Having the right team is make or break in the restaurant industry. Everyone comes together from your servers to your chefs to your management to present guests with an evening worth remembering, complete with delectable food and exquisite service.
That said, it then comes with no surprise that restaurant talent acquisition is a tricky business that comes equipped with twists and turns to throw you off your game. And knowing how to best hire staff for your restaurant is an invaluable skill!
Here’s how you can hire for success for your restaurant:
1. Figure Out your Requirements
A restaurant is like a machine – arrange it well and it runs smoothly, go into it unprepared and you’ll have bits and parts that don’t perform a function, or at least not well. And the first step to arranging your restaurant is to figure out what exactly your hiring requirements are.
Start by making a list of the positions that you’re looking to fill and then outline requirements for each role individually. These requirements should cover aspects such as educational or skills-based qualifications, job responsibilities, years of experience required, the location and time commitment of the job, and any soft skills that are preferred.
Not only will outlining these requirements help interested candidates judge whether they’re a right fit for the job – thereby streamlining submitted applications to better fit your bill – but they’ll also provide you with an evaluation checklist against which to measure candidates during interviews.
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2. Put it on a Poster
With your requirements sorted, it’s time to get them out to the public so that you can find – and hire – your perfect restaurant staff! And what better way to get the word out than with a poster? Fairly simple, proven to bring results, and well-received by the majority of people, posters are a marketing classic.
And if you’re thinking of poster design, then PosterMyWall’s hiring poster templates have got you covered! With dozens of fully customizable designs to browse through, you can simply select the template you like, edit it to match your requirements, and voila! Your hiring poster is complete! And the best part is that you can do all of this completely for free.
Once your posters are designed and ready, it’s time to put them up. You can post digital versions on your social media pages and online job boards, and put up printed posters in places that your ideal candidate is likely to frequent – this could include anything from colleges to hospitality schools.
3. Get in Touch with Culinary and Hospitality Schools
Speaking of hospitality schools, they – along with culinary schools – are some of the best places to look to when hiring staff for your restaurant.
The first step is to compile a list of local culinary and hospitality schools and then reach out to their respective management.
When doing so, it’s best to share with them a list of roles that you’re hiring for along with their detailed job description and requirements so that they can filter relevant candidates your way.
You can even put up a collaborative post on their social media such as their Instagram page and also hold an information session where you can cater to a Q and A round. In the long run, however, it’s beneficial to create a more substantial relationship between your restaurant and the culinary or hospitality schools that you’ve selected.
Offer them special discounts, facilitate them for internships, and even invite students to demonstration classes where they can get hands-on experience at a real, functioning restaurant. Not only will this put you high on their priority list when finding job placements for their students, but it will also help your marketing through association with the school.
4. Go to Career Fairs
Career fairs might be dominated by the corporate sector, but that doesn’t mean that other industries looking to hire individuals shouldn’t be attending them. In fact, since it’s less common for businesses such as restaurants to attend career fairs, they’ll actually end up facing less competition, thereby garnering the attention of more students.
Your restaurant can set up a stall at a local career fair where they can advertise prospective job opportunities available to both current students and fresh graduates with roles ranging from service staff, culinary staff, management, marketing, supply, and operations.
Make sure to bring details of the available roles, the application process, and some freebies for students to look forward to – and yes, that includes samples of your food! Once you have a working list of interested students in your database, then you can reach out to them whenever an opportunity arises.
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5. Post it on Job Boards
Building a social media presence and attending career fairs is great, but sometimes it’s time to go back to the basics. And posting about your job opening on a job board is a classic that’s hard to beat!
You can post on culinary-industry specific job boards such as Culinary Agents, Chefjobs, Hcareers, and Caterer Global as well as generic ones such as Zip Recruiter and Indeed.
Make sure that your posting contains all the relevant details to better filter the applications you receive – this includes things such as experience required, compensation, location, and cuisine requirements – and that your target demographic is set to meet locals.
Once your openings are up, all you have to do is sit and wait – and not for long – and you’ll have a full team before you know it!
So, if you’re looking to hire staff for your restaurant, then these tips and tricks are your go to. Simply make adjustments according to your business, and you’ll soon be getting more job applications than you need!