For most, the last few months of the year are filled with travel, family time, celebrations, and food. But for restaurant owners and managers, the busy holiday season can bring added stress.
In recent years, QSR brands everywhere have faced staffing shortages and high turnover. Many are still finding it more challenging than ever to fill their open roles. If your QSR needs some extra help during this busy time of year, it’s important to have a plan for recruiting the right people for your team.
Attract more applicants with better job descriptions.
Since job seekers have more options these days, it’s not enough to simply rely on people wanting to make some extra money for the holidays. Instead, you need to take steps to stand out from the sea of other open jobs and make more applicants choose yours.
One way to differentiate yourself is to include compensation in your job postings. Job hunting is time-consuming, and the certainty of knowing what they’re applying for (and what they will receive if they get it) is often enough to prompt candidates to click “Apply.”
You should also highlight benefits and perks in your job posting, such as flexible scheduling, time-and-a-half holiday pay, employee rewards or scholarship programs, and anything that adds to your work culture (holiday parties, outings, birthday celebrations, and so on). Be sure to format your job posting so that it’s easy to read and include enough relevant information about your company and the role.
Reduce your time-to-hire.
On average, QSR employers hire faster than many other industries, usually due to the urgency to fill staffing gaps. This emphasizes the need to complete your hiring process efficiently if you want to compete with other restaurants for the best talent.
Try to communicate with candidates immediately after they apply, whether you do so manually or through your brand’s hiring software. These days, texting is one of the best and fastest ways to reach top talent. You should also get back to candidates who may not be a good fit. Whether moving forward with or disqualifying applicants, using tools to automate responses can save you a lot of time.
Diversify your applicant sources.
While job boards can be a great way to get job applicants, don’t underestimate your website. While bringing in only 15 percent of applicants, company Careers pages account for the majority of hires at 36 percent. Compare that to the major job boards, which bring in the vast majority of applicants (69 percent), but just 26 percent of total hires. Custom sources and referrals also bring in fewer applicants, but they convert to hires at much higher rates.
The restaurant and food service industry also has a lot of overlap between customers and potential employees. Be sure to advertise open jobs at your locations, and ask customers and employees to help you spread the word.
Consider recruiting former employees.
Another recruiting strategy that can help reduce hiring time is “boomerang” hiring, or rehiring former employees. Boomerang employees are hired and onboarded faster, and they result in fewer surprises.
Remember that seasonal roles can also be a great employment option for college students who may have previously left your company due to scheduling conflicts with classes. Reach out to them and see if their current class schedule will work with your staffing needs, or if they’d be interested in working during their winter breaks.
Ask pre-screen questions that determine applicant availability.
One common mistake restaurant owners make is waiting until the interview to ask for a candidate’s availability.
Instead, have applicants submit their availability as a pre-qualifying question on your job postings. This can help save you precious time, while ensuring you’re getting the right people for your seasonal staffing needs.
Seek out experienced candidates.
If the candidate has food service experience, it helps them get up-to-speed faster, so you don’t have to spend as much time training them on the basics.
For example, while point-of-sale (POS) software might differ from one restaurant to another, chances are the same basic skills will transfer over to whichever software you use.
Other questions that can signal existing experience:
- Do they know your brand well?
- Are they familiar with your menu?
- Do they have experience working with customers?
Furthermore, since you may not be able to devote as much time to training seasonal employees, experienced professionals can naturally lead by example for any newbies.
Try creative interview methods to save time.
When you need to evaluate a large applicant pool quickly, you may need to get creative with your interview formats. Group interviews can be an effective way to save time. These can include a discussion portion where you ask the group questions that candidates answer individually or group exercises so you can evaluate their ability to work on a team.
Many restaurant employers still rely on working interviews, where they are given common tasks for the job they’re applying for, as an efficient way to determine a candidate’s skills and ability to follow instructions.
Standardize your onboarding process before you make offers.
Having a standardized onboarding process in place before you make job offers will allow your new seasonal employees to hit the ground running immediately.
Remember that you may not be able to simply throw last year’s onboarding and training materials at your new seasonal workers. You may need to provide updated materials and safety guidance. Take the time upfront to structure your onboarding process so it can run like a well-oiled machine the moment your new team members walk through the door, and you’ll thank yourself later.
Hire like you’re hiring permanent employees.
Even when you feel the pressure to make hires quickly, don’t fall into the trap of cutting corners because “it will just be temporary.”
Hire like you are going to keep them. If you find exceptional people in a seasonal role, do whatever you can to offer them a permanent role. You should always be looking for the right people who can help your business grow.
At the end of the day, the people you hire are going to represent your brand, even if only for a season.
Since entering the restaurant space in 2019, Lizzy Young, CFE has held key roles in marketing, PR, and business development for franchises, independent restaurant operators, and restaurant industry suppliers. A Certified Franchise Executive, Certified Franchise Marketer, Top Franchising Voice on LinkedIn, and Co-Chair of the Women’s Franchise Network of Chicago, she actively engages in networking, learning, and supporting the franchise and multi-location restaurant community. As the Senior Marketing Manager of Partner Acquisition at CareerPlug, Lizzy partners with restaurant brands to help their owners and managers hire and retain top talent.
