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Pacific Coast Hospitality

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3 Reasons to Adopt Workforce Technology

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Staffing shortages are placing a tremendous burden on managers and employees.  And are impacting the customer experience.  Many restaurant employees are tossing in the towel because they are overworked and under supported.  Recruiting and retaining workers continues to be a struggle.  To overcome these challenges, restaurant owners and managers must adopt a centralized, user-friendly workforce technology.  Implementing technology driven employee experiences offer benefits like employee retention and improved customer service. 

Here are our top 3 reasons to invest in workforce technology.

  1. Close Gaps in Employee Experience

Prioritizing the Employee Experience has never been more important.  As staffing shortages continue to rise nationwide, retention of frontline workers is crucial.  Adopting a technology-driven, user-friendly employee experience can provide the support and empowerment your workers are seeking.  Consider using or upgrading your internal technology to fill operational gaps.  Take time to examine how technology could aid communication, employee training, and upward mobility.  Start with something as simple as posting menu information and announcements.  Using internal technology here allows employees to stay up to date without checking a bulletin board as they fly in or out the door.  Employees can check the announcements as they commute to work or learn about new items before their next shift.  This will equip your employees to do their job and remain present when helping customers.  

  1. Streamline Operations

Manual reporting is tedious, time consuming and out of date.  Not to mention prone to errors.  When you are short-staffed, having areas that are digitized and automated can increase employee productivity and can take the burden off you and your managerial staff.  HR tasks such as scheduling and finding people to fill last-minute shifts can be fulfilled by an automated system leaving you time to support employees and tend to customer needs.  Investing in an all-in-one virtual workspace not only increases efficiency, but creates a transparent work culture, houses online training modules, and offers essential task management.  The goal of operational efficiencies is to make frontline worker’s jobs easier.  Having access to a strong workforce technology allows your employees to do more with less.

  1. Improve Customer Experience

When the employee experience suffers, the customer experience suffers as well.  Customer loyalty is a huge factor in long-term growth of your business.  It all centers around training and support of your employees.  Stressed employees are slower to complete tasks, and quicker to ignore customers.  Whereas, supported staff tend to be efficient at tasks and offer quality customer service.  When you have negative customer experiences, you receive bad reviews which jeopardizes your long-term success.  Investing in technology that can better train and support your staff trickles down and improves the customer experience. 

Restaurants Have Felt the Pressure

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With Labor Day come and gone, restaurant operators continue to wrestle with a tight market for employees, especially for back-of-house positions, a recent survey indicates.
More than two-thirds, or about 67 percent, of operators cited increased competition for workers as a key driver in rising costs in a recent survey.
The U.S. unemployment rate slipped to 3.9 percent in July and has hovered between 3.8 percent and 4.1 percent during the first seven months of the year.
Restaurants have felt the pressure.
Respondents of the survey, which represented all major restaurant segments, ranged in size from one unit to more than 500, and had employee bases ranging from fewer than 100 workers to more than 15,000.
Key findings of the survey included:
Turnover rates: Nearly half of the surveyed operators, or 46 percent, said turnover increased either “significantly” or “somewhat” over the past year. Nearly the same amount, 43 percent, said their turnover rates remained the same. Only 10 percent said turnover decreased somewhat or significantly.
Recruitment and retention challenges: Back-of-the-house workers were especially difficult to find, surveyed operators said, with 59 percent of respondents saying kitchen staff was the primary recruitment and retention challenge. Front-of-the-house roles were a distant second, with 28 percent of operators citing filling those as a difficulty.
Kitchen hiring challenges: Respondents reported the most difficulty finding line cook candidates (72 percent), followed by prep cooks (36 percent) and dishwashers (33 percent).
Dining room hiring challenges: In the front-of-the-house, servers proved most challenging to find, with 54 percent of respondents citing that position, followed by unit managers at 37 percent. “Respondents also commented on other jobs not on the list,” the survey noted. “These write-in jobs included bartender, cashier and, presumably because of the delivery phenomenon, phone operators that handle carryout and delivery orders.”
Worker motivation: “The vast majority of respondents, or 70 percent, said wages provide the most influential factor in motivating employees,” the survey found. “What does not motivate employees is the ability to get ahead in the company.” Only 11 percent of surveyed operators cited the potential for advancement as a motivational factor.
Promotions: Asked what percentage of their workers are promoted to larger roles within the company, nearly half, or 46 percent, said they promote up to a quarter of their current employees. Only 32 percent said they promote 26 percent to 50 percent of their employees, and 22 percent said they promote more than half their employees.
Time for training and onboarding: Half of the respondents said they spend more than 16 hours in training and onboarding of new employees, with another 30 percent investing eight to 16 hours.
Written harassment policies: Ninety percent of respondents reported their operations have a written policy on workplace harassment, and an additional 6 percent said they would soon have a policy.
Tipping: Two-thirds, or 66 percent, of surveyed operators, said they would not consider a no-tipping or service-included model.

