Sponsored by Alto-Shaam.
With labor turnover at its highest since the recession, the cost of training new employees is a factor quick-service restaurant managers have to consider when it comes to keeping expenses down.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover report, 2018 was the fourth year in a row that turnover in the hospitality sector topped 70 percent. That year, the overall turnover rate for the restaurants and accommodations sector was 74.9 percent, up from 72.5 percent in 2017. It was the highest rate since the end of the Great Recession, when it fell to a low of 57.1 percent in 2010.
Turnover is a huge expense for any restaurant, because it means taking valuable time away from work to train new employees. But with advanced foodservice equipment, managers can reduce training time while increasing quality, consistency, and efficiency.
Alto-Shaam’s Vector H Series Multi-Cook ovens provide managers a cooking system that not only guides employees through the cooking process for various dishes, but also ensures that the finished product is cooked exactly the same way every time.
According to Jeff McMahon, senior director of product management at Alto-Shaam, the advanced control is designed intentionally simple.
“Because the turnover rate is very high, getting employees in there and getting them up to speed quickly is critical to a restaurants’ success,” he says. “It only takes a matter of minutes to learn how to cook and create recipes using the Vector oven.”
The control features multi-step, programmable recipes to ensure menu consistency in between shift changes. “If the dish needs something added to it—a slice of cheese, for example—an icon will pop up and say, ‘add cheese,’” McMahon says.
With up to four oven chambers in one, kitchen staff can cook multiple food items simultaneously without any flavor transfer. According to McMahon, you can cook eggs in one compartment, chicken in another, and fish in a third. Each oven chamber has independent temperature, fan speed, and cook time control.
“Vector ovens eliminate the need to babysit the cooking process,” says Bob Dellert, Alto-Shaam vice president of national accounts, foodservice. “What’s so exciting about the Vector oven is that it uses Structured Air Technology, which eliminates cold spots and uneven cooking. So, you don’t need to have an employee sitting there watching the food and rotating pans like you would with a convection oven. That frees up labor for other valuable tasks.”
Providing unmatched volume and menu variety, the compact and ventless Vector H Series countertop models are ideal for QSRs with limited space.
To learn more, please visit the Alto-Shaam website.
By Liz Carey
