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Pacific Coast Hospitality

hospitality

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.

#1 Tip to Encourage Innovation in Your Restaurant

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Chef holding a plate of food

Chef Christ Kimura from Lee Kum Kee (Hong Kong-based company specializing in Chinese and Asian sauces) says, “. . . innovation is one part creative, one part operational,”  To sustain your restaurant, the dishes have to have interest or connect with the customers, AND it has to be executed consistently.  The solution?  Rethink pantry staples.  Finding simple ways where one ingredient can be added to create a signature sauce or dish solves many challenges.  First, it reduces the ingredients a chef needs to order.  In addition it simplifies prep and streamlines the cooking process.  Implementing this simple solution goes along with the already shrinking menus and the financial need to purchase fewer ingredients.

Food costs are continuing to rise.  Whether it be supply chain challenges or inflation, everyone is feeling the effects.  As an individual, this affects your wallet and as a restaurant, you feel those effects with less foot traffic.  People are having to stretch their budgets, and often that means decreasing restaurant visits each month.  Mix this with the continual struggle to find hourly staff and the weight to keep the doors open is almost unbearable.  

Today’s chefs are constantly interrupted and their time is split in the kitchen and other day-to-day tasks.  Focusing on both innovation and execution is a challenge. However, a huge part of being a chef is creativity.  Being able to play in the kitchen and create new recipes is a vital part of the job.  And equally important, it keeps patrons returning.  So, how is a chef to innovate new recipes that attract customers while protecting the bottom line?

Take a look at your menu and find areas where you are using ingredients for only one dish.  Remove or tweak those recipes so that the ingredients are used all over the menu.  The fun part?  If done well, your patrons will never know that the star of your appetizer is also used in your signature dressing.

Maybe innovation is just one ingredient away?!

Losers and Winners: High Minimum Wages

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From minimum wage to salaries, compensation for employees is a never-ending topic for business owners to research, discuss and work through. With a rise in the conversation of wages in recent years, including law changes to minimum wage rates, there’s a lot of confusion left for sorting through when it comes to cutting a paycheck.

Let’s set the groundwork for why the minimum wage battle has both business owners and employees uptight.

As a whole, the goal of any minimum wage increases can be seen as both good and bad. When you stop and consider the goal, minimum wage increases are set to help reduce income inequality and to increase the earning of middle-class households.

On the flip side, if your goal for an increase in wages is to help the least experienced and most needy job seekers find their place in the workforce, then the minimum wage increase can truly hurt them and your business.

Recall the 2014 analysis of the effects of increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour from $7.25, where it has been since 2009. It was found that the boost would increase the earnings of millions of workers by a total of $31 billion. It also found that the increase would reduce employment by hundreds of thousands of jobs, and that less than one dollar in every five of that $31 billion would go to households living in poverty.

So, what is the lesser of two evils? Higher pay for employees, or less employees in the workforce?

Following the federal wage increases, individual cities and states have stepped up to raise those minimum standards even greater. Take Seattle for example, the Seattle city council voted in June 2014 to increase the city’s minimum wage to $15 per hour over a period of a few years. Seattle’s minimum wage hit $13 last year (on its way to $15), and the consequences aren’t pretty.

A team of researchers at the University of Washington found that the number of low-wage jobs in Seattle declined considerably as a consequence of the $13 per hour mandate. They also found that the number of hours worked by low-wage labor declined by 9 percent, while wages increased by only 3 percent. Since hours went down more than wages went up, the net result is that the amount of money earned by low-wage workers actually fell.

So, what’s the workforce and business owners supposed to do about the good, the bad and the honest stats from minimum wage increases?

We’d propose one thing: there may not be a perfect blanket solution for all employees in every industry and in every city across the United States. Perhaps it’s more of a city by city or industry by industry standard which should be set.

We want to hear your feedback. What ways has the change of wage requirements affected your business or career search? Are you running an establishment on less employees but paying more?

When Is It Time to Promote?

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When is it time to promote an employee? That question could cost you a lot… a lot of time, money and energy. The reality is, not every employee wants to be promoted, even if you can see their leadership skills developing. Plus, for the ones that want to move on up, there’s no sure path to working with hourly employees to develop their leadership skills and get them to the place you’d feel comfortable offering up a promotion.

Staffing is one of the biggest challenges a business owner overcomes. There’s a lot of juggling between interviewing, training and maintaining employees. The stats are in favor of promoting current employees when hiring managers with exceptional characteristics and work ethic.

The less time as a business owner you may have to spend seeking out new management, the more time you’ve got to begin hiring and training hourly employees to grow with your business.

