Restaurants are currently struggling to hire enough staff to keep their restaurant running smoothly. This is since many foodservice workers were forced to leave their jobs during the pandemic and now restaurant owners are struggling to fill open positions. Here are some tips and tools that you can utilize, on how to handle staffing shortages.
1. Limit Your Menu
Limiting your menu and items you have to offer cuts down on the amount of labor that is required to receive, prep, and cook food. By trying a smaller menu, this will help your staff keep up while you’re experiencing a labor shortage. You can start by analyzing your current menu and keeping the dishes that are most popular. You could also save time and labor by adding precooked or more prepared foods to your menu.
2. Reduce Your Hours
It’s not time to return to your original hours of operation just yet. With a limited number of employees on board, you’ll need to continue with reduced hours until you are fully staffed again. This could mean choosing to open later than usual, or eliminating a breakfast or lunch shift altogether. Identify the busiest times and most profitable hours for your business to stay open. Stick to those hours.
3. Limit Your Dining Capacity
By limiting your dining capacity, you are creating a more efficient way to deal with having a smaller staff. Controlling the number of tables and covers per table you serve helps you deliver the same level of service even when you’re short-staffed. Section off part of your dining room and place signs on each table that state, “Closed While We are Under-Staffed.” Close the less desirable seating areas and keep the popular booths and tables open.
Stagger your reservations to help servers and kitchen staff keep up with the number of tables. If your seating is first-come-first-serve, work with your host staff so they know not to seat several tables at once. By staggering seating for just a few minutes, it gives other staff members time to catch up.
4. Alert Your Customers
Post a sign at your entrance, add a notice to your menus, and update your website and social accounts to let your guests know you are open for business, but things aren’t going back to pre-pandemic levels of service just yet. Most people, especially your loyal customers, will be understanding.
If you have the means to raise your wages and offer sign-on bonuses, that’s a sure-fire way to reduce your staffing shortage. But if your sales have suffered and you need a cost-effective solution, try some of our suggestions. See if they work for you!
