With the current economic crisis, some concepts are cutting back on their recruiting efforts. Many managers are hoping to ride it out with their current concept.

“In some ways, this is the best time for a quality restaurant manager to make a change,” says Brian Bruce, an executive restaurant recruiter for Premier Solutions in Oklahoma City. “During uncertain times, restaurants need strong leadership from managers who can produce.”

Recruiting and hiring great managers is a critical component to any restaurant’s success. Unfortunately, high-quality candidates often tend to already have good jobs.

“The most qualified and talented candidates are generally going to be passive candidates,” Bruce says. “They won’t necessarily be looking at other opportunities but will listen should something superior come to their attention.”

Bruce says online job boards should generally be avoided. The ease of these sites increases the risk when a concept decides to hire a candidate who created a profile with one.

“These candidates will still be receiving calls from other restaurants long after you’ve hired them, improving the likelihood that you’ll be back to square one trying to fill the position again should they leave,” Bruce says.

He also says placing ads is typically unproductive, generally not resulting in any viable candidates. Rather, he thinks good recruiters won’t require any financial investment until they reach out to the right candidate and get them working for the company.

“You want to hire the candidate who’s next in line for a promotion,” he says. “And that means contacting them directly.”