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“The Great Resignation”: How to Keep Your Employees in a Post-COVID World

Jun 18, 2021

Over the past year, companies have fought hard to keep their businesses operating in the face of COVID-19. This challenge has been particularly significant for the restaurant industry, which relies on social gatherings and in-person meetings to make money. According to Business Insider, about 17% of all U.S. restaurants had closed permanently by December 2020, and the pandemic is unquestionably to blame.

 

But now, as the world reopens, restaurants are facing a new challenge: a lack of workers. Experts anticipate that many Americans across the workforce will not be returning to their pre-COVID jobs in the coming months – and for some, that is a deliberate choice.

 

Why are people leaving their restaurant jobs?

Why People Are Leaving

 

Admittedly, a shortage of workers in the restaurant industry is not a new phenomenon. In May 2019 (eight months before the first COVID-19 case was reported in the U.S.), the American restaurant and hotel sectors had an astounding 991,000 job openings across the country. With nearly a million unfilled positions, the industry was already forced to reevaluate how it recruited and retained employees.

 

But then, the pandemic happened.

 

Over the past year, Americans from all corners of the workforce have had time to reassess what they want from their lives and their jobs. Some want more flexibility in their hours so they can spend time with their loved ones. Some want better pay or more generous benefits. Some want to pursue new fields entirely, following their interests to a job that might bring more personal fulfillment.

 

All this soul-searching has led to what economists are calling “the great resignation.” Up to 40% of workers – including more than 20% of restaurant workers are leaving their current industries permanently to look for greener pastures.

What Restaurant Owners Can Do

 

Restaurant owners are likely feeling a lot of pressure right now to make their employees happy. However, this is a unique opportunity for owners to invest in their employees and create a better working environment throughout their restaurant.

 

Proper training can help your workers learn valuable skills that will serve them in their restaurant careers. Expanded benefits like paid sick leave can give your team the freedom to take care of themselves (and this benefit can attract new talent). Simply giving your employees the support they need to feel heard and valued in the workplace can be instrumental in attracting and hanging onto your best workers.

 

restaurant training

 

“The great resignation” paints a bleak picture for employers across the American workforce, and the restaurant industry is no exception. However, there are signs of positive change; May 2021 saw 186,000 people rejoin the workforce in bars and restaurants. If those employers learn to invest in their workers through training and support, they will likely experience less turnover and a happier staff. SynergySync is the industry’s best training platform for your entire team.  It includes digital checklists, a newsfeed for communication with your entire team, a library of forms, and the best operating practices, comprehensive FOH and BOH training videos, available in both English and Spanish. We are confident that our training platform will increase your revenue, save you money, significantly improve your operations, and dramatically improve the guest experience because your entire team will be in SYNC.

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Better Jobs

May 24, 2021

By Mike Walls, Operations Consultant & Beverage Certified Cicerone

 

Many restaurant owners, periodicals, and forums are talking about worker shortages. Restaurant worker subreddits and Facebook groups frequently discuss leaving the industry entirely for jobs with better hours, better pay, less stress, and benefits.

 

Restaurant workers are beginning to realize that their work experience could be substantially better in terms of pay and stress levels. They don’t have to put in 12-hour days, six or seven days a week with few breaks and minimal pay, relying on overtime to make a living.

 

 

The hard truth is many people who open restaurants come from unrelated industries, and despite good intentions, don’t understand how to run their operation. Even many business owners who have spent their lives in hospitality were never taught the “right ways” to do things. They simply do things the way they have always been done, getting the results they have always gotten. We see it constantly as consultants. This lack of understanding causes a lack of structure. The lack of structure results in higher costs, longer hours, tighter and tighter margins (with no money left for better pay), more frustration, higher turnover, and inevitably less profit.

 

All the issues outlined above that the restaurant workers are fleeing from en masse are symptoms of an underlying cause: Lack of systems, lack of training. With a degree of flexibility, there is a right and a wrong way to run a restaurant. If a restaurant is systemized properly and runs on best practices as we teach in our training and operations platform Synergy Sync, all these symptoms essentially sort themselves out by creating a better work experience through better systems and better training.

 

The goal as a restaurant owner should be to plan for the business, manage proactively, and create a structure such that everyone on your team is empowered to exceed your expectations, enjoy their work, and not grind themselves to the bone to deliver a great guest experience.

 

If the restaurant business wants to solve the worker shortage, doing things the way they have always been done is not the answer. We need to extend the hospitality we want shown to our guests to those at the heart of our operations. If we don’t, we won’t have any more skilled labor to rely on. We created Synergy Sync to help restauranteurs do precisely that.

