While everything from the coldest January in 14 years to trade wars to wildfires have pressured restaurants to start 2025, labor remains a constant in the ever-evolving task of balancing costs in this business. Following March 7’s Employee Appreciation Day, QSR magazine caught up with Gary Beckstrand, VP of the O.C. Tanner Institute, to discuss the state of employee retention, recruitment, and more.
What are the biggest challenges QSR organizations face when it comes to recognizing and retaining frontline employees?
The QSR and hospitality industry faces an ongoing labor shortage and high turnover rates, which make it incredibly difficult to retain workers. In fact, the hospitality industry sees some of the highest turnover year over year than any other industry, frequently reporting rates between 70 and 80 percent. Some of that turnover can be attributed to factors like seasonal demands and career changes, but many other attributing reasons stem from poor company culture and management tactics.
Post-pandemic, many industries faced workplace trends like the Great Resignation or the Great Detachment that threatened the sustainability of organizations as employees left their roles for better opportunities. For hospitality, that meant an even more dire labor shortage. As a way to recapture the workforce, many companies focused on flexibility, allowing their employees to work remotely or in a hybrid environment. Additionally, they focused on providing more learning and development opportunities to help foster a sense of autonomy and empower employees to learn new skills that may strengthen their ability to do their jobs in new and different ways. However, these more traditional retention strategies were not feasible for industries like QSR, where much of their workforce must be in person to fulfill their role responsibilities and aren’t granted the same level of support around learning and development opportunities.
In addition to QSR organizations, 80 percent of the workforce is considered a frontline or “deskless” worker. Because of their job responsibilities, they often lack the same access and enablement as their corporate counterparts. While office workers spend much of their days in front of devices like desktop computers, the same cannot be said for QSR employees. Therefore, traditional recognition strategies (like sending appreciation via Slack or through company-wide emails) or retention strategies (like remote work or learning platforms) cannot be implemented in the same way for this group. As a result, QSR employees feel burned out, undervalued, and underappreciated, making it even more difficult for these organizations to retain employees.
How could QSR leaders effectively recognize employees on Employee Appreciation Day and other such calendar moments going forward?
Employee Appreciation Day is an impactful moment in time to recognize the hard work QSR employees are contributing on a daily basis. Keeping in mind that many of these workers often lack the same access to typical employee communication platforms like Slack and Teams or are not spending as much time on digital devices, there are a number of ways to ensure your organization feels valued and seen on March 7.
QSR organizations can create swag bags with items like branded clothing, backpacks, or custom gifts that symbolize the company’s values. Beyond physical forms of appreciation, organizational leaders should ensure they take the time to individually recognize each employee for their contributions to the organization. Location managers can write personalized notes or cards for each employee that includes details about what that employee did to help the organization, and why it made such a positive impact. Make sure to be specific—our research shows that specificity in recognition helps appreciation resonate more effectively with employees.
Organizations don’t need a huge budget on Employee Appreciation Day to make it meaningful. Another way to recognize QSR employees is to collect positive notes from coworkers and peers leading up to Employee Appreciation Day. Print or write those notes out, and paste them on posters, in the employee break room, and even in the front-of-house. This further amplifies employee achievements and can spark conversations among workers and guests alike so everyone can celebrate their hard work.
Recognition is an incredibly impactful retention tool, and when companies celebrate together, employees are 20x more likely to feel connected and want to stay. It can also help boost key employee experience metrics like great work and fulfillment, and when organizations foster a positive workplace culture, they will also see greater guest satisfaction.
Why is it important for QSR businesses to prioritize employee appreciation beyond Employee Appreciation Day, and what strategies can help foster a culture of continuous recognition year-round?
Employees in the 80 percent often feel overlooked and underappreciated—in fact, only 30 percent of workers in this category say they feel valued at work. Of the small few who receive any recognition at all from their leaders, only 26 percent said that recognition felt meaningful. Furthermore, only 36 percent of these employees report having a positive employee experience, versus over half of their corporate peers reporting the same. It’s very clear there is a systemic culture issue among organizations with frontline employees, and it’s important that QSR organizations take a deeper look at the employee experience—starting with recognition.
In order to be sincere and impactful, QSR organizations cannot take a “one-and-done” approach to employee recognition. According to data from Gallup, recognition must be given every seven days to ensure employees feel the significance of their contributions within their organizations. Educate managers and employees about the importance of both giving and receiving recognition, and ensure that recognition is built into leadership tools, training, and communication.
This includes education around the anatomy of an impactful appreciation statement. Recognition should be specific and tailored to each employee—always let employees know exactly why they are being recognized (big or small) and how their contributions are making the organization a better place. Additionally, all members of the organization should be involved in giving and receiving recognition, as it helps both strengthen connections and ensure appreciation is reaching every corner of the organization. When employees in the 80 percent receive frequent and meaningful recognition, they are 131 percent more likely to report above-average engagement and 149 percent more likely to stay with their organization another year.
When organizations have highly integrated recognition programs, the likelihood of attrition is reduced by 29 percent, making it a valuable endeavor for QSRs, specifically those that continue to battle high turnover and labor shortages.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Frontline workers are incredibly valuable members of society, but this group still feels less than compared to their corporate counterparts—even after the COVID pandemic when they were deemed essential workers. It’s vital that organizations like QSRs are taking a hard look at their workplace cultures and finding ways to help employees feel more connected, seen, heard, and valued. For example, QSR organizations should encourage frequent one to ones with team members. This gives employees the opportunity to share their feedback and gives leaders the chance to act on those concerns and suggestions.
When QSR organizations inject recognition into workplace culture and create opportunities to foster loyalty among their workforce, they will and reap the benefits of a strong employee experience including lower rates of burnout and turnover and higher rates of productivity and a sense of community.
