How to Find Employees for Restaurant

How To Find Employees For Restaurant

These are the fundamental steps for recruiting the right restaurant staff.

1. Draw in top-tier restaurant personnel.

Do Your Research

The restaurant sector often faces challenges with working conditions, which job seekers are mindful of. Consequently, it’s crucial to create a job posting that acknowledges these concerns. Conduct research to discover the benefits and compensation provided by nearby restaurants to their staff, and determine if you can offer potential hires a more attractive package.

Restaurant staff often prioritize:

• • Comprehensive health benefits, encompassing dental and vision coverage.
  • A nurturing and supportive workplace environment.
  • Paid parental leave and holidays.
  • Complimentary meals or meal allowances.
  • Travel stipends.
  • Educational assistance programs.
  • Consistent team-building events such as parties and dinners.
  • Fair pay and performance-based bonuses

To attract the best restaurant staff, create an enticing job post. Ask current employees for input and establish a staff wellness program, offering attractive benefits like wellness retreats and spa days.

Craft individual job descriptions for each role.

When advertising job openings at your restaurant, it’s essential to create separate job descriptions for each position. While a generic listing might save time, top-tier restaurant staff, the kind that can elevate your establishment, seek specific information. They want to know about compensation, benefits, incentives, working conditions, and job responsibilities.

Offer detailed insights into the daily tasks associated with each role, including any necessary training and required skills.

Potential hires may include:

• • Waitstaff.
  • Chefs.
  • Line cooks.
  • Restaurant managers.
  • Kitchen managers.
  • Hostesses.

To attract top restaurant staff, offer training and mentorship for new hires. Be clear about role expectations, including potential task extensions due to understaffing. Highlight positive workplace attributes.

Simplify the task with a hospitality and tourism job description template

Simplify the process by using a hospitality and tourism job description template. It offers ready-made boilerplate information, including responsibilities, skills, and qualifications, for various restaurant positions.

2. Promote the job opening

Listing on websites like Indeed.

Begin by listing the job on general job posting websites like Indeed, as they receive high traffic and do not incur any costs

Ensure your job is listed by Google

Ensure that your job listing is indexed by Google for Jobs, enhancing its visibility in search results. To achieve this, consider formatting the listing correctly on your website or utilizing a service like Betterteam, which can automatically generate a well-formatted jobs page for you.

 Seek referrals from your staff.

Leverage employee referrals as a valuable resource for finding capable restaurant staff. Establish an employee referral program that incentivizes your current staff to actively engage in the recruitment process. This program should offer rewards for successful referrals, provided that the referred restaurant workers possess the requisite skills, qualifications, experience, work ethic, and attitude.

3. Evaluate your applicants thoroughly

Conduct applicant screenings.

As applications arrive, initiate email correspondence containing essential role-specific questions. These inquiries aim to streamline the applicant pool by identifying individuals who lack adequate qualifications or compatibility with your restaurant.

Sample questions:

• • Have you received any formal training related to this field? (Especially pertinent for chefs or line cooks).
  • Do you possess experience in handling lunch shifts or other high-pressure work environments?
  • Has a kitchen you previously worked in failed a health and safety inspection? If so, please elaborate. (Significant for head chefs or kitchen managers).
  • Can you commit to working night shifts, weekends, and holidays?

 Conduct phone interviews.

Phone interviews serve as an efficient method to further narrow down your list of candidates while saving time compared to in-person interviews. This phase of the hiring process enables you to validate responses to screening questions and gain insights into the personalities of each applicant.

Sample questions may include:

• • Can you provide details about your customer service experience?
  • What prompted your departure from your previous position?
  • Which restaurants have you previously been employed by?
  • Can you tell me about the training you’ve completed in the food service or hospitality sectors?
  • What are your salary and benefits expectations?
  • What qualities make you an ideal candidate for this position?

Utilize the phone interview to delve deeper into areas of particular interest to candidates, such as compensation and benefits structures, as well as growth prospects. Additionally, offers an accurate portrayal of the work environment and organizational culture, allowing candidates to ask questions and express any concerns.

If the responses in the phone interview significantly deviate from the answers to your screening questions, consider this a potential red flag.

4. Conduct interviews to assess candidates’ skills and qualifications.

 Schedule a face-to-face interview. 

At this point in the hiring process, you have identified candidates with the right qualifications, but it’s essential to gauge their compatibility with your team and comfort in your restaurant environment. Invite shortlisted candidates for an in-person interview, which can also include a practical assessment, especially for front-of-house roles. During this meeting, introduce them to your restaurant, explain your operational procedures from guest greetings to table setup, and facilitate interactions with your existing staff. This step helps ensure a cultural fit.

 Arrange a practical assessment. 

To thoroughly evaluate a candidate’s capabilities and competencies, consider having them participate in a trial shift at your restaurant. The significance of this step may vary depending on the role; it’s crucial for positions like chefs but less critical for roles such as dishwashers. For servers and hostesses, this provides an opportunity to gauge their customer service aptitude.

During both the interview and the trial shift, pay attention to the candidate’s personality and how well they align with your current team. Assess their potential for synergy within your staff.

5. Finalize Your Restaurant Staff Selection

Extend an offer.

Once you’ve made your selection, reach out to the chosen candidates promptly to offer them the position. In the competitive restaurant industry, candidates are often exploring multiple opportunities, so it’s essential to act swiftly. Follow up your phone call with a formal job offer sent via email or letter.

Consider using our job offer letter template for a polished and comprehensive offer.

Onboard your new restaurant team.

Don’t underestimate the importance of effective onboarding as the final step in the hiring process. A well-structured onboarding process is crucial to making a positive initial impression and getting your new hires up to speed quickly.