 

Our methodology starts by creating a great management experience that is structured and empowering, with the right people in the right places. We follow this by teaching managers how to develop great team experiences built on promises that we make to each other by thorough training, meaningful feedback, and coaching. Once we have a fully staffed team, fully trained, and fully engaged, great guest experiences are the easy part. Add to this a commitment to agreed-upon, nonnegotiable daily systems, methods, and procedures for each position, plus an understanding of why we are committing to them. The result is success. Our clients and their employees thrive in this system. Worker shortages don’t exist for those creating better work experiences with better pay and more structure.

 

So, in the end, we have a choice to make. We can keep doing things the same way and watch as hospitality employees leave for better jobs or make hospitality jobs a better option. If you choose the latter, Synergy Sync and Synergy U can help.

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What People Want from their Restaurant Employer

Apr 27, 2021

There are 15.1 million restaurant workers in the United States — about 10% of the U.S. workforce. These individuals are hard working, dedicated people who do their best for their customers and their employers everyday… but are they getting the best in return?

 

Restaurant owners could boost employee morale, see greater productivity, and reduce turnover if they take the time to find out what employees need for success during their shifts. What do restaurant employees want? Let’s start with these top four.

Flexible Schedules

According to a survey of over 1,600 American restaurant workers, about 64% of employees cite “flexible schedules” as a benefit of the job. Restaurant workers like the freedom their jobs provide for them to pursue higher education, take care of their families, or even take up a hobby or side hustle. If you work with your employees to provide them the schedules they need, they’ll be more likely to give you 100% once they’re clocked in!

 

what do staff want?

 

Fair Wages

Many people still think of restaurant workers as teenagers looking to earn some pocket money. However, that simply isn’t the case; the average American restaurant server is 29 years old, and the average line cook working today is over 40. These workers need wages that can support themselves and their families — not pocket money for a weekend at the movies. Giving your employees fair wages will help inspire better service and employee loyalty.

A Supportive Staff

Employees across every industry want to have a boss that supports them, but this is especially important in the world of food service. Irate customers, lunchtime rushes, and countless other stressors can make restaurant work incredibly draining. If workers know they can turn to their managers for support and compassion (particularly if they are dealing with an illness, family emergency, or mental health crisis), they will be more likely to feel satisfied in their work.

Proper Restaurant Training

Finally, restaurant employees want to have the tools they need to succeed. The food service industry has lots of rules and regulations — and employees need to know what they’re doing if you expect them to do it well. The best thing any restaurant owner can do for his or her employees is invest in their training, because this will guarantee a competent and confident staff.

 

And now, training your employees is easier than ever! With our Synergy Sync training app, your staff can undergo training on important procedures, company policies, and much more — anytime and anywhere. Contact our team today to learn how we can help your team and your business.

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Synergy Sync: Online Training Program for Restaurants

Nov 30, 2020

Restaurant life is busy. Restaurant owners and managers will tell you “busy” is quite the understatement! According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “managers at fine-dining and fast-food restaurants often work long shifts, and some work more than 40 hours per week.” It should be no surprise that a restaurant manager’s duties cover many areas. They are responsible for daily planning, back-and-front-of-house operations, supply chain oversight, budgeting, customer service, and setting sales targets, problem-solving, health and safety compliance, marketing, hiring, and training staff. That’s quite a laundry list!

 

With the hospitality industry turnover rate of 75% in 2019, it’s crucial to get a grip on your employees’ state. Are they leaving due to a lack of leadership? Do they feel under-compensated? Is there adequate training to help them feel confident and effective in their roles? Is there a disconnect between your company’s goals and what’s being delivered on a day-to-day basis? We understand that managing your restaurant is a large feat (especially with multiple locations). There isn’t enough time in the day to implement a better restaurant management system that could help you with the critical aspect of staff training.

eLearning restaurant training

 

Synergy Restaurant Consultants has combined their 30 plus years of foodservice operations experience and is now offering a remote, online Operations Management Training System called Synergy Sync. Communicate, manage, and train your team efficiently with our on-demand eLearning training platform. Your team can access the training online at their own pace, wherever they want.

 

This training operations platform includes education, training, and tools, including:

  • Standardized procedures, forms, and checklists
  • Quizzes
  • Easily managed results
  • Process management: FOH, BOH, recipes, costing, pre-shift, line checks, production, storage, vendor purchasing, hiring
  • Compliance Monitoring
  • Synergy Sync Manager Certification

 

Our integrated training and operations management platform is a low-cost subscription with a per location monthly fee. This format ensures you can train any new staff or refresh staff training at any time and create consistent operational systems across all sites. With two levels of engagement, we are confident you will see a significant ROI in short order! Get your team in sync today with Synergy Sync!

