​Reimagining restaurant labor

Even before the pandemic, labor recruitment and retention was a major challenge for restaurant operators. Now that we’re in a position where business is suddenly ramping back up and all restaurants are looking for staff at once, that challenge has ballooned. It’s causing operators to create new talent pipelines, rethink roles and find ways to automate more tasks. Along those lines, the fast-casual chicken chain PDQ is expanding upon its relationship with Best Buddies International, a nonprofit organization that seeks to create opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Nation’s Restaurant News reports that the chain has set a goal of hiring at least one person from the organization to each of its 45 locations in Florida. Wage increases aren’t feasible for all restaurants, but some brands are trying that too, in addition to taking steps to recast restaurant jobs as careers: Chipotle, for one, is raising its hourly wage to $15 and also creating a new career path for aspiring restaurateurs that allows managers to earn salaries of $100,000 in as little as three and a half years. Finally, operators are assessing ways to speed up or automate tasks so they are less reliant on labor fluctuations. Robin Gagnon, co-founder of We Sell Restaurants, told Modern Restaurant Management that robotics are being tested at every position at a restaurant, ranging from cooks to table service, and that we’ll see more ordering via app and kiosk now that consumers have grown accustomed to it. In the kitchen, Gagnon predicts that more concepts will look to get food out more efficiently by preparing items in advance and assembling them rather than offering full service.