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New Norms in Hospitality Hiring

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The hospitality industry, known for its vibrant spaces and travel adventures, underwent a significant shift due to the global pandemic. During this transformative period, HR departments played a pivotal role in adapting to the changing landscape. Traditional hiring methods changed, embracing virtual evaluations and technology for assessing candidates. Beyond skills, adaptability and resilience became key factors. There was also a heightened focus on diversity and inclusion initiatives.  Reshaping the workforce has become crucial, leading to a reevaluation of HR approaches.

Shifting Job Functions and Skills

The pandemic accelerated the evolution of job roles within the hospitality sector. Cross-training became pivotal, allowing employees to diversify their skill sets, making them versatile in handling various tasks and enhancing operational flexibility. Roles like hygiene managers, health ambassadors, and digital concierges emerged, catering to the heightened focus on cleanliness, health, and technology integration.

Remote Work Opportunities

While hospitality traditionally thrived on in-person interactions, the pandemic ushered in the acceptance of remote work in certain operational facets. Administrative roles, marketing, and even some aspects of guest services found a new realm in remote work, offering flexibility and cost-saving opportunities for both employees and employers.

Health and Safety Precautions

Health and safety took center stage, leading to the implementation of rigorous protocols. HR departments spearheaded comprehensive training programs ensuring staff compliance with sanitation measures, health screenings, and upholding stringent safety standards. Additionally, employee well-being programs and mental health support mechanisms gained prominence, acknowledging the toll of the crisis on individuals.

Redefining Guest Interactions

Adaptation didn’t stop at internal operations; it extended to guest experiences. Hospitality businesses pivoted towards contactless services, mobile check-ins, and augmented reality tours. HR departments played a crucial role in training employees to deliver personalized, yet socially distanced, guest experiences, striking a delicate balance between warmth and safety.

The hospitality industry’s post-pandemic phase saw fundamental shifts in HR practices. Agility, empathy, and adaptability became central themes. The lessons learned during this period will shape HR strategies, ensuring a more resilient and inclusive workforce.  As the industry embraces changes and moves towards recovery, these evolving HR practices promise to redefine hospitality in the new normal, offering a more dynamic and sustainable future.

Hiring a Restaurant Manager: Keys for Success

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A successful restaurant hinges not only on its delectable cuisine but also on the leadership steering its operations. A competent restaurant manager is the linchpin in orchestrating a positive dining experience and boosting profitability. So, how do you find the right person to entrust this pivotal role to?  By focusing on a candidate’s skills, attitude, leadership abilities, and alignment with your restaurant’s culture, you can find a manager who not only sustains but elevates your business. Embrace the process, trust your instincts, and choose someone who embodies the essence of exceptional hospitality and managerial finesse.  Check out these nine invaluable tips to guide your hiring process.



  1. Define Your Expectations Clearly

Outline the specific responsibilities, skills, and qualities you seek in a manager. Consider their expertise in handling finances, staff management, customer service, and understanding of the culinary industry. The goal is to find out if they are capable of fostering a vibrant dining atmosphere while maintaining operational efficiency.

 

  1. Experience Matters, But Attitude Counts More

While experience is crucial, attitude and adaptability are paramount. Look for a candidate who not only boasts experience but also demonstrates a passion for the industry and a willingness to learn and adapt to your restaurant’s unique ethos.

 

  1. Cultural Fit and Leadership Skills

A successful restaurant manager should align with your restaurant’s culture and embody leadership qualities. Assess their ability to motivate and lead a team, handle pressure gracefully, and communicate effectively. A manager who can inspire and guide their staff positively contributes significantly to a restaurant’s success.

 

  1. Test Their Problem-Solving Skills

Restaurant management is rife with challenges. Present scenarios or case studies during the interview to gauge their problem-solving abilities. Ask questions such as: How do you handle conflicts among staff? How would you address declining customer satisfaction? Their approach to these hypothetical situations can reveal their managerial prowess.

 

  1. Assess Customer Service Orientation

The heart of any successful restaurant lies in exceptional customer service. A skilled manager should prioritize customer satisfaction and possess a keen understanding of guest needs. Evaluate their track record in ensuring a seamless and delightful dining experience for patrons.

 

  1. Financial Decisions

An effective manager should be financially astute. They should be proficient in cost control, budgeting, inventory management, and identifying opportunities to enhance profitability without compromising quality.

 

  1. References and Background Checks

Don’t underestimate the importance of references and background checks. Speak with previous employers or colleagues to gain insights into the candidate’s work ethic, performance, and compatibility in a team environment.

