Almost 9 in 10 restaurant operators reported that recruiting and retaining staff was a “important” or “average” problem in 2023, and most don’t see the scenario getting a lot simpler this yr, based on the Nationwide Restaurant Affiliation’s 2024 State of the Restaurant Industry report. The truth is, 45% of operators mentioned their restaurant doesn’t have sufficient staff to help present buyer demand.
Given the shallow labor pool, some restaurant operators are leveraging synthetic intelligence and different applied sciences to assist them snag good candidates. Listed here are six high-tech instruments designed to supply a aggressive edge in recruiting.
1. Applicant monitoring programs (ATS) are software program instruments that assist handle the recruiting course of, from job posting to candidate screening to onboarding. They minimize out time-consuming duties—like sifting by way of purposes and monitoring candidates—permitting recruiters to give attention to interviewing, assessing and hiring the very best candidates. “Search for an ATS that’s tailor-made to what people looking for jobs within the foodservice trade need,” says Arlene Estrada Petokas, chief individuals officer of Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, together with ease-of-use and multi-language functionality.
Whereas ATS platforms have been available on the market for years, the newest variations are extra subtle than ever, with some incorporating or integrating with the applied sciences listed beneath.
2. AI applicant assistants assist eating places interact with on-line and cell job seekers 24/7 in a conversational text-based format—typically speaking in a number of languages. Immediately’s AI assistants perceive language nuances and may learn between the strains. For instance, given the query: Are you age 18 or over? an AI assistant would possibly perceive, “I’m” or “I’m 21,” simply as simply as a easy “Sure.” Some AI assistants may even study your model’s distinctive voice, incorporate in style slang and make occasional typos, to simulate a human dialog.
Going through a labor crunch through the “sizzling vax summer season” of 2021, The Saxton Group, which operates 74 McAlister’s Deli areas in three states, switched to an ATS embedded with a conversational AI assistant that the group named Rachel. Potential candidates are greeted by a Rachel avatar, who conversationally asks for applicant data. There’s no have to create a consumer identify or password. The main target is on the necessities, permitting job-seekers to rapidly and simply full the preliminary utility. It beforehand took job seekers a median of quarter-hour to use for a job at one among The Saxton Group’s McAlister’s Deli areas. Now, candidates full the method in three minutes.
3. Automated interview scheduling strikes candidates quickly by way of the hiring funnel. Rachel, the Saxton Group’s AI assistant, asks candidates some primary data . . . “after which growth, they’re in a position to schedule an interview,” says vice chairman of Folks Matt Heston. Rachel presents obtainable interview instances, schedules the appointment, notifies the hiring supervisor, and sends a reminder to the applicant, reducing the prospect of no-shows. Within the “previous days,” the group’s hiring managers would log into an ATS, retrieve contact data for eligible candidates, attain out to them, and correspond backwards and forwards to schedule a time. Now, all that’s completed robotically, saving the managers’ worthwhile time and securing the interview earlier—key in at the moment’s aggressive market. “Whoever will get to the candidates first, has a greater probability of hiring them,” Heston notes.
Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group, which operates 20 Crimson Robin areas and eight Wingstop areas in Japanese and Central Pennsylvania, decreased their time-to-hire by 80%, once they switched to an ATS with a conversational AI assistant and automatic scheduling. “It is an enormous time saver,” says Ann Jauregui, human sources generalist. “You are not having to sit down within the workplace, away out of your visitors and away out of your crew, making cellphone calls and enjoying cellphone tag.”
4. Textual content/scan-to-apply performance encourages job seekers to use instantly to advertisements they occur upon whereas they’re out and about—most certainly with their cellular phone readily available. “We’re Hiring” indicators are the right to position embrace a QR code or a “text-to” quantity that begins your utility course of. Multiunit operators can leverage geolocation capabilities to establish the place candidates are situated, in order that they’ll join them with job openings at close by areas.
5. Video job descriptions showcase your model dynamically, letting you share your restaurant’s story and forge a reference to job seekers. Some ATS platforms function video functionality, permitting candidates to listen to concerning the job straight from crew members and to image themselves as a part of your crew. Kura Revolving Sushi Bar is among the many eating places trying to incorporate movies. With a conveyor belt of Japanese specialties winding by way of every restaurant and drink-delivering robots scooting round, “we’ve got a enjoyable work surroundings, and we need to showcase it,” says Petokas, of Kura Sushi USA, which operates 58 U.S. areas, with 9 extra coming quickly.
6. Programmatic job promoting makes use of software program and information to optimize the position of job advertisements. Moderately than manually choosing which job boards to make use of, programmatic job promoting selects the boards for you primarily based in your targets. The concept is to position your advert the place it’s most certainly to draw potential job seekers which might be a superb match to your restaurant. Some programmatic job promoting platforms prolong their attain past job websites and place advertisements on social media channels, apps, Google, and extra to achieve a bigger pool of potential candidates.
Unsure which high-tech options you need? Think about scheduling product demonstrations with a number of totally different corporations to see the options in motion.
The Nationwide Restaurant Affiliation’s 2024 State of the Restaurant Business report is taken into account the authoritative supply for restaurant trade gross sales projections and enterprise developments. The report is free to members (a $349 worth). Get the report today!
