The talent crisis is biting. This year, a US Bureau of Labor Statistics survey reported an annual staff turnover rate of 74% in the hospitality sector. It is both financially inefficient and destabilizing for an industry that is already finding it challenging to recruit.
The reasons workers leave include often unsociable hours and lower wages, but many decide against a career in hospitality due to a lack of opportunities to evolve as people and professionals.
Some restaurateurs are taking a bigger view in the way they treat staff. Rasmus Knude, co-owner of The Samuel, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark, describes his approach as similar to how he would treat family. It’s a matter of respect, he says.
“This is about treating people the way you want to be treated yourself. Of course, there is a hierarchy, and certain standards you need to live up to. But everybody has had a job where they went into work with a bad feeling in their stomach. I never want anybody in my workplace to have that feeling,” he explains. “For people to perform their best, they need to always be at their best. And I think in our industry, there has been a tendency to equal striving hard with yelling at people or putting people up to standards that they can’t cope with.”
It is not just bad for the people, it is bad for business. It is a line of thinking that chimes with Karen Malody FCSI, principal of Culinary Options in Seattle, US. “Employees who feel loved, appreciated, and heard will always be the harborers of delight towards the customer. Unhappy employees yield the opposite,” she says.
Prepared for life
Where Knude sets himself apart is on training. Besides helping them to be the best they can be at their job, he enrols employees in courses that are not specific to their role in the restaurant. This may be communications or leadership and while it is done to create more rounded professionals, he is also acknowledging that his employees may not always work in hospitality and this will equip them to choose another path if they decide to do that.
“What if one day something happens and they can’t work in hospitality anymore? We have a responsibility to give them something they can use outside our business,” he says.
Some may point out that employees can take the free training and then leave. “I really don’t care about that. As long as they are here, they are better,” he says. “If my employees want to leave they are free to do so.”
Clearly offering non-industry-specific training to staff is not financially possible for all operations, but Malody says that applying emotional intelligence in leadership is available to all – it is especially important at a time where anxiety and depression are at an all-time high and the ability to engage with staff and create a safe place for them to thrive is critical.
“This leadership attitude is more essential than ever, given the historic turn-over that has plagued our industry. Those operators who create an appreciative environment for their employees are in a position to create the sought-after “experience” consumers are craving today when they dine (on any level),” she says.
The sentiment of valuing employees extends to the absence of unpaid internships, which have been so common in the restaurant business. “We would rather have a small team who receive a proper salary and get fair working hours,” says Knude.
All staff have one month summer vacation and the restaurant closes for three weeks over Christmas, so everybody has time with their family. All employees work a four-day week.
Creating a culture also means setting boundaries around how staff address each other. “We do not talk about each other, we talk to each other,” he says. It is also one of the only ways to get fired at The Samuel.
“If you start talking about people, you’re out. We have not had staff with a drinking problem, but that is something you can fix. If you have a bad personality there’s no fix.”
Knude and his co-founder, chef Jonathan Berntsen, know that their approach works: The employees at The Samuel stay – some staff have worked with them since day one.
What’s more, salary is never the primary factor in their employment. “They say what’s most important is the respect they get in the workplace, the flexibility we give them and the opportunity to develop through training.” This, he says, is human sustainability. “You have got to invest in your people.”
Let’s not forget, as Malody says, hospitality is about caring for people. “It is far easier to extend a generous spirit to customers if the employee feels appreciated,” she says.
Tina Nielsen