 

  1. Trial Period or Project

Consider a trial period or a project-based assignment before finalizing the hiring decision. This allows you to observe their skills in action within your restaurant’s setting and assess their compatibility with the team.

 

  1. Stay Open to Innovation

A prospective manager who brings fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to the table can breathe new life into your establishment. Look for candidates who demonstrate a willingness to innovate while respecting the restaurant’s core values.

How to Attract and Retain Top Talent in the Hospitality Industry

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Setting table at a restaurant

Excellent customer service and a high standard of professionalism are requirements in the fast-paced, dynamic hospitality sector. Although it can be difficult to find and keep excellent personnel in the hospitality sector, doing so is crucial for any company to succeed. Here are six excellent guidelines to remember when looking to hire.

1. Develop a deep understanding of the hospitality industry 

To be successful in hospitality recruitment, it is essential to have a deep understanding of the industry, its trends, and its unique challenges. Invest in ongoing training and development to stay up-to-date on the latest industry developments.

2. Build a strong network

Building a strong network of industry contacts is essential for hospitality recruitment firms. Attend industry conferences and events, participate in online forums, and cultivate relationships with industry professionals.

3. Use data to drive decision-making

Data can be a powerful tool for hospitality recruitment firms. Use data to track industry trends, identify skill gaps, and measure the effectiveness of recruitment strategies.

4. Emphasize quality over quantity

In hospitality recruitment, it is essential to emphasize quality over quantity. Focus on finding the right candidates who have the skills, experience, and cultural fit needed to succeed in the industry.

5. Provide exceptional customer service

Customer service is key in hospitality recruitment. Provide exceptional service to both clients and candidates, and build a reputation as a trusted partner in the industry.

6. Leverage technology

Technology can be a powerful tool for attracting and retaining top talent in the hospitality industry. Use technology to streamline recruitment and hiring processes. Consider offering online training and development opportunities, and always provide real-time feedback and recognition.

Strategies to Reduce Rapid Turnover

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Chef working in kitchen

The effects of COVID-19 and the Great Resignation are still being felt throughout the service industry.  Short-staffed or not, the show must go on.  Though high levels of turnover are standard in the industry, they should not be debilitating.  We’ve rounded up our top 6 tips to mitigate turnover. It is possible to retain the talent you have while fostering an environment that is attractive to new hires.  Let’s jump in!

Tip 1: Be Patient & Fair

There are many responsibilities to juggle as a manager.  As a result, being consistent and empathetic can be challenging.  It is vital to remember that things familiar or second nature to managers are often foreign concepts to new employees.  Be patient, as some of your best employees might take longer to learn.  Be fair.  How you treat your employees directly impacts retention.  Try your best to remove your personal preferences and manage from a brand standards perspective.

Tip 2: Effort Trumps Talent

There is a saying by Dave Weinbaum, “If you can’t excel with talent, triumph with effort.”  Managers must be able to recognize continuous effort.  These types of employees are valuable.  Find small, yet meaningful ways to identify the efforts of your team.  Finding each employee’s strengths will increase productivity.  Keep in mind that some employees may not be suited for certain roles.  Help your employees improve and find their place to shine.

Tip 3: Optimize Operations

There always seems to be a never ending list of tasks to complete during a shift.  Prep work, stocking, cleaning, etc.  Help your employees be more efficient by automating tasks when possible.  You can also make sure processes are streamlined to avoid the same task being completed multiple times.  Communication is key.  

Tip 4: Flexibility

Job flexibility is so attractive to potential employees.  Many remain at a job because their employer offers flexible work options.  In our current job market, if a position stops offering a flexible schedule, there is no shortage of jobs elsewhere.  You would rather be short-staffed for a few shifts than lose a valuable employee long term.  Remember that the next time an employee is seeking an accommodation.

Tip 5: Train Right the First Time

Training should lead to confidence.  As with learning any new skill, there will be bumps along the way.  Avoid constant correction and keep in mind that employees have different learning styles.  Try to accommodate when you can.  Managers must be aware of who will be working each shift training the employees.  You want to make sure that person is capable of leading the new hire to success.  While there are many reasons an employee may leave the workplace, don’t let a lack of sufficient training be the culprit.

Tip 6: Motivate Your Team

Keep your team around by completing standard reviews and raises.  This is one way to show team members that they are valued.  After all, employees come to work to get paid.  An excellent time to evaluate the employee’s goals with the company is during the review process.  It will also give you a chance to assess if a promotion would be a good step.  You are not promoting every employee to management level.  However, many companies have roles like “team lead” that can show the employees value without moving them immediately to a management position.  These accomplishments can lead to high satisfaction keeping your current team members around.  And the ability to promote within is appealing to potential new hires.

