How to Reduce Employee Turnover in the Restaurant Industry

In the context of the “great resignation,” a phenomenon coming to us from the United States where millions of workers have left their jobs to reinvent themselves, the restaurant industry is wondering how to reduce its employee turnover rate. Already affected by a labour shortage and recruitment challenges, industry professionals are concerned about their high turnover rate and are looking for solutions. 

What is employee turnover?

The turnover rate, also known as the employee churn rate, refers to the renewal of a company's workforce based on the number of employee departures and new hires, generally over the course of a single year.

Expressed as a percentage, this rate is calculated by adding the number of departures during a year to the number of arrivals during the same period, then dividing by two. The resulting figure must then be divided by the number of employees at the beginning of the period being studied, and finally multiplied by 100. The formula can be summarised as follows: 

Turnover rate = [(Number of departures during year N + Number of arrivals during year N)/2]

/ Workforce as of 1 January of year N x100

Consequences of turnover in the restaurant industry

According to a Pôle Emploi study, the hotel and restaurant sector has a high turnover rate, resulting in short employee tenure within companies. This turnover is problematic for employers because: 

1. It represents a cost to the company due to the loss of productivity of the employee who resigns, the costs associated with recruiting a replacement, and their onboarding and training.

2. It has a psychological impact on the remaining staff and prevents the formation of a close-knit team that shares a corporate culture.

3. It harms both the company’s overall reputation and, above all, its employer brand, which must be carefully cultivated in order for the company to be attractive to its staff and potential job candidates.

How can you reduce employee turnover in the restaurant industry?

Here are some tips to put into practice to attract and retain your staff: 

• Ask your employees for feedback and view it as an opportunity to improve your staff management. Speaking regularly with your employees can help you uncover issues you did not know existed. Make use of this information and implement measures to improve their working environment and your relationship with them.
• Recruit trained and experienced staff: the restaurant industry often relies on its network and word of mouth to find new employees, which can sometimes lead to poor hiring decisions. However, certain positions require employees to have experience or specific skills or abilities because of the responsibilities involved. It is therefore essential to take care with your selection process.
• Make sure candidates’ expectations and motivations align with yours: during recruitment, explain the specific features of the positions to be filled in detail so that there are no surprises or misunderstandings later. A good understanding of the tasks to be performed can help reduce the resignation rate in the first few weeks after hiring.
• Optimise the onboarding of your new hires and provide them with training so they feel welcomed and supported.
• Offer attractive compensation: provide competitive salaries as well as an appealing profit-sharing, commission or tips system for your employees. You can also offer benefits such as meal vouchers, gift cards or an inter-company nursery system. These motivational tools help improve quality of life at work, increase productivity, and set you apart from competitors when attracting candidates during recruitment.
• Adapt working hours : everyone knows that working hours in the hotel and restaurant sector are demanding. After experiencing the COVID-19 lockdowns, during which they were able to spend more time with their families, many employees now want to achieve a better work-life balance.
• Look after your team’s well-being by providing good working conditions, as recommended by Articles L4121-1 and following of the French Labour Code. As an employer, it is your responsibility to assess the occupational risks specific to your establishment in order to define a prevention policy and then implement the necessary measures, such as wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), including work shoes.

A leader in slip-resistant work shoes, Shoes For Crews can support you in developing your risk prevention policy by offering shoes featuring a patented slip-resistant outsole that are suited to your employees’ needs. We invite you to contact our team of experts, who will help you choose the best solution for your staff.