So, what does it take for an hourly employee to look and act ready for a promotion into management?

They’re self-managed.

There’s a lot to say about an employee who arrives on time, takes care of business and is always solving problems for themselves in a professional manor. From the get go, it’s usually easy to see what standout individuals are a part of your team.

They lead in a way they’d want to be led.

Among the restaurant industry, there can be a lot of personalities which sometimes result in some unpleasant moments in the back of house. An employee ready to manage carries themselves in the way they’d want their own manager to handle conflict and works to keep themselves clear of causing personal conflict. Whether it’s getting along with every employee or you use her or him as an example of patience, performance and productivity – employees working towards promotion lead by example.

They invest their time with quality employees greater than themselves to learn.

It’s been said that you are the cumulative sum of the five people you spend the most time with. Outstanding team members tend to hang with people who they can learn from and look up to.

They set goals and achieve them.

Leaders set goals and develop a roadmap to accomplish them. And when they need help to accomplish their goals? They ask! Look at your timecards… who is putting in the hours during the busy days and during the times it is somewhat inconvenient to work, whether that be holidays or evening. The best future manager you can hire is the one who puts in the time today.

Working to identify and continue developing leaders within your staff who can grow with you and become a manager is one of the most stressful yet rewarding roles of owning a restaurant.

What’s been the top way you’ve been able to identify todays leaders that will be tomorrows managers?

Where The Local Flavor Is… That's Where The People Are!

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The rise of local establishments giving guests a farm to fork experience has been increasing in the last few years all throughout the restaurant scene. So much so, that we consistently make it a priority to work with some of the best and most unique local and independent restaurants.
What’s the hype about independent restaurants and where is it coming from?

Millennials love local flavor

The more organic, fresh and just picked from out back the menu can get, the more young people are going to like it. As a rising trend in the restaurant industry, the local sourcing and flavors is something chain restaurants just can’t offer.

Television Shows Featuring Hidden Gems

Some of the hottest television shows today are centered around trial and error at a variety of local restaurants. Take “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” on the Food Network for example, it’s become a badge of honor to be featured as the latest funky, fresh and local restaurant for all to try. There are countless other shows on the Food Network, Cooking Channel and other channels highlighting interesting local restaurants. Much like how HGTV has impacted the way we all shop and buy houses, the Food Network has impacted the way diners pick restaurants.

Do you deliver?

Consumers clearly want food to be delivered directly to them and the trend is being aided by apps which offer anything at any time to anywhere. It’s the biggest single trend in the industry, and many in the business are studying the rising trend. But when it comes to local establishments, diners have demonstrated a willingness to pay higher prices for local cuisine and fork over an extra buck or two for delivery.

Social Media

Have you left a review? Local establishments spread like wildfire by the reviews diners are leaving. Reviews on Google and Yelp remove the risk factor associated with picking an unknown local restaurant. Social media spreads the word about these restaurants more efficiently.
None of this is to say that chains can’t gain a rise in popularity. They can, but general trends show that independent establishments are the newest hotspots.
Pacific Coast Hospitality has partnered with great locally owned and operated independent restaurants and food outlets and will continue for the long haul. We pride ourselves on seeking leadership that meets the demands of the unique industry and enjoy the creative career opportunities each position offers.

Where The Local Flavor Is… That’s Where The People Are!

by

The rise of local establishments giving guests a farm to fork experience has been increasing in the last few years all throughout the restaurant scene. So much so, that we consistently make it a priority to work with some of the best and most unique local and independent restaurants.

What’s the hype about independent restaurants and where is it coming from?

Millennials love local flavor

The more organic, fresh and just picked from out back the menu can get, the more young people are going to like it. As a rising trend in the restaurant industry, the local sourcing and flavors is something chain restaurants just can’t offer.

Television Shows Featuring Hidden Gems

Some of the hottest television shows today are centered around trial and error at a variety of local restaurants. Take “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” on the Food Network for example, it’s become a badge of honor to be featured as the latest funky, fresh and local restaurant for all to try. There are countless other shows on the Food Network, Cooking Channel and other channels highlighting interesting local restaurants. Much like how HGTV has impacted the way we all shop and buy houses, the Food Network has impacted the way diners pick restaurants.

Do you deliver?

Consumers clearly want food to be delivered directly to them and the trend is being aided by apps which offer anything at any time to anywhere. It’s the biggest single trend in the industry, and many in the business are studying the rising trend. But when it comes to local establishments, diners have demonstrated a willingness to pay higher prices for local cuisine and fork over an extra buck or two for delivery.

Social Media

Have you left a review? Local establishments spread like wildfire by the reviews diners are leaving. Reviews on Google and Yelp remove the risk factor associated with picking an unknown local restaurant. Social media spreads the word about these restaurants more efficiently.

