During the massive industry shift to takeout and delivery, streamlining the menu was about focusing on foods that travel well and adapting to smaller ghost kitchens.
But simplifying the menu has merit in any operation fighting the labor battle.
It makes inventory management more efficient and improves meal-prep mastery and speed that can make a big customer-experience difference when fewer hands are on deck. It also makes menu development more efficient.
Where the bottom-line impact is more subtle, but no less significant, is at the table. When too many choices can overwhelm patrons, a simpler menu can improve turns and customer satisfaction.
2. Get Your Suppliers on Board
The shutdown shock to foodservice has galvanized an industry solidarity and has many E&S manufacturers and distributors being proactive in their efforts to address operator challenges.
With labor being the toughest among them, operators should seek out and urge suppliers to focus on solutions specific to manpower.
Press for more flexible ordering and delivery scheduling that otherwise seems like asking too much. This is the time when true partnerships are forged.
Likewise, when looking at the labor savings of equipment that speeds up the mundane and enables multitasking, give more thought to the comparison of long-term efficiencies against upfront expense.
Labor dedicated to excess training or constant maintenance, both often brought on by overengineering, is a price operators can’t afford to pay right now.
And staff shortcuts to compensate in those situations threaten to dramatically compound the cost, whether by jeopardizing food safety, food quality or employee safety.
Further, impress upon suppliers the need for equipment versatility and durability to minimize recurring new purchases.
3. Automate (without going full humanoid)
While the likes of White Castle and Spyce Kitchen are turning to robots, these chains are what are known as early adopters. Apart from the investment itself, it’s the fear of dehumanizing the restaurant experience that makes most operators hesitant about implementing robotics.
The truth is automation takes many forms that improve customer experience while simultaneously saving labor. Software applications on both the ordering and cash-out side represent what many consumers want and, in this labor-crisis era, might simply prove necessary.
Meanwhile, similar advances in areas that don’t involve customer engagement—from preprogrammed cooking in the kitchen to administrative software to cleaning technology—can pay huge labor-saving dividends and, more important, free your people to perform and serve your customers better.
4. Be a Retention Hawk
This is a bit of a cheat on the title of this blog because retention is really aftermath recruiting—at least, it should be—meaning it must become a much more active pursuit.
The no-brainer that comes out of all the data on the cost of hiring versus retaining a restaurant employee must now take more thinking and more outside-the-box solutions in all relevant areas, from training and communication to culture and benefits.
Ultimately, it’s about being proactive before the crisis gives workers negotiation leverage—and not just by offering more flex time or compensation. For most employees, it’s about sincerity in one’s appreciation, expressed in dollars or even just verbally.