Restaurants need dependable people to fill critical roles in the front and back of the house, and there's no way to ensure this beyond building a base of dependable, talented staff. Culinary school students in Boulder and beyond should understand how large-scale and industry-specific economic factors have created a restaurant labor shortage that can make day-to-day operations more complicated. With a strong understanding of the problem as well as potential strategies for addressing it, it's easier to make confident and thoughtful decisions as a professional chef.
How the restaurant labor shortage came to be
Although the restaurant industry is sometimes seen as especially volatile, with many openings and closings compared to other types of business, restaurants themselves are enduringly popular. Going out for a meal, whether it's a quick lunch during the workweek or a celebratory dinner for a major milestone, is engrained in our society. The consistent and high level of demand for restaurant employees means it's more difficult than it had been in the past for restaurants to attract and retain staff, as The New York Times pointed out. Because many restaurants don't have the financial flexibility to offer significant, widespread increases in wages, they're using strategies ranging from repaying culinary school loans to less rigid scheduling.
The drive for more employees in the industry is in part a reflection of a labor market that favors employees, with increasing opportunities across a number of different industries. While restaurants offer some major benefits in terms of accepting those with a wide variety of backgrounds into entry-level positions and providing valuable work experience in the kitchen, many workers are most attracted to higher wages. Fast Casual magazine also pointed to the rise of the gig economy, with flexible jobs working for companies such as Uber and Grubhub. This is another factor that has drained qualified employees away from kitchens and into other roles.
Finding dependable restaurant staff, both in the front and back of house, is increasingly difficult.Adjusting to and succeeding in a tight labor market
Filling restaurant jobs is never easy, but it's even harder in the current environment. There are a number of strategies that restaurant management – including head and executive chefs – can use to maintain acceptable standards of service and time for turning around orders.
A more attractive work environment
The New York Times spoke with Chris Coombs, chef and owner of the Boston Urban Hospitality restaurant group, who said offering repayment for culinary school loans was one of many strategies used to attract qualified staff. Other major changes included reducing negativity, such as chefs screaming at line cooks, and replacing it with more positive but still effective forms of communication, as well as outsourcing kitchen deep cleaning, an all-time least favorite task for many chefs.
Fast Casual magazine said making potential career progressions within the kitchen clear is another way to create a desirable workplace. While dishwashers and prep cooks will need to learn more about the kitchen before moving into many other roles, they can start learning the ropes early on and have the potential opportunities made clear to them from the start.
Technological assistance
A survey from US Foods found 35% of restaurants had job openings that were hard to fill, and 41% weren't confident in hiring skilled employees. These companies can potentially turn to technology from a variety of third-party tools that can support processes ranging from recruitment and talent management to scheduling, tracking labor expenses and staff retention. While finding the right tools for an individual restaurant requires some careful thought and review, it can certainly pay off in the long run.
Managing the back of house may not be the first thing that comes to mind when considering the career of a chef, but it's a vital part of the job. Students in our culinary arts diploma program enjoy a broad-based education that offers important information about management along with cooking and many other topics.