 

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Bringing in the Big Guns to a Small Western Town

Jul 30, 2019

A tailored and thorough recruiting process leads to top talent acquisition

Will all of the restaurants out there waging the war for talent, how do you attract top-shelf management and culinary talent to a tiny market? Sell the lifestyle, not just a list of job duties.

This was the strategy developed to hire a General Manager and Executive Chef for Buffalo Block, a polished casual steakhouse concept Synergy helped develop in Billings, Montana. “We started by getting crystal-clear on what the client wanted in a GM and Chef,” explained Rita Imerson, Synergy’s Operations and Training Consultant. “Most important to the client was creating a restaurant culture that was positive and had a family feel. He knew that the GM and Chef would have a huge impact on the culture, so it was important to find candidates that shared those same values.” Successful candidates also needed to be largely self-sufficient. According to Rita, “the chef and GM had to be self-starters since the owner was planning to be strictly hands-off when it came to day-to-day operations. They also needed experience in new-store openings.”

hiring restaurant staff

 

When it came to writing the job descriptions, Rita knew that a standard approach would not work in this unique recruiting situation. “The first few lines of each job description were crafted to describe why this was such a great opportunity for the candidate who best reflected the client’s mission and goals,” said Rita. “The owner wants to build not just the best steakhouse, but the best restaurant in Montana. They were looking for candidates who wanted to work for a family-owned company and were ready to tackle a big challenge.”

Another challenge was drawing quality talent to a small Montana town. Here again, the strategy revolved around selling a specific lifestyle. “Key to recruiting success was having a client who understood that they were making an investment in the right kind of talent, according to Rita. “We carefully studied the local market to survey comparable wages and benefits and made sure to offer more than the local standard.”

Attracting Qualified Candidates

To attract qualified candidates, Rita reached out through her network as well as posted the job descriptions on standard job web sites. Rita explained, “Oftentimes your best candidate is already employed, so we scoured LinkedIn for job seekers.” Once the final candidates were selected, they underwent three interviews before being introduced to the client.

The final test for the chef was to come in a cook a dish they felt fit the brand and personality of the restaurant. General manager candidates were individually interviewed and walked the restaurant construction site with the owner and Synergy as a group for an open-ended interview. The questions they asked about the restaurant and future operations helped determine the best candidate for the position.

Though this recruiting process required a great deal of time and attention, the efforts paid off with the owner hiring two exceptional candidates who are working hard to help open the restaurant this fall. “The client knew that the people filling these positions will have a huge impact on the restaurant operations and culture. This was much more than a recruiting process — it was an investment in the restaurant’s future success.”

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How to Recruit an Amazing Restaurant Manager

Nov 27, 2016

Many people open restaurants based on their big dreams for sharing their food or their concept with others as well as to turn out a large profit. But as many as 60% of new restaurants that open up fail within the first year and a whopping 80% tank in less than five years, according to Business Insider.

 

For your best chance at success, you need to hire a restaurant manager who is capable of running the show. He or she should be able to manage the restaurant and staff so that it runs like a well-oiled machine. Finding the right manager for the job can be tricky, so follow this advice for ensuring you choose the right candidate to manage your restaurant.

 

  1. Search Hospitality Websites
    For a restaurant you need more than someone with management experience. You need someone with restaurant management experience. Someone who knows how to endure life in the hospitality market. So start looking for candidates in that area on hospitality websites. Recruitment companies that specialize in hiring for the hospitality industry are also great to work with. The experienced companies know to dig in to the details of what you are looking for while understanding what may be available in the marketplace.
  2.  Ensure you Interview a Large Pool of Candidates
    Even if you truly find the first candidate to be what you’re looking for, don’t cancel the other interviews you’ve scheduled. You might find someone even more qualified or find someone else’s background to make them a better fit for the position. Remember, this person will be running your business on a daily basis so it is critical you choose the one that can do it the best.
  3. Leadership Skills
    Starting with fully understanding the level of manager that you need, the recruiter draws on one of two directions – to bring someone in with leadership experience from past employers OR a candidate who will be taught leadership skills from your involvement, your operation and the way that you would like them to lead your team. Styles of leadership differ greatly in this business – most important is what you need at your restaurant and for your staff.
  1. Check up on Those References
    It’s common in the restaurant business for people to pad up their resumes.So make sure to check out every reference of every potential restaurant manager you interview. You really need to make sure you hire someone who has the real experience needed for running your restaurant or this will all be a waste of resources when you find you need to restart the hiring process from scratch.
  1. Ask a lot of Questions
    To determine the best candidate for your restaurant manager position, ask as many questions as possible for each candidate you interview. How will you help my restaurant run well? How will you manage my staff? It’s all about how the candidate dealt with issues in their past. How do they handle restaurant problems, “people” problems and even profit problems? Make a list of questions like this, leaving space between to jot down your notes so you can reference them later when you need to decide on which candidate to hire.
  2. Review Qualifications
    Did your candidate get a degree or even a masters in hospitality management? Certificates and qualifications also make the man or woman you choose to hire for the role of your restaurant manager. What you learn by the candidate achieving a degree is that they “know how to learn”. This can be very important to the growth of your business and your bottom line. Make sure you find someone whose credentials sync up with your business.

