Restaurant Labor Shortage: How Restaurants Compete for Talent

How Restaurants Compete for Talent During a Labor Shortage

The restaurant labor shortage of 2021 put independent restaurants in an uncomfortable position. As businesses reopened, employers were competing for cooks, servers, bartenders, dishwashers, and managers, sometimes against companies with considerably larger recruiting budgets.

On June 7, 2021, the Financial Times featured Mis en Place in an article about small American businesses getting creative to attract employees.

The headline included a car raffle.

A car.

That gives you some idea of how competitive hiring had become.

But most independent restaurant owners weren't in a position to give away cars or compete with every incentive a larger employer could offer.

And frankly, I didn't think they needed to.

The challenge was figuring out what made their opportunity worth considering in the first place.

What the Restaurant Labor Shortage Revealed

Restaurants were rebuilding teams while managing unpredictable business volumes, changing expectations, and employees reconsidering their careers.

Some employers offered signing bonuses or increased wages. Others adjusted schedules or reconsidered how they recruited.

I was having conversations with restaurant operators who needed employees immediately, but their hiring processes weren't always keeping up with the competition.

They might have an appealing opportunity and still lose a candidate because nobody followed up quickly enough.

Or they advertised a position without explaining the schedule, compensation, or responsibilities clearly.

Meanwhile, candidates were evaluating several opportunities.

Attracting someone's interest and actually hiring them are two different things.

That distinction became especially important during the reopening period.

How Independent Restaurants Can Compete for Employees

Independent restaurants may not have the resources of national hospitality groups, but they can offer things larger organizations sometimes struggle to provide.

Direct access to ownership. Opportunities to work closely with an experienced chef. Greater involvement in daily decisions. A smaller team where individual contributions are noticed.

Those advantages matter when they're real.

But describing your restaurant as having a "great culture" or being "like a family" doesn't tell candidates much.

What does that mean on a Tuesday night when the kitchen is in the weeds?

I'd rather hear about the chef who works alongside the cooks, the manager who publishes schedules consistently, or the owner who makes time to train employees.

Those are details candidates can evaluate.

Compensation still needs to be competitive. A good working environment doesn't make up for pay that's substantially below comparable positions.

But once the fundamentals are in place, the details of the actual employment experience can help an independent restaurant stand out.

Don't Lose Candidates You Already Have

One of the most frustrating hiring problems is losing someone who was genuinely interested.

An application arrives. The manager gets busy. A few days pass.

By the time someone calls, the candidate has already scheduled interviews elsewhere or accepted another position.

I've watched versions of this happen throughout my recruiting career.

Restaurants don't need to make rushed hiring decisions. They need a process that keeps candidates informed and moving forward.

Someone should be responsible for reviewing applications, scheduling interviews, and communicating next steps.

And the process shouldn't end when a candidate accepts an offer.

Confirm the schedule, start date, reporting instructions, and training arrangements before the first shift.

Imagine finally hiring an experienced cook after weeks of searching, only to have that person arrive and discover nobody knows who's training them.

That's not the first impression anyone intended.

What Still Matters Beyond the 2021 Shortage

The extraordinary incentives employers offered in 2021 reflected an unusually competitive labor market.

But the lessons weren't limited to that period.

Independent restaurants can't control every labor market condition or match every offer made by a larger company.

They can control how clearly they describe opportunities, how they treat applicants, how quickly they communicate, and how prepared they are when someone joins the team.

A smaller recruiting budget doesn't automatically mean a weaker opportunity.

Sometimes competing successfully means doing the ordinary things exceptionally well.

If you're facing hiring challenges, you can discuss your needs with Mis en Place.

Featured In

Mis en Place was featured in the Financial Times' coverage of how small American businesses responded creatively to hiring challenges during the 2021 labor shortage.

Original article: Win a Car in a Raffle! Small US Firms Get Creative in Hunt for Workers

By Taylor Nicole Rogers
June 7, 2021
June 7, 2021