Restaurant Labor Shortages: Hiring Challenges (NPR Feature)

How Restaurant Labor Shortages Are Shaping Hiring

Restaurant labor shortages were making national headlines in April 2022. Employers were trying to rebuild their teams, candidates had more choices, and restaurant operators were discovering that finding employees was only part of the challenge.

Mis en Place contributed to NPR's coverage of the labor market during that period, reported by Scott Horsley.

Listen to the original NPR interview excerpts:

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What interested me most about that period wasn't simply how many restaurants needed employees. It was how quickly the pressure to hire exposed problems that had been hiding in plain sight. Employers needed people immediately, but the people responsible for hiring were often too busy keeping the restaurant running to find them.

What Restaurant Labor Shortages Revealed About Hiring

I've spent more than two decades recruiting for restaurants, and one thing I've observed repeatedly is how quickly hiring becomes reactive when an operation is under pressure.

A cook gives notice, someone else needs time off, and suddenly the kitchen manager is covering stations, rewriting the schedule, and trying to squeeze an interview between lunch and dinner service. Sound familiar?

The restaurant needs help, but the people responsible for hiring are already stretched thin.

During the 2022 labor market, that problem became particularly visible.

Candidates were considering compensation, schedules, working conditions, and opportunities outside the restaurant industry. Employers needed to explain why their positions were worth considering.

Simply posting a job and waiting wasn't always enough.

Why More Applications Don't Always Solve Staffing Problems

An employer might receive several applications and still struggle to fill a position.

Perhaps the candidates don't have the necessary experience. Maybe the advertised schedule doesn't match their availability. Or the restaurant waits too long to respond, and someone accepts another opportunity.

I've seen how easily a promising candidate can disappear from the process when communication stalls.

And while it's tempting to blame the labor market, sometimes the problem is closer to home.

Are we explaining the position clearly? Are we responding promptly? Do candidates understand the compensation and schedule before arriving for an interview?

These are questions worth asking, no matter how competitive hiring becomes.

A structured hiring process for restaurants can help employers maintain momentum without relying on last-minute decisions.

How Restaurants Can Respond More Effectively

I've seen restaurants invest considerable time and money attracting applicants, only to lose qualified candidates because nobody followed up.

It's a little like inviting guests to dinner and forgetting to answer the door.

Before spending more money on advertising, make sure someone is responsible for reviewing applications, contacting candidates, and moving interviews forward.

And once you've hired someone, don't leave their first day to chance. Confirm their schedule, assign someone to train them, and make sure the job they're walking into resembles the one you described.

Our article on best practices for onboarding restaurant employees explores how preparation and communication support a stronger start.

None of these steps guarantees a successful hire, but they help eliminate preventable problems that become especially costly when staffing is tight.

What the 2022 Labor Market Still Teaches Us

The labor market has changed since NPR covered the hiring challenges of April 2022. Those conditions shouldn't automatically be treated as today's reality.

But the experience reinforced something I've observed throughout my recruiting career: hiring isn't separate from restaurant operations. It's part of them.

When recruiting depends on finding a few spare minutes between services, candidates get overlooked. And when employees discover that the job doesn't match what they were promised, the restaurant may find itself starting the search all over again.

A restaurant can't control the labor market, but it can control how it hires.

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Mis en Place contributed to NPR's April 1, 2022, coverage of the U.S. labor market.

Reporter: Scott Horsley

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