19 minute read
How Restaurants Can Adapt to The
HOW RESTAURANTS
CAN ADAPT TO THE GREAT RESIGNATION
By: Victoria Avery
The Great Resignation is affecting restaurants big and small and shows no sign of letting up. According to Restaurant Business Online, restaurant employment has been down about 8% since the pandemic began, and the industry has already lost over one million workers. On the podcast “A Deeper Dive,” Checkers CEO Frances Allen said that, “Of those million workers, 30% found new offce jobs. I don’t believe we’re necessarily going to get them back.”
As Reuters reported, with quit rates reaching an all-time high, restaurants are implementing new initiatives to retain their existing employees. Higher pay, better working conditions, and fexible hours are just a few ways restaurants are incentivizing employees to stay. However, many businesses are still struggling to get new labor in the door.
For other restaurants, a lack of available employees means having to cut operating hours, increase the workload of existing employees, or close completely. The Great Resignation is devastating in an industry already fraught with razor-thin proft margins and high closure rates.
Thankfully, The Great Resignation comes at a time when employees and owners alike are reevaluating what it means to work in the restaurant industry. For many, reimagining labor by combining their existing labor force with automated selfordering solutions has proven powerful in combating The Great Resignation. In addition to easing hiring struggles, implementing automation to work alongside employees can help retain your existing restaurant staff, and repurpose them to other essential functions of the restaurant, thus maximizing labor.
EMBRACE AUTOMATION The Great Resignation poses a signifcant problem for everyone: restaurant owners are losing money, workers are struggling to meet demand in understaffed restaurants, and customers are experiencing long wait times and poor service.
In the past, traditional restaurants, particularly quick-service restaurants, have dealt with operational challenges by allocating additional minimum wage staff to problems, thus inhibiting their technological innovation. For this reason, the restaurant industry has lagged behind other industries, such as banking and travel, in implementing self-ordering technology.
However, as The Great Resignation continues to stife hiring efforts and minimum wage continues to increase, adding more staff is no longer a viable option for restaurant owners. Instead, they need to fnd other ways to operate their business, particularly with self-service automation.
The latest in self-service automation, the Samsung Kiosk powered by GRUBBRR, is an all-in-one solution proven to help mitigate the labor crisis. GRUBBRR’s self-ordering technology directly impacts businesses affected by The Great Resignation by decreasing labor and operating costs and driving incremental revenue.
With GRUBBRR’s self-ordering technology, restaurants can stay open with less staff and streamline operations in the process. For consumers, restaurants with automation provide both speed and convenience, as employees can be repurposed from front-of-house tasks to other more impactful business functions. As machines begin to complement human labor in the workplace more frequently, we need to adjust to reap the benefts.
KEEP THE EMPLOYEES YOU ALREADY HAVE As mentioned previously, restaurants have resorted to drastic measures to fnd applicants for their open positions. However, restaurants have not paid enough attention to retaining the employees that they already have.
The frst, and arguably most crucial facet of retaining employees, is ensuring consistency. For restaurants looking to franchise, go public or expand, consistency is a non-negotiable necessity. Think of your favorite restaurant, where they already know your order, and it tastes just as delicious every time. These things are established through consistency of employment, as it is likely the same employees who are greeting you and preparing your food each time.
When establishing a restaurant, consistency is key to building the brand and building a customer base. Customers want consistency. To provide this, restaurants need to retain the employees they already have, especially the good ones. Implementing self-ordering technology serves as the perfect complement to your existing employment. With your longtime employees free to carry out the essential aspects of the business, you ensure that both your employees and customers are satisfed.
In addition, self-ordering technology ensures a consistent customer experience every time. With features such as loyalty programming, restaurants can capture data about their customers to provide a personalized experience and quantify lifetime value. Kiosks never have a bad attitude, always get orders correct, always upsell, and are fast and easy to use, and enables restaurant owners and marketers to curate a customized customer journey.
In addition to implementing self-ordering technology, Nation’s Restaurant News has a list of suggestions for keeping current employees, including referral bonuses, free or discounted meals, health benefts, 401k matching, and more. Creating a consistent restaurant experience begins with employees, so retaining the staff you already have while implementing self-ordering technology is vital, especially during The Great Resignation.
