5 Easy Steps to Finding Quality Job Candidates for Your Restaurant
In the last couple years due to Covid, hiring high quality servers, cooks and other employees has become more difficult than ever. The cost of finding, interviewing and training a new employee is very high. Then a month after the hiring process, the new employee starts missing orders or complaining about the work and you start feeling like hiring this person was a mistake.
DID YOU KNOW
76% of job recruiters report the poor quality of candidates
65% don’t know where to advertise jobs to attract and hire the right person
20% of new restaurant employees leave within the first 45 days of employment
5% of new hires quit immediately after a disastrous first day
But there is a better way to find and filter out candidates for your restaurant.
Follow these five easy steps to revamp your hiring process and bring more qualified candidates to your company!
1. Are you trying to hire the best, or the best right now
Do you want someone who is ready to be the best chef or server right now? Or are you looking for someone who is able to learn and be developed into the best?
You need to know what you’re looking for. Restaurant owners always say they want the best fit for the role but when you ask them what that means, they rarely have a complete answer. If you want to hire the best people you need to understand what it means to be perfect for the position.
Can you afford the time and money to invest in a new server? Or do you need someone with experience under pressure to jump in and help right away? Both of these people have pros and cons, but you need to decide what your company needs before you post a job application.
An active candidate is looking for work for a variety of reasons; they are unemployed, the last restaurant they worked at went out of business, their job was outsourced to take out only services (uber eats, skip the dishes), they want to take on more responsibility or they are concerned about their current job stability.
Posting a job on a job board is the most effective way to bring in a high volume active job seekers. But a common complaint from recruiters is the number of unqualified candidates. A solution to this is making the application process more tedious to weed out candidates, this can include the best candidates as well.
Passive candidates are currently working at a restaurant and not looking for a new job. The benefits to these candidates are that they are likely to have the skills required to perform better at your open position, they are usually more committed to working long term/permanently and since they are currently employed they won’t be interviewing with your competitors.
When filling a spot at your company take into consideration the differences between these two applicants, which would be better to fill the position? This can help shape your plan to hire the right person for the job!
If the applicant is someone you would consider, then it would be someone who has at least done their research on your restaurant. They are prepared, have answers to your questions, know the restaurant well and have all the job requirements.
At first glance this would seem like the perfect person to hire! But why should they know more about your restaurant than you know about them?
Study their resume, check out their online profiles or have them do a personality test or technical skills test.
Is the candidate committed to working long term? Or are they just passing through, always looking for something better? A history of past restaurant or fast food industry jobs as well as time spent there can provide insight into this aspect of the candidate.
The typical pitfalls of a job interview are predictable choreography and standard questions. “Where do you see yourself in five years? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Why do you want to work for our restaurant?”.
Be creative, every candidate will be prepared for common interview questions. Smart candidates will find clever ways to turn any negatives into positives, they are worried that any admission of weakness or vulnerability will count as a point against them so they will tell you what you want to hear.
Try to find new ways to truly understand how the candidate thinks. Ask challenging questions, put them in situations where they are more likely to show their true selves. Unusual questions will get candidates to open up and provide insights into their real personality.
Have the candidate stand in front of the register while you pretend to order, or ask them take your order at a table. First of all this will weed out any people who are not fully committed to the position, second you can get a sense of how that person thinks and communicates under pressure.
You finally filtered out all the applicants and are left with the best person for the job, but now you need them to accept your offer.
The previous tip can help you here, what is it that they want? Offer them what they are looking for in this job! What are their strengths and weaknesses, what motivates them and demotivates them. When you know all these things then you can offer them what they are looking for.
If a server wants competition and monetary incentives, offer them bonuses and awards for jobs well done.
If a chef wants recognition for their food, add a “chef’s special” item to the menu.
You can’t be selfish, if you want the best qualities in your staff you have to be prepared to offer something in return.
To Summarize:
Hiring the wrong employee is costly, time consuming and stressful. This can be very detrimental to your company and devastating to new startups and restaurants. But hiring the right person can pay you back in droves with increased productivity, morale and greater business success.
- Know what you are looking for! Do you need the best now or someone who can become the best.
- Active Candidates are plentiful, tailor your interview process to funnel more quality candidates in the final hiring. Passive Candidates have more experience but are already employed, so you will need strategies to bring them onboard.
- Know the candidate! Study their resume and gain insight to their history.
- Ask challenging questions in the interview, do a quick test to see how they work under pressure.
- Give Back! Any restaurant position requires give and take. Monetary incentive isn’t always enough, make candidates WANT to work for you.