Restaurants Have Felt the Pressure

by

With Labor Day come and gone, restaurant operators continue to wrestle with a tight market for employees, especially for back-of-house positions, a recent survey indicates.
More than two-thirds, or about 67 percent, of operators cited increased competition for workers as a key driver in rising costs in a recent survey.
The U.S. unemployment rate slipped to 3.9 percent in July and has hovered between 3.8 percent and 4.1 percent during the first seven months of the year.
Restaurants have felt the pressure.
Respondents of the survey, which represented all major restaurant segments, ranged in size from one unit to more than 500, and had employee bases ranging from fewer than 100 workers to more than 15,000.
Key findings of the survey included:
Turnover rates: Nearly half of the surveyed operators, or 46 percent, said turnover increased either “significantly” or “somewhat” over the past year. Nearly the same amount, 43 percent, said their turnover rates remained the same. Only 10 percent said turnover decreased somewhat or significantly.
Recruitment and retention challenges: Back-of-the-house workers were especially difficult to find, surveyed operators said, with 59 percent of respondents saying kitchen staff was the primary recruitment and retention challenge. Front-of-the-house roles were a distant second, with 28 percent of operators citing filling those as a difficulty.
Kitchen hiring challenges: Respondents reported the most difficulty finding line cook candidates (72 percent), followed by prep cooks (36 percent) and dishwashers (33 percent).
Dining room hiring challenges: In the front-of-the-house, servers proved most challenging to find, with 54 percent of respondents citing that position, followed by unit managers at 37 percent. “Respondents also commented on other jobs not on the list,” the survey noted. “These write-in jobs included bartender, cashier and, presumably because of the delivery phenomenon, phone operators that handle carryout and delivery orders.”
Worker motivation: “The vast majority of respondents, or 70 percent, said wages provide the most influential factor in motivating employees,” the survey found. “What does not motivate employees is the ability to get ahead in the company.” Only 11 percent of surveyed operators cited the potential for advancement as a motivational factor.
Promotions: Asked what percentage of their workers are promoted to larger roles within the company, nearly half, or 46 percent, said they promote up to a quarter of their current employees. Only 32 percent said they promote 26 percent to 50 percent of their employees, and 22 percent said they promote more than half their employees.
Time for training and onboarding: Half of the respondents said they spend more than 16 hours in training and onboarding of new employees, with another 30 percent investing eight to 16 hours.
Written harassment policies: Ninety percent of respondents reported their operations have a written policy on workplace harassment, and an additional 6 percent said they would soon have a policy.
Tipping: Two-thirds, or 66 percent, of surveyed operators, said they would not consider a no-tipping or service-included model.

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.

San Francisco – The Home of a Little Bit of Everything

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Why do people love San Francisco? It starts with the sights and ends with the vast array of communities to explore, dine and experience one of a kind events at.
It’s the home to a little bit of everything. Whether an afternoon on the bay or taking the trolley through the hills, this city always surprises.
San Francisco is made up of 49 square miles of long boulevards, curvy streets, hidden alleyways and lots of hills.  You’ll find zipping around the city without a car is not only easy and affordable, it’s actually more convenient 99% of the time… or at least that’s what the locals claim.
San Francisco’s restaurant scene is always hot, and 2017 is no exception. It can be a lot for even locals to keep track of.  From hearty comfort food to Michelin-starred fine dining, there are restaurants for every palate.  You just have to find your favorites!
And just because the sun doesn’t always shine on the Golden Gate Bridge, there’s plenty to keep entertained with an umbrella in hand.  Whether it’s City Hall, The Railway Museum or shopping at the Ferry Building, you won’t be left to wait for the sun to have a little fun.
Beyond the amusement of the city itself, the economy of San Fan is booming just along with its’ peoples love for the town.
Find your opportunity to live in the city that has a little bit of everything by searching our latest job openings throughout San Francisco.