Overview of restaurant roles
Generally divided between the front of house and back of house, there are many roles tohire for in a restaurant. Understanding which roles you need to fill is crucial for finding the right candidates.
Front of house
Some of the most common front of house roles include:
Back of house
Back of house roles vary depending on the size and type of restaurant, but common positions include:
How to find restaurant employees
Finding the right people to staff your restaurant is important to the success of your business. Here are a few sources to help you create a diverse talent pool for any position.
Job boards
Indeed is a valuable resource for finding broad talent pools with relevant skills and experience that match your restaurant’s needs. When crafting your job posting, you can rank higher in search engine results and help potential candidates find your business by incorporating relevant keywords and phrases.
Consider keywords and phrases for restaurant positions such as:
- Location-specific terms
- Restaurant industry-specific terms
- Your restaurant’s branding or marketing messages
- Common job title abbreviations, skills or duties
- Help wanted signs
Posting a help wanted sign in your restaurant is a simple and cost-effective way to generate interest in your local talent pool. People who see your sign likely live nearby, and some may already have a positive link with your business if they see your sign while dining in your restaurant.
Here are some tips for crafting an impactful help wanted sign:
- Consider phrases such as “now hiring” or “join our team”
- Incorporate branding images and customized designs to show off your restaurant’s unique identity
- Include a QR code that directs to online job descriptions and applications
Social media
Social media can be as effective for attracting candidates as it is for attracting customers. Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms are cost-effective ways to advertise open job positions and highlight the perks of working at your restaurant. You can also take advantage of social media messaging tools to communicate with potential applicants and leverage paid advertising to reach more people.
Website career page
Most people rely on your online presence to get more information, which is why a career page on your website is crucial for attracting talent. In addition to listing current openings, your career page should emphasize your company branding and include details such as company benefits and perks, employee testimonials and your company values and mission.
Campus recruiting
Entry-level restaurant roles are typically popular with teenagers and young adults, and some high schools even host job fairs where you can connect with potential candidates. In some cases, schools may offer culinary courses that prepare students for restaurant jobs as well as work study programs that subsidize wages. Likewise, vocational and culinary schools frequently facilitate work study training for students or help with post-graduation job training and placement.
Employee referrals
Employee referral programs provide current employees with bonuses and rewards for referring successful candidates, and they can help connect you to well-aligned and quality hires with less recruiting effort. You can offer employees incentives such as financial bonuses, fun prizes and extra time off.
How to attract employees
In the years following the outbreak of the pandemic, record-breaking resignation rates have created a highly competitive job market. To find quality hires, you’ll need to stand out from other businesses as a great place to work with competitive compensation and strong company values.
Craft a compelling job description
Acompelling job description provides a clear overview of responsibilities, qualifications and expectations. Transparency around details such as compensation, schedules and work environment as well as descriptions of your company culture and values can encourage well-aligned candidates to apply. Ensure your job descriptions use welcoming language to attract a wide range of talent.
Offer competitive compensation
High turnover rates in the restaurant industry are often associated with low compensation, but a competitive compensation and benefits plan can encourage employee loyalty and help attract top talent. How you compensate your employees will depend largely on your unique business demands, but you can start by researching average pay according to your area and restaurant type.
Aside from wages and salary, you can offer benefits and perks such as:
- Health insurance
- Mental health and wellness programs
- Performance-based bonuses
- Paid vacation and leave
- Professional development and training
- Free meals
- Childcare
Emphasize company values with branding
The median age of restaurant industry workers is 28.7, and the industry’s workforce will continue to shift to millennial and Gen Z workers who prioritize company culture in their job search more than previous generations. To generate inbound job interest from these generations, emphasize your diverse, inclusive and positive company culture with branding strategies such as:
- Incorporating company values into your restaurant’s social media and online presence
- Featuring photos and videos of employees and work environments that represent your culture
- Embodying your company culture in branding materials and customer experiences
How tohire restaurant workers
Your employees are one of your business’s biggest assets, and an effective screening and interviewing process is crucial for finding the right hires.
Screening
Before scheduling interviews, consier compiling a selection of shortlisted applicants to screen. Review their work and education background, look for transferable skills and verify any required skills or knowledge. You can also send shortlisted applicants a brief email with questions related to the role to quickly narrow your candidate list.
Following prescreening, set up a screening phone or virtual interview to go over basic information and elaborate on important aspects of the role, such as compensation expectations and work environments.
In-person interviews
Once candidates pass the screening stage, you can set up in-person interviews. In addition to showing them around your business and introducing them to important team members, you can ask candidates about skills and experience specific to the role and get to know them on a deeper level. You can also try different interview formats, such as:
- One-on-one interviews
- Panel interviews
- Group interviews
Working interviews
A working interview is a type of trial shift where you can gauge candidates’ performance. Although not typically necessary for dishwashers or bussers, working interviews allow you to assess customer service skills in servers and hosts as well as technical skills in back of house staff. It’s also a great opportunity for candidates to assess whether the role is the right fit for them before you invest time and resources into onboarding and training them.
Retaining restaurant hires
With annual turnover in the food service industry reaching up to 76.3% in 2021 due to issues such as work environments, seasonality, low wages and stress, retaining restaurant staff can be a major challenge. To improve retention at your business, consider the following strategies:
- Training and development: Encourage employees to see restaurant jobs as long-term careers with training, development and growth opportunities.
- Benefits and perks: Comprehensive benefits and perks can help reduce stress and make employees feel valued.
- Schedule flexibility: Flexible schedules can improve work-life balance and improve employee morale.
Recognition: Restaurant patrons may not always show appreciation for your staff’s efforts, which is why it’s important to show your employees frequent respect and recognize their contributions.
