The last few years have been rough for the hospitality industry, and at least some of the challenges show no signs of abating. According to the National Restaurant Association’s 2022 State of the Restaurant Industry report, about 70% of restaurant owners expect labor shortages to last at least through 2022.
While this presents challenges for hospitality businesses, Xclusive Services can provide staff to help restaurants meet their patrons’ needs so they can remain competitive even in these tough times.
When we ask: “why are restaurants facing a labor shortage?” many people cite the Great Resignation as if it’s an answer to the question. However, it’s important to understand what the Great Resignation is to understand why it’s hitting the hospitality industry, especially restaurants, so hard.
People often look at the record resignation numbers from 2021, and see a short-term spasm in the labor market, spurred on perhaps by the COVID Pandemic and related social and economic turmoil. However, as analysis by Fuller and Kerr published in the Harvard Business Review shows, people have been leaving their jobs voluntarily in steadily increasing rates for at least a decade. Although resignations briefly dipped in 2020 because of a combination of uncertainty and involuntary layoffs, the current rate of quitting is consistent with this trend.
So although the Great Resignation seems like a sudden event, it’s actually the culmination of years of growing resentment at the traditional workplace. Understanding the key drivers of this trend will show why it impacts the hospitality industry so severely.
We can understand why by looking at Fuller and Kerr’s explanation of the five R’s behind resignations:
Retirement is high across the board, not affecting the hospitality industry especially, and relocation is generally low in the current trend.
Reconsideration of work-life balance hits restaurant workers hard, though. Restaurant workers often have to deal with irregular shifts that make it hard to balance their caregiving responsibilities with work life.
Reshuffling is when people leave one job to find another job. The hospitality industry has many aspects that can make it unattractive to workers:
This causes many workers to want to quit and find other opportunities, either by seeking out better-paying jobs or by going into business for themselves. For many restaurant workers, the possibility of owning their own restaurant is enticing, and the recent trend toward food trucks has reduced the capital investment necessary to start.
Finally, many restaurant workers are reluctant to re-enter physical workspaces. Part of this is because of the ongoing COVID pandemic, which took a heavy toll on restaurant workers, but it’s also the spate of verbal, emotional, and even physical abuse that restaurant workers had to endure during the pandemic.
All of this means that the Great Resignation is likely to continue for restaurant workers for the foreseeable future.
Although many restaurant workers have left the industry, Xclusive remains able to supply staffing to your restaurant to help you weather these conditions.
In part, this is due to our ongoing emphasis on lifting our people up. For years, we have helped our people understand that they are valued for their skills and dedication. Part of this is our wages, which we have always seen as an investment in good people. This investment has paid off handsomely as we have not seen the level of staff depletion that some in the industry have reported.
Creating engaged employees is only one part of our Xclusive Excellence™ promise to you. We utilize our insights to provide smart staffing solutions that will work efficiently for your business. Our creative problem solving can help you get the most value from the staff we provide, which can help you remain profitable even in this challenging time.
We do more than just provide staff, we provide strategic solutions that can help your restaurant meet your goals in 2022 and beyond.
To learn more about the benefits of working with Xclusive Services, please request a quote today.