PCH: 3 Tips for Restaurant Employee Retention

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Chef holding a plate of food

Turnover in the restaurant industry is notoriously high, but has recently escalated.  And increasing compensation is no longer enough to retain employees.  Burnout, long and unpredictable hours, lack of benefits are driving top talent out of the industry.  Quick fixes have become the norm; sign-on bonuses, increased wages, etc.  But none are proving effective at bridging the labor gap.  As the restaurant industry continues to shift, it’s time to take an in-depth look into your retention strategy.  How do you measure up in these three categories? Maybe it’s time to rethink your current strategies.

1. Tools & Technology

    Technology is too often connected with desk-based jobs.  More and more digital tools are becoming vital for frontline workers.  Yet, it seems such a small percentage of workers are equipped to effectively utilize the technology.  Mix that with outdated training modules and you have a recipe for high turnover.  Help mitigate burnout and boost operational efficiency by offering tools and technologies that set your restaurant employees up for success.  A digital workspace platform will allow for real-time communication and digital training modules.  It will also provide a place for employees to easily fetch information to complete day-to-day tasks.

    2. Hiring Strategies

      Do you seek external hires when looking to fill positions?  A more cost effective and easier way to hire is internally.  The perfect hire might be right in front of you!  You already know the potential candidate and they already know the business standards.  Avoid starting from scratch and seek the ideal candidate from within.  Businesses with internal mobility have employees that are more likely to remain with the company longer.  Consider offering training to those employees interested.  Career advancement opportunities are enticing to both internal and external hires.

      3. Employee Benefits

        Workers desire flexibility, an engaging work environment, and respect.  If all you are offering as an employer is higher wages, then you are missing the mark.  Flexibility is essential in our post COVID-19 world, but is difficult to offer when restaurant jobs require workers to be on-site.  So you have to be creative in your approach.  Consider using a digital workspace for scheduling so that employees can pick up extra shifts.  This gives workers control over their economic well being.  You can also offer a standardized digital training that can be completed outside of a scheduled training time.  Offering more flexibility for employees will make your company more appealing from the start and will entice long-term employees to stay.

        Training With Your New Hire in Mind

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        training

        It is no surprise that the key to retaining younger employees is quality training.  But what may surprise you is what training is most effective for millennials and Gen-Z.  With the National Restaurant Association’s “State of the Industry Report 2022” revealing that 78 percent of operators report not having a fully-staffed restaurant, it is imperative that your newest hire is one that stays.  Gone are the days of 100-page employee handbooks.  But where do we find the time to complete in-person training?  And with quick turnover and uncertain staffing, how do we avoid inconsistent training? 

        Here are 3 quick tips to help successfully onboard your newest, and youngest employees.

        •  Keep Lessons Short

        In an ideal world, employees would enter training with laser focus, soaking up hours of information without pause.  However, the average adult attention span is approximately 20 minutes.  Keeping this in mind, course duration for any type of training would be most effective if kept shorter in length and specific in topic.  This will help your new hire avoid feeling overwhelmed.  Consider pinpointing current employees to train new hires in specific areas.  This will keep training consistent and will give managers the ability to see areas of training that need improvement.     

        • Blend Digital and In-Person Training

        Many businesses are looking toward learning management systems (LMS) to solve their training woes.  These systems digitize 100 percent of training and claim to eliminate the need for in-person training.  The problem is that digital systems do not do a good job of simulating the realities of frontline work.  In-person, practical training is necessary and should be embraced.  Creating a blended learning method, you can offer engaging on-the-job training while moving necessary, yet simpler skills training to a flexible digital training platform.

        • Offer Translations in Preferred Languages

        Many digital platforms offer users the option to select a  “preferred language”.  Sites such as YouTube have a few simple steps to make the selection.  However, this is not yet the case with digital training videos.  Being able to offer your new hires learning in their preferred language will aid them in their education and absorption of your systems.  If a new hire knows how to perform confidently then they will feel like valued, productive employees.

        3 Ways to Save Your Business Amid the Great Resignation

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        restaurant worker

        Have you found yourself a victim of the latest round of resignations?  It has been an uphill battle for businesses both large and small.  No company seems to be exempt from the “great resignation.”  When you started your company or took a promotion to manager you may have envisioned an environment where you would establish roots, build a career.  But having a revolving door of employees and customers has made it challenging to keep things afloat.  So how can restaurant operators protect their business amid the great resignation?  It starts by pinpointing problem areas. 

