Ever since COVID 19 the United States has seen many issues in the service industry. One of the most prominent issues being with staffing concerns. Many people are finding that they do not want to work in the service industry for many reasons. This is costing companies lots of money since they have to hire and train new employees all of the time. Today it is very hard to find and keep a good worker. I personally do not have this issue since I only work with my family but I have many friends in the industry and they tell me their issues they face. Below I will list out the problems that cause staff to leave and how to fix those issues.
Long Hours-
Some catering events can take place all day which means that you need to have staff there all day to serve food, cook, and clean the dishes. Working all day will wear out anyone and if given the chance people will typically decline to work long hours. There are many things you can do to help solve this issue. The first thing you need to do is give your employee's an ample amount of breaks. Standing up for hours serving food can wear out peoples knees. Ensure they get a long enough break or rotate the staff so they do different things and are not stuck in the same position all day. This will make the long hours more bearable. Also allowing them time to leave and get their own lunch to get away from work could raise their morale. I've seen many catering companies have them stay at the event and offer event food for them to eat but that is not what everyone wants. A break should be away from work and should allow the employee to relax. Also, staggering what time people work can be beneficial as well. If you have an event that goes on from 8am to 8pm then have two separate shifts instead of having one group of people work all the hours. This will allow for your employees to have more energy and not be tired at the end of their shift. A worn out employee is going to be less productive and enjoy their job less.
Working Weekends-
The most profitable catering events are typically going to take place on weekends. This is when most people are free and that means more food will be served. The problem is employees want to be free on the weekends so they can see friends and family. While there is no exact solution to this issue since most businesses have to be able to run during the weekends but there are ways to help. One solution is to pay your employees more to work the weekend. Everyone wants more money so they thought of getting more can be very appealing and can make many people want to work weekends. With bigger events on the weekend means that you can typically charge more. It will not hurt to give a little more to the people that make your business possible. Another solution is to give some weekends off to employee's. You should not be using all of your staff working all of the time. Have some of your staff work one weekend and some of them off. Then swap them so they all are able to get some weekends off. People need their free time and if they cannot have it they get upset and will be worse workers overall.
Dealing with customers-
Dealing with a screaming customer that is unwilling to listen can be very stressful and many people feel like dealing with that is out of their pay grade. Sometimes dealing with customers can be the worst part of the job. Customers can bully your employees and as the business owner it is your responsibility to ensure that it does not happen. There are thankfully many ways to deal with this problem. The simplest solution is to have a manager that is trained in customer service to always be on staff. This person should be properly paid for their extra knowledge and should be informed of the company's expectations. This person would take the load off the inexperienced employees that may not know how to deal with those issues. Another way to help solve any issues is to stop them before they begin. Before catering an event you must lay down the rules and make sure the customer understands. Make sure the customer knows all the information so they can pass it on to their guests. If everyone understands what the expectation is then they are less likely to get upset. The last solution to this is to back your employee. I have seen too many times when an employee states company policy to a customer and a manager comes in and doesn't follow it and gives the customer whatever they want. It is important to try and help the customer to the best of your ability but you must also consider the companies rules and how your employee feels. If you do not have your employees back when dealing with customers they will start to resent you and will promptly find a new job.
Proper training-
One thing I have noticed companies doing is cutting corners when they train. Many places are so understaffed they try to get people in as fast as possible. This leads to a worker that is not qualified to do the job. This can lead to customers, bosses, and the employee being upset. If they do something incorrect they get blamed by the manager and customer. This makes them frustrated and makes them uninterested in doing the job. However, an employee that knows how to do the job will have fewer mistakes, will get more compliments, and will generally be more proud of the work they do. This will lead them to being more content with their job and they will be willing to stay with your business for longer.
Using all of these solutions will greatly improve your business. Staffing problems are a major issue in most sectors of the service industry. If your business does not have that issue then you will be at a huge advantage. A happy staff is much more productive and saves the company lots of money. They work harder which means a better product and more sales. They also stay for longer which means less recruiting and training expenses.
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