With the current economic climate, recruitment and unemployment stories seem to pop up all the time. We’re always speculating about markets, trends and what the future could hold.
But what does recruitment, and employment in general, look like in the catering industry? Here we use research supplied by catering equipment provider Nisbets to give a unique insight.
The respondents
The survey had 1,323 respondents, the majority (18%) whom described themselves as working from a restaurant, followed by a café (17%) or pub/bar (15%). The rest of the respondents were from: fast food or takeaway businesses, contract catering, hotel or guest accommodation, residential or care homes, public sector or other.
What are your industry concerns?
- 20% of respondents were worried about standing out from the crowd
- 15% of responses mentioned services from suppliers
- 15% mentioned brand reputation as one of their main concerns
- 14% are concerned about the cost of ingredients
- 11% identified the increased living wage
- 10% worry about retaining staff
- 8% were concerned about the shortage of qualified kitchen staff
- 7% were worried about job security
Staff training – learn on the job or train at culinary school?
- 66% of respondents favour on-the job training
- 34% of respondents would prefer culinary school training.
Monopolise on this by taking on apprentices, and train young minds to work towards your business’s best practices first.
Do the chefs entering the trade have realistic expectations of life in the kitchen?
- 82% of the respondents answered no
- 18% answered yes
If you’re recruiting for your business, make sure that life at your workplace is spelled out for applicants. That not only means a detailed job description and an insight into company culture, but give an in-depth induction process to get them off to the best start.
Does the media accurately represent real world kitchens and life as a real chef?
- 69% of respondents answered yes
- 23% answered no
- 8% answered not sure.
What are the most important factors in staff retention?
- 16% answered with colleague relations
- 16% answered with working environments
- 14% listed work/life balance as being important
- 13% mentioned pay
- 12% mentioned shift patterns and hours
- 11% thought training opportunities were important
- 10% mentioned opportunities for career progression
- 8% said employee benefits
Try to make a concerted effort to make your workplace a happy, enjoyable and welcoming environment, and arrange regular staff events to bond everyone as a team.
Has the National Living Wage had an impact on your business in the short time since its introduction?
- 55% of respondents said it had no impact
- 31% answered yes
- 14% believed it had a positive impact so far.
How do you expect to offset the increased costs caused by the introduction of the National Living Wage?
- 31% of the respondents said their company would continue to operate in the same way
- 22% said they’d have to implement stricter budget controls
- 17% suggested they’d have to increase their prices
- 16% were going to improve the company’s product/service offering
- 7% said they’d downsize their workforce
- 3% said they would reduce staff benefits (3%).
Analyse your current expenditure and work out how to save money to help to introduce the new living wage – or see it as an opportunity to improve the products on offer.
Methods for recruiting staff
- 41% of respondents found that word of mouth was the best method
- 21% of respondents found social media to be the most effective
- 12% found their own website most efficient for recruitment
- 9% preferred recruitment websites for hiring
- 7% relied on recruitment agencies to promote opportunities
- 5% used online classifieds
- 5% used print classifieds
Promoting jobs in this industry is about who you know – so put the word out if you have any vacancies. Other free ways are just as effective, such as listing the job on your website, or promoting job opportunities on social media.
*Image credit – Wikimedia Commons
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