Approximately two years ago, I was eating dinner at a local restaurant that I frequent. The owner often comes out into the dining room and converses with guests. That night, when he stopped at my family’s table, he began telling us how difficult it was becoming to find reliable workers. In my community, this was one of the higher end restaurants. They had a full liquor license, the entrées were priced higher than many other restaurants in the area, and the owner had just expanded into the adjoining building, almost doubling the size of the establishment. All of these factors led to higher totals for guests, which should in turn lead to larger tips. I was perplexed as to why this proprietor did not have a list of eligible servers waiting for openings in his establishment. At the time, I figured this was a one-off situation. It was possible that perspective employees had heard that the work environment would not be pleasing to them or they simply were not interested in working in this specific restaurant. As time progressed, I began to see this problem in other locations.
Throughout my research, I discovered some startling information about our society; less people are working. It was no secret that many members of the baby boom generation would begin retiring in the early 2000s and those numbers would continue to rise as time progressed. We are at a point now at which the demand for labor in certain industries is simply higher than the supply. We literally do not have enough people working to fill certain jobs.
I Interviewed five different restaurants in my hometown of Vincennes, Indiana, in an attempt to discover how they are going about business with a reduced workforce. The first business that was interviewed was Quickies Sandwich Bar. From the start, Quickies has reported difficulty in hiring and retaining a steady workforce and has been adapting since day one. Opening during the Covid-19 pandemic has made it even more difficult for them to hire new employees. When asked about turnover in the business the manager replied that she was unsure of the official turnover rate, but it “is not good.” She continued to explain there would be a group of people hired and they would stay working for several months and then a large group would turn over all at once, she estimated that one out of three that were hired at a given time would remain with the business. In an attempt to retain more employees, the hourly wage for new employees had been increased by two dollars and specific employees had been hired to fill in for regular employees who had to miss a shift. Even with these changes, retention has not improved. The same is true for a second business in Vincennes. Montana Mike’s Steakhouse would like to hire an additional 10 employees to wait tables, but currently face a turnover rate or 115% annually. The owner is desperate to hire any additional help, and even said that he will hire anyone who can spell “cat.” He can not remember a time when employment was such an issue in his 40 years in the restaurant industry.
Two Vincennes restaurants have found a way to cope with the labor problem. Procopio’s Pizza and Pasta is one of the larger restaurants located in downtown Vincennes. The restaurant is known for offering some of the best dishes available in town, offers a full bar, and provides a dining experience at the top range of what Vincennes has to offer. I interviewed Procopio Palazzolo, who is the owner as well as the head chef of the restaurant. Before beginning my questions, he stated that while there was a problem with hiring new employees two to three years ago, the problem has grown astronomically. He was very concerned as to where people have went and why they have left the restaurant industry. When asked about his front of house turnover, he said that he was very lucky to have a low turnover of his front of house employees. He considered himself blessed to have a number of employees that have been with him for years that are very experienced. He has added a small number of new people over the years and most of his employees stay for quite a while. He said that he has many employees that are working towards college degrees, and he understands that he is a steppingstone in their process. Pea-fections was established by in 1996 in downtown Vincennes. The business is owned by Becky Pea-Stenger and her husband, Bill Stenger. Pea-fections is an area staple and offers a “personalized style of dining,” with gourmet lunch as well as unique cheesecake and tortes among other deserts. When asked about her turnover rate, Becky responded that she is “very, very fortunate” and has an incredibly low turnover rate. She has very few employees leave. she also said that she has not hired a single new employee since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak nearly two years ago. She was aware that Covid-19 would be very difficult for the restaurant industry, and believed that if she allowed her employees to leave at the start of the pandemic, she would be unable to re-hire them today.In an attempt to increase employee retention, both businesses have reduced the number of days that they are open each week. This decision has allowed employees to have two consecutive days off each week, and both business owners believe that this has greatly improved the morale of their employees and has greatly increased retention. With this increased retention and reduced workload, both businesses are able to remain operational and are striving in Vincennes.
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