The food service industry can make the holiday season feel like anything but joyous and festive. Customers mean profits, but without enough staff, your restaurant won’t be able to keep up.
Filling regular shifts is a challenge when employees ask for time off to celebrate, and seasonal employees may have to be hired to cover shifts. Holiday parties and catering orders may add more than you can handle.
Having the right number of hires is a challenge during the holidays but not impossible. Don’t allow your business to stall during the holiday season. Prepare your restaurant’s staff needs with these tips.
1. What are the needs?
First, figure your needs. Have you ever been unprepared for the increased flow of customers?
Could the kitchen handle the additional orders? Or did they need more hands? Were you short servers for larger tables? Always plan for worst-case scenarios so you won't be cornered into situation. You can’t allow yourself to be understaffed with nowhere to turn.
Review reservations, party bookings, and holiday events that are already confirmed. Then you'll know when additional employees will be scheduled in addition to your regular staff.
2. Historical Data
If this is not the first time you have been open during the holidays, you can use that experience to your advantage. Past data from your POS system can help you determine your increased holiday sales. Which days were unusually busy? What days were popular day for Christman parties?
You can use POS reports to find information like:
Total number of guests.
Table turnaround time.
Average check size.
The frequency of menu items ordered.
Historical information allows confident forecasts for the upcoming holiday inventory, overall sales, labor costs, and scheduling.
3. Holiday Staffing Budget
The majority of holiday staffing is determined by one factor: budget. Additional employees cost more. Can you reasonably take that on?
Adding temporary servers, bussers, bartenders, and line cooks may be necessary hires. Federal law requires that regular and seasonal employees receive the minimum wage, so keep that in mind when determining the budget. Employees receiving tips must also receive wages according to your state or local jurisdiction.
Fortunately, this is made easier with technology. Using the labor management functionality in your POS system, you can project the total cost of hiring seasonal employees. For example, if two bussers are required from the beginning of November until the middle of January, your system can calculate the total cost for them working 20 hours weekly at their set wage.
4. Post Effective Job Listings
Once you know the additional employees needed and how much the budget allows, it’s time for job descriptions and posting.
Job description details are essential to the requirements of the position. Potential job seekers need to know all the duties required, the number of required shifts or hours, flexibility, wages, and any other benefits or perks. Proper expectations set upfront will attract the best candidates.
However, it’s not enough to just write a great job description and post it in one spot. You must be strategic about placement and post your listings in areas where candidates are already searching.
How do you do that? For starters, you should understand that 73 percent of candidates are passive job seekers. Although these applicants may not be actively looking for a job, it doesn’t mean they’re not interested in a new opportunity.
Social media can be a great place to post openings. Facebook’s job posting feature is an excellent medium reaching a wide range of potential employees. Unless you choose to pay to boost your post, it’s a free resource.
On the other hand, active candidates may search on job search platforms in the food service industry, such as Culinary Agents or Careers in Food. These sites can deliver high quality candidates.
5. Contact Former Employees
Hard time attracting new hires? Invite back qualified former employees.
Asking previous employees to come back to work on a seasonal basis is a terrific way to find temporary help. You are familiar with them and their performance, and their existing knowledge will reduce training time.
Past employees who left on favorable terms may be receptive to a seasonal position. They already know the restaurant’s operations and culture, reducing the concern that they may not be a fit.
6. Start Training ASAP
If finding a seasoned vet to fill a position, it’s essential that you allow plenty of time for training new and former seasonal hires. You want to ensure that temporary staff have time to learn service standards and adjust to your operations. Even if you’ve hired back a previous employee, specific processes may have changed. since they’ve left.
Train seasonal staff in the same as you would a full-time staff member. This will allow them to fully grasp the restaurant’s procedures and could lead to them becoming a full-time employee or a returning seasonal employee for the next holiday.
7. Schedule Employees with Flexibility
Once you feel your new trainees have grasped the restaurant’s inner workings, it’s time to focus on how you’ll schedule team members for the holiday rush.
Before you make a schedule and post it, ask employees about their availability during the holiday season. While you won’t be able to accommodate everyone, your employees will appreciate that you’re making an effort to recognize their needs.
Another option is to ask staff to sign up to work a specific holiday of their preference. For example, if your restaurant is open on the holidays Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day, ask each employee to sign up for at least two. This lets them choose their preferences and equally distributes coverage on those days.
Post the holiday schedule in advance and give employees enough time to trade shifts or make minor adjustments to fit their holiday plans.
You will need to create a team-wide communication method to notify all employees when they are required to work extended hours or specific holiday dates. It’s also advised to keep two to four members on call for emergencies.
Once again, your POS system is an excellent resource for employee management. A POS system like SkyTab will support various third-party integrations as well as native options that can streamline this for you.
8. Show Appreciation
Don’t forget to show your gratitude to the team for their effort and dedication to your business during its busiest time of year. Even if you’re hiring seasonal employees, you should reward your whole staff for their hard work.
You can plan a holiday celebration or purchase a small gift for each member of the staff as a way to say thank you. Even if it’s after the New Year, plan to do something to express how much you value their efforts.
Ready. Set. Hire.
Your restaurant’s holiday staffing plan shouldn’t give you a headache. With the right strategy, your team will endure the holiday season unscathed while your customers enjoy fantastic service.
When you start staffing for the season, remember to:
Evaluate your business needs
Make data-informed predictions
Budget accordingly
Get the word out about job opportunities
Tap former talent to fill seasonal vacancies
Prepare your staff with training
Schedule team members appropriately
Reward your hard-working staff
Give yourself enough time to prepare, take a strategic approach, and get started as soon as possible — the holidays are just around the corner.