How QSRs can boost staff retention and win the talent war
Veteran recruiters and industry insiders discuss the obvious but often-overlooked ways to keep staff loyal and engaged.
QSR’s have always been burdened with high staff turnovers and tight competition for replacement hires, but now it has reached troubling peaks with no short-term solution in sight. [Click here].
This makes it more important than ever for managers and business owners to see a workforce exodus as a solvable problem instead of an industry given.
“Companies need to get better at employing and retaining people and making most of their talent while they are there,” said Dominic Cain, Operations Manager at leading kebab and wrap retailer Ali Baba.
Mr. Cain said that communication straight from the top goes a long way in motivating new and old hires. Top management, he suggested, no longer have any excuses not to touch base with employees. It is the digital age, and there are more than enough tools to get the once-physically impossible done.
“With so many people online on Facebook or Twitter, it presents a huge opportunity to engage directly with your workforce. Instead of relying on franchisees or management, franchisors can now communicate directly with the troops on the ground,” said Mr. Cain.
Digital tools now also promise innovative ways to train employees, hear their feedback and recognize their contributions – actions that will endear employers to their staff.
“Online training programs and employee forums are more popular than ever. HR and training has hit the digital age in a big way and will continue to be a major focus for QSR's, particularly with the newer HR systems coming from overseas,” said Mr. Cain.
“The key to HR in this day and age is understanding and appreciating how staff and management engage. The lines are certainly not as clear as they used to be, but companies that actively work on collaboration between management and staff are the ones that will continue to be employers of choice,” he said.
“The best employers value staff, sometimes pay a bit more, advocate good working conditions, and offer flexibility and a supportive environment,” agreed Dr. David Solnet, Senior Lecturer and Director of Industry Partnerships and Engagement, University of Queensland School of Tourism.
“These employers will have lower turnover, higher engagement and better productivity” among their employees, said Dr. Solnet. Despite the critical importance of continually engaging and training staff, Dr. Solnet sadly notes that during budget cuts, “the first thing to go is often HR programs.”
Among QSR’s who continue to spend on HR programs, there is also a need to address one of the most important questions employees are asking themselves: “Why should I stay for the long run?”
Retention plans for employees need to clearly communication an attractive career path together with related job training, said Pia Manwaring, Agency Owner, Frontline Hospitality Brisbane & North QLD, which recruits chefs and cooks for QSR’s.
Failing to do so might dissuade new staff from seeing the industry as a career path, said Ms. Manwaring, which could perpetuate a temporary job mindset and lead to persistently high turnover.
It also doesn’t help that “more and more of the QSR industry is dominated by franchisees which can create a perception of a glass ceiling for employees,” Ms. Manwaring said.
Ground-level staff might be at more risk for flight, but Ms. Manwaring noted that business owners also need keep an eye out for unsatisfied supervisors, given that “the standard salary for assistant managers and managers is low considering most QSR stores trade long hours, including nights and weekends.”