None of this is to say that chains can’t gain a rise in popularity. They can, but general trends show that independent establishments are the newest hotspots.

Pacific Coast Hospitality has partnered with great locally owned and operated independent restaurants and food outlets and will continue for the long haul. We pride ourselves on seeking leadership that meets the demands of the unique industry and enjoy the creative career opportunities each position offers.

Consumers On the Move… Quick Service Restaurants On the Rise

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Swing by the taco shop or made to order sandwich place down the street to rush in and grab a quick bite to eat… it’s the common routine for many at breakfast, lunch and dinner. But it’s more than a quick place to grab some grub.
Fact is, fast casual dining establishments are currently the fastest growing foodservice segment globally. According to new research, consumer foodservice sales grew 5.7 percent globally in 2015, and within that growth, QSRs grew 10.4 percent, being the highest rising segment in the industry as a whole (Euromonitor).

PCH is working with a variety of QSR and fast casual brands which require superior candidates to rise with the demands of the industry and thrive in a unique environment. More than just a job placement, often these QSR and fast casual concept dining brands go far beyond the walls of their company are very involved in their local communities and place great emphasis on their teams social responsibility to the surrounding areas.

These openings are for the placement of candidates who don’t fit the mold of traditional or cookie-cutter idealistic and routines. We’re placing candidates who are unique in their passion for hospitality and personal development. musical Eclectic, artistic, diverse… come one, come all, if you are a breakout from the mold of standard we have a career fit for you with our latest openings.

It takes a special kind of manager to be able to keep up with the rising demands of consumers at each and every quick service restaurant. The ideal candidates for quick service restaurants must possess a track record and passion for delivering outstanding guest experiences, mentoring and developing others and thrive in an environment of rapid expansion and personal development. Our leaders which we place with pride at every restaurant position must maintain high standards of restaurant cleanliness, sanitation, food quality, and facility management.

Do you have the skills, determination and commitment it takes to take a QSR to the next level and meet consumer demands?

Some of the leading fast food brands have taken initiatives which aim at adopting the traits of some of the successful fast casual upstarts, to defend their market share. From upgrading menu items to creating on-the-go options consumers are not far from the newest and easiest places. Along with exceptional menu items, it’s all about the atmosphere of the QSR, the more trendy the space the better.

Pacific Coast Hospitality is looking for candidates who are ready to take on the QSR industry. Candidates who want to engage in initiatives to adopt the trends of fast casual upstarts and candidates who are ready to emerge in a QSR at the core.

PCH represents a unique sector of the QSR industry with job openings in privately owned and regionally operated establishments. Many are grounded and pride themselves in serving locally sourced ingredients and fresh, made from scratch menu items. Most of these QSR establishments have been recognized on industry lists like Top 100 Brands, Top Growing Brands, Hottest New Concepts, and similar. All are emerging and growing, placing their stake in the QSR industry as a whole.

Are you ready to rise with the fastest growing foodservice segment globally? The opportunities are at your fingertips.

3 Ways You're Making the Job Search Harder Than It Has to Be

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Anyone who has ever been on the search for a new job knows just how stressful the process can be. From analyzing every word on your resume to worrying over the time it takes to hear back after sending in an application, there is stress around every corner. Why would anyone intentionally make it harder than it has to be? The truth is that many of us do! Here are 3 ways that you’re making your job search more difficult than it needs to be.
You aren’t updating your resume for each application. Sure, the basic facts will always remain the same. Your last employer will always been your last employer and that alma mater is never changing, but there are some key things that should. You should determine with skills and experiences from past jobs to highlight based on the job description of the position you’re applying for. Maybe they’re looking for a kitchen manager with leadership experience? Be sure to highlight that specifically on the resume you submit for that opening.
You’re underestimating yourself. This one is what holds most people back. You see a long list of qualifications and duties on a job listing & immediately assume it isn’t for you without an extra second of thought. It’s important to take a step back and really look at your skills and experiences. Most of the time you’re more qualified than you think! If you meet most of the desired skills listed on a job posting, highlight them on your resume and go ahead and apply. Very rarely does anyone check every single box on the job description, so you’re only hurting yourself by holding back.
You don’t utilize professional staffing companies. Why wouldn’t you want the help of people who specialize in hiring and placing talent within your specific industry? Professional staffing companies work with both companies looking to hire and individuals searching for a job to find the best match for everyone involved. Many companies, like us here at Pacific Coast Hospitality, also offer additional services to help candidates put their best foot forward in the job hunt. Take a look at our candidate services here.