover rate 🟰 number of employees who have left your restaurant ➗ average number of employees in your establishment
Personnel management software synchronized with your cash register software can help you automate this task.
Knowing your restaurant's turnover rate will give you a benchmark against which you can compare your turnover over the long term and better control it.
The impact of staff turnover on your restaurant
What is the impact of high turnover?
- The departure of an employee means the loss of two precious resources: your time and money. When an employee leaves the company, it's a race against time to find a replacement. Drawing up a relevant job description, interviews and negotiating working conditions are all time-consuming and costly. This is followed by a training period, during which the new employee must familiarize himself/herself with the company, the team, the tools used(cash register, production screen, etc.) and customer habits.
- Your employees have been trained in your tools and your internal operations, and are as familiar with your menu as the customers who frequent your establishment. This is information they could pass on to your competitors if they changed employers.
- An employee is usually not replaced immediately. These periods of absence can be a source of tension, as other members of staff are entrusted with an additional workload. So be careful to avoid a chain of departures.
- Staff changes also have a negative impact on cohesion and team spirit , as employees must constantly learn to work with new people.
- Last but not least, every new hire runs the risk of the new employee not living up to your expectations and making mistakes. This can result in reduced sales, loss of customers and/or damage to your reputation.
👉 Going further: 9 tips for finding restaurant staff
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7 tips to combat staff turnover
So there are many issues surrounding turnover, so how can you limit it?
1. Make recruitment your priority
Recruiting your future employees is a time-consuming phase, but it's important to invest your time and energy fully. Drawing up a job description that perfectly reflects your expectations is essential, as is the interview stage. It's better to select a few candidates with solid profiles than many who don't quite match what you're looking for. Quality must take precedence over quantity. The more seriously you take the recruitment process, the greater your chances of finding the perfect candidate.
The next step is to ensure that this new element is properly integrated . Here are a few ideas to help you do just that:
- define what his first week will look like;
- set up a sponsorship system with another employee ;
- send an integration booklet ;
- bring the team together to announce this new hire;
- ensure its well-being by gathering feedback.
2. Increase salaries and financial rewards
Your team is now complete, and you're perfectly happy with it! Now you need to find the right arguments to encourage your staff to stay with your restaurant.
One strategy for achieving this is to increase their remuneration to just above that offered by your competitors. This way, your employees won't be lured away by the establishment next door.
You can also opt for a tip system to boost employee motivation and strengthen their attachment to your restaurant. This bonus should be based on a healthy and benevolent approach, and not encourage an overly competitive spirit. This could increase stress levels and lead to burn-out. You need to find the right balance between motivation and pressure.
If you can't afford to pay them more, offer them other benefits such as days off health insurance, flexible working hours or training opportunities.
3. Show your appreciation
Financial rewards are a form of recognition, but it's also important to verbalize it. You can show your appreciation by encouraging or thanking your staff as an aside, or at team meetings where you present the figures and the good health of your establishment. In this way, your staff will feel listened to and know that you are genuinely concerned about their careers and well-being. They will then be keen to improve. Don't hesitate to congratulate them in a more formal way by setting up an employee-of-the-month nomination system.
Another way to combat staff attrition is to implement an internal promotion policy. In this way, as soon as they join your company, employees are made aware of their development opportunities, both in terms of responsibilities and salary increases.
4. Strengthen the sense of belonging
We touched on it briefly above, but a big part of your employee retention strategy rests on your ability to create a sense of belonging. So how do you go about it?
Share as much information as possible with your staff so that they understand that they are actively contributing to the company's results. This is the best way to ensure that your teams feel involved in your restaurant's performance, and are committed to making it last.
Take the time to listen to your staff, asking them for regular feedback through surveys or workshops. This way, they'll feel listened to and involved in the management and running of the restaurant.
Employees are not only attached to the company they work for, but also to their team, which is why it's so important to nurture team cohesion. There's no better way of achieving this than by organizing teambuilding events. Escape games, after-work sessions, manual workshops, sports activities - there are plenty of opportunities to form a close-knit team!
Reinforcing a sense of belonging also means rewarding employee loyalty. Their performance or length of service in your restaurant can be rewarded with gift vouchers, discount coupons, activity boxes, etc.
5. Preserve your employees' personal/professional life balance
You're in a good position to know that the food service sector is often distinguished from other fields by its intense rhythms and rather atypical working hours. It's common to start early in the morning and finish late in the evening, with long breaks between shifts.
But let's not be fatalistic, because you can do something to ease these working conditions. What can you do?
- by organizing schedules optimally so that no one feels short-changed,
- by asking employees about their constraints and preferences, so that we can take them into account as much as possible,
- by encouraging dialogue in the event of complaints or conflicts,
- guaranteeing breaks and days off to protect the health and well-being of your employees,
- by financially rewarding these sometimes difficult working conditions.
👉 To find out more: What is the legal working time in the catering industry?
6. Embody the leader capable of retaining employees
To retain your employees, you'll need to demonstrate a number of qualities, including communication, listening skills and your ability to inspire your collaborators.
Talking to your employees is crucial to maintaining a strong and constant bond with your team members. Take an interest in them, their feelings, their difficulties in a formal setting, but also in informal discussions. By creating such a climate of trust, your employees will feel comfortable enough to talk about their frustrations, disappointments, conflicts, expectations, ideas and so on.
When an employee opens up about the problems he or she is experiencing, it is always possible to dissuade them from leaving the company by taking corrective action. This will be impossible if dialogue is broken off.
Your role is also to pass on your know-how and knowledge to your employees, so that they become more competent and efficient. The best way to do this is to give them regular feedback on their work. This criticism, when it is negative, must be constructive and take the form of individual interviews. Be sure to emphasize the positive points first, then formulate the negative points in the form of suggestions for improvement, drawing on your own personal experience. You can also organize group training sessions on topics of your choice, such as conflict management, customer service, the use of a particular digital solution, and so on.
Finally, to embody the role of an inspirational leader, you need to train yourself (tutorials, webinars, training courses, books, podcasts) to continually improve your skills as a restaurant manager and team leader. In doing so, you send out a powerful message, that of someone who is totally committed to the performance of his or her business and the well-being of his or her staff. By training yourself, you take on the role of role model and encourage your employees to progress and excel.
Your employee retention strategy is now well and truly in place! If you adopt these tips, you'll have every chance of ensuring that your employees don't feel the need or desire to leave your restaurant, and that they feel good at work and give their best.
For you, reducing turnover can mean many things: increased sales, better customer satisfaction, higher profitability. You'll also be able to devote the time you'd normally devote to hiring to the well-being of your employees or to customer service.
7. Spoil your teams with digital solutions
Your teams are often in a rush, and have to deal with the stress of an intense workload. However, by using digital solutions such as KDS or a cash register, it is possible to remedy these problems and improve working conditions for your employees.
For example, cash regist ers automate the order and payment process, eliminating manual calculations and the risk of errors. An ergonomic, easy-to-use interface allows staff to concentrate more on customer service, reducing stress and ensuring smooth transactions.
In addition, when linked to a cash register, KDSs enable more efficient order management, by simplifying communication between the cash register and the kitchen. This reduces the risk of errors, speeds up food preparation times and optimizes workflows.
"The KDS has been a real revolution for my team, they've gained in concentration and productivity!" Jabrane, co-founder of Double XL
By integrating these digital solutions, teams can work more effectively and efficiently, reducing the stress associated with managing orders and payments, and promoting a more pleasant and productive working environment.
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Are you a restaurant owner? Would you like to find solutions to reduce turnover?
Contact an Innovorder expert to find out how to put technology to work for you!
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