Daniel Halpern wants to hire 800 workers, and it was not easy.
Halpern is CEO of Jackmont Hospitality, a food service company in Atlanta, which has about 45 restaurants, including TGI Fridays, across the country franchise.
Diners are coming back. But Halpern hopes his establishments will be properly staffed in the coming weeks to ensure that the customers he has been waiting for will have the experience they expected.
At present, Jackmont employs about 1,200 people. Before the pandemic took place, the staff was 2,700 people, more than double that.
“For those in the service industry, staffing is paramount to success. If we come out of the crisis, we want to provide the opportunity to provide our guests with a quality experience,” Halpern said. “We are constantly recruiting staff – this is the main issue in our calls with our general managers.”
Average wages at his restaurants are about $ 13 per hour, before tips. He also offers benefits, but says he wants to encourage servers by paying their daily tips on cards and discussing additional benefits such as sign-up bonuses.
Additional incentives through direct payments to individuals and increased unemployment benefits are a potential double-edged sword for restaurants. Consumers have more cash on hand and return to eating out. But some entrepreneurs like Halpern feel it encourages employees to stay home. In addition, large retailers such as Amazon have hired hundreds of thousands of workers over the course of the pandemic, likely to affect the labor pool of the service sector.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe sees the labor crisis on its nearly 1,000 businesses and franchises, which typically employ 16 to 22-year-olds. CEO Charles Watson said renting is currently the company’s biggest headwind.
“There is a shortage of labor in the restaurant industry and in the service industry like we have never seen before … There is simply no labor in many of most of the markets in which we have cafes – put simply, people would rather be at home stay and be paid as if to go to work, “he said.” It creates big problems for us in terms of our most important thing, namely customer service. “
A Now Hiring sign will be placed in front of a Taco Bell restaurant on Nov. 5, 2021, in Novato, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
In March, non-farming salaries for the month increased by 916 000, while unemployment fell to 6% – this is the highest total increase in jobs since August 2020, a sign that the economy is bouncing back.
The National Federation of Independent Businesses says the challenge of trying to find qualified employees weighs on small business owners. While sentiment in general increased in March, 51% of owners reported little or no “qualified” applicants. What’s more, 42% of all owners reported their posts they could not fill – a record high and 20 points above the group’s historical average over the past 48 years of 22%.
“Main Street is doing better as state and local restrictions are eased, but finding skilled labor is a critical issue for small businesses nationwide,” NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg said in a statement. “Small business owners are competing with the pandemic and increased unemployment benefits that keep some workers out of the workforce. Owners, however, remain determined to hire workers and grow their business. ‘
Domino CEO Ritch Allison also acknowledged labor market tightness on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” on Monday. The company hired tens of thousands of workers, including delivery managers, in the course of the pandemic.
“It’s a very competitive market. So we look at ourselves as competing for customers and competing for managers, for team members – we have to be good at both,” he said.
Large restaurant businesses recently announced rental opportunities for tens of thousands of jobs. Already reported McDonald’s will offer until Thursday an opportunity to fulfill 25,000 roles in the state of Texas. The fast food giant employed 260,000 last year when restaurants reopened for meals.
IHOP, which is owned by parent company Dine Brands, said it would hire 10,000 employees to fill part-time and full-time jobs at 1,600 jobs in the United States.
And Yum Brands’ Taco Bell is renewing its rental parties across the country on April 21 at nearly 2,000 locations. The company wants to hire 5,000 employees and turn parking lots and sidewalks into work shows to keep applicants safe in the ongoing pandemic.
“It’s no secret that the labor market is tight, which is why we are delighted to be hosting our fourth round of leasing partnerships with our franchisees,” said Kelly McCulloch, chief executive of Taco Bell, in a statement.