 

By taking care when going through the hiring process, you’ll be much more likely to find that person who will really fit into your restaurant as the manager. This person should be an extension of you with shared ideas about the success of the restaurant so be thorough and honest in what you want in order to find the perfect one for you.

 

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Infographic: Which Restaurant Segment Do Executives Want to Work For?

May 30, 2016

We found an interesting infographic from Bristol Associates which surveyed restaurant execs in order to find out which segment had the most satisfied managers and executives and also what attracts top talent to each restaurant segment.

 

To read more, please visit The Bristol Breakroom.

Restaurant recruiting

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5 Things to Look for when Hiring Hourly Employees

Sep 18, 2015

In recent days, Chipotle has been very public about their mission to hire as many as 4,000 new employees in just one day. This massive hiring frenzy, while unrealistic for most restaurants, is a good reminder that operators must stick to best practices when it comes to the hiring process, particularly in the interview.

We reached out to our restaurant human resources and compliance consultant, Brian McDonough, to uncover the top five things to look for when hiring hourly employees.

1) Connection : Explore the ability of the candidate to make eye contact, converse and explain—that’s how they will communicate with your guests and other employees.

2) Consistency: By reviewing events within the candidate’s life (sports, past jobs, education), does the candidate stick with what they start?

3) Attitude: How the candidate approaches problem solving, interaction with other employees and interaction with guests is what makes them a high-performing employee.

4) Experience: Even if the candidate has not performed the specific duties of this position, review past experience and cross-reference similar skills to be sure the candidate has has a strong chance at performing the tasks being presented.

5) Desire: Through questioning, gauge the prospective employee’s interest in the position, working for your company and working at all. Ensure the candidate has sufficient motivation to come in to work each day.

hiring tips

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy hiring!

 

Burger King hiring photo credit: Mike Mozart CC by 2.0

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Avoid Penalties from Common I-9 Errors

Jul 19, 2014

Operating a restaurant involves dealing with customers and employees. As you work on satisfying your clientele and bringing in new customers, it’s important to never overlook the administrative legal duties when it comes to employment. Substantial fines and penalties can arise from employers improperly handling and managing the I-9, the form which verifies an individual is eligible to work in the United States.

 

Unfortunately, many restaurateurs fail to properly comply with the rules for the I-9 as outlined by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Luckily, there are common mistakes that can be easily prevented so that you’re prepared if your restaurant is audited!

– Unsure on Who is Supposed to Complete an I-9 Form?: Any employee hired (working for pay or compensation) on or after Nov. 6, 1986 must complete the I-9. This applies to those in the United States.

– Improper Storing of I-9 Forms for Terminated Employees: The rules state that the employer must store a terminated employee’s I-9 form for up to three years or one year after they are terminated, whichever is the later date.

– Employer and/or Employee Do Not Complete Sections on Time: An employee must complete Section 1 of the I-9 form no later than the first day of work for pay. The employer must complete Section 2 no later than the third business day that the employee starts work for pay.

 

Read more here: 7 common I-9 errors and how to avoid them and if you need help with compliance and any other HR, hiring or recruiting practices, contact Synergy.

 

 

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Restaurant HR: How to Handle the I-9 Form

Nov 24, 2013

You may have heard about a problem with pre-populating Section 1 of the Form I-9 — ignore it!

There seems to be some confusion among our esteemed policy-making agencies about the issue of whether it is legal or not legal to pre-populate Section 1 of the Form I-9:

 

Immigration Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) have provided inconsistent statements. Earlier this year, ICE stated at an American Immigration Lawyers Association meeting that it deemed pre-populating Section 1 a violation of I-9 regulations. However, more recently, both ICE and USCIS stated that they have no official position regarding pre-population and advised employers to follow the regulations (which are silent on the issue). An official guidance or policy from either agency has yet to appear.[1]

 

We will keep you posted but at this point it doesn’t appear necessary to make changes to current systems that gather new hire information for completing the I-9.