        Here are three areas where things often go unchecked.

        1. Repetitive Tasks

        Recent research by Zenput found that, on average, daily operational and safety tasks in restaurants, supermarkets, and convenience stores take anywhere from 11–14 minutes each to complete.  With tasks like cleaning being performed multiple times a day, the time adds up quickly.  Before you know it 7-9 hours a day are consumed with repetitive tasks.  And unfortunately, many operators are less than confident these tasks are being completed correctly, or on time.  Identify the tasks that are repetitive, mundane and take the energy out of your employees.  These tasks that are tedious and manual could possibly be done faster, more efficiently, or even eliminated.  Consider streamlining or automating these tasks.  Your employees will thank you for making their job easier and you will accomplish more with fewer people and less effort.

        1. Productivity Tools

        It is vital to identify error-prone tasks.  These are often tasks completed with pen and paper.  Short-staffed or not, teams still have to maintain operations at the same quality of standards.  Consider providing your team the ability to be as productive as possible.  Consider integrating tools and apps to ease the workflow.   By having your employees use digital tools and apps to complete pen and paper tasks you can reduce the possibility of burnout while keeping operations running smoothly.  And at the same time, you are attracting a new generation of employees, who as digital natives will seamlessly ease into their new role.

        1. Customer Satisfaction

        In an industry that is all about service, customer satisfaction must be factored into the equation.  When talking about doing more with less you need to start by asking: what tasks get set aside when the staff get busy?  It is important to know if tasks get delayed, not performed properly, or ignored completely.  Gain visibility into the operations of your business; get your hands dirty. Or maybe schedule a meeting with your boss; make known the tasks that are inhibiting the effectiveness of your job, and ultimately their business.  The goal is to focus on higher-value work, like interacting with customers. By understanding what services are suffering, you will more frequently meet or even surpass customer satisfaction.  You will be able to keep consistency within the service which will aid your employees and bring customers back through the doors time and time again.

        Job: Resort Sous / Pastry Chef

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        We’re Pacific Coast Hospitality…we recruit the best, most qualified leadership talent for top hospitality organizations across the western U.S. and British Columbia.

        photo of Lake Chelan

        Market 

        Lake Chelan, WA

        Job Description 

        An outstanding opportunity to help lead a regional food program, we are seeking an experienced and talented Resort Sous /Pastry Chef candidate to assist in operating this high volume, fast paced resort program. Family owned and operated since 1901, located on the shores of Lake Chelan, where the east slopes of the Cascade Mountains meet the sun baked Columbia plateau. Offering upscale accommodations, award winning restaurant and the best mid-size conference center in Washington state, this facility’s mission is to provide the best resort experience in the Northwest through genuine hospitality and crisp service.

        Long renowned as a family vacation playground, the Lake Chelan area has recently become Washington state’s most exciting new wine country as well. Over sixteen wineries now dot the Lake Chelan valley and as a leader among Washington state hotels, you’ll be heading the food program in the center of it all.

        Come work for a 5th generation-run company who knows team members are what make them successful, where the team member’s well-being is at the top of the priorities, where your valued as an important member of the family.

        Requirements

        The ideal candidate will have the following:

        • Two years baking experience / four years in a hand’s on, high volume, kitchen environment
        • Ability to create unique locally inspired desserts and pastries
        • Experience in creating or elevating existing pastry program
        • Banquet experience a must – 200 to 300 guests
        • Multiple revenue streams – restaurant, tavern, café and beach bar
        • Experience in a standards-oriented establishment
        • Passion for developing and mentoring a team
        • Proficiency with scheduling, payroll, accounting, progressive discipline, ordering and receiving
        • Experience with developing, implementing, and executing contemporary food standards a must!
        • Strong honesty, integrity and guest-oriented philosophy

        Salary Range & Benefits

        • Starting salary range is $50k to $55k depending upon experience
        • Generous (and obtainable!) Monthly Bonus Program
        • Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, and Disability Insurance
        • 401k Program
        • Annual Performance / Salary Review
        • Outstanding Growth Potential
        • Moving allowance will be provided to cover the out-of-pocket costs associated with relocating to Chelan, WA

        Job Category

        Resort Sous /Pastry Chef

        Job Type 

        Full Time

        If this position seems like you – please click on this link to submit your resume and cover letter. https://www.pacificcoasthospitality.com/careers-in-hospitality/  We will contact you via telephone or email for an initial interview.