AUTOMATE JOBS NO ONE WANTS GRUBBRR’s core belief is that the cashier is obsolete. The goal of GRUBBRR is not to remove human interaction from business or to take away jobs but rather to help companies adjust to the changing landscape impacted by labor shortages and wage gaps. CNBC Reports that companies like Panera bread are experiencing a turnover rate of over 100%. GRUBBRR and Samsung solve this problem for business owners by flling jobs that people do not want and simultaneously automating commerce.
For cashiers, dealing with customers can become highly repetitive. This is because cashiers must perform the same few tasks: take orders, take cash, relay orders to the kitchen, and repeat. In a cashier position, employees are not engaged in meaningful work that leverages the full range of their abilities. According to research from McKinsey, 30 percent of the activities in 60 percent of all occupations could be automated. Implementing GRUBBRR self-ordering kiosks enables businesses to repurpose employees from cashier positions to other business functions to streamline effciency, increase revenue and maximize consumer satisfaction.
The one-time cost of a kiosk is a fraction of the price of carrying an employee. On average, a cashier at a quickservice restaurant open 15 hours per day will cost more than $6,000 per month (with all associated carrying costs), whereas GRUBBRR self-ordering systems are a fraction of that price. In addition, kiosks always show up, don’t call in sick, and are ready to work 24/7. Automating your cashier position with self-ordering technology will not only save you money but also drive incremental revenue through customized upselling and increased average ticket size.
REPURPOSE EMPLOYEES TO OTHER BUSINESS FUNCTIONS When you’re running on limited staff, as many restaurants are post-pandemic, every task must be completed as quickly as possible to keep operations running smoothly and ensure a positive customer experience. GRUBBRR’s self-ordering solutions make repurposing employees to streamline effciency a fast and frictionless process. The All-In-One Samsung Kiosk powered by GRUBBRR can take orders and accept payments without the need for a cashier. The Kiosk has a built-in card reader and receipt printer and even includes integrated NFC technology to accept mobile payments and credit cards and a scanner that enables self-checkout. This frees up employees to help out in the kitchen or other areas so that orders can be fulflled faster and more accurately, and customers will enjoy better, more consistent service.
GRUBBRR’s ecosystem of self-ordering solutions, including Kitchen Display Systems, also streamlines back-ofhouse operations through smart-station routing, inventory management, and order processing. This way, the transition from cashier to back-of-house is an easy adjustment, and employees can gain new skills working alongside automation.
Automating the essential functions of your restaurant and repurposing employees also paves the way for increased revenue through expanded, in-house delivery services or even management experience. For a restaurant to run smoothly during The Great Resignation, it is essential to increase employee satisfaction, which is aided by selfordering technology.
In addition to increasing revenue, decreasing operating costs, and enhancing the customer experience, GRUBBRR’s selfordering solutions also minimize human contact, provide reliability, and allow consumers to interact with businesses in a way that improves the experience for all parties involved.
When deciding how to proceed during The Great Resignation, making the most of your employees with self-service automation offers restaurants tremendous benefts. Not only can you automate tedious tasks and repurpose employees within the business, but it also helps retain existing employees by providing more opportunities for growth and improved business function.
By Julia Beck
JESSICA INTRO
Jessica Affalato is busy. Good busy, still her days are full. She is a mother, daughter, wife, friend and beloved Cheese Monger.
Jessica is a life-long learner - curious and eager to share her knowledge of the complex world of cheese.Jessica’s passion and dedication for all she does in each of these remarkable roles is only made bigger and brighter by her vibrant personality and her love of the American Artisanal Cheese Movement. A movement that is female driven, and remarkable in the ways it continues to bloom.
Cheese making has predominantly been a female profession. This is both historical (such as a milk maid on the farm) but also practical. Women can fnd a more welcoming atmosphere in cheese than in many other areas of food and hospitality. It’s more equitable. It simply offers more opportunity and growth.
Join me as we get the inside line on the myriad of ways Jessica does all she does, warning - this may get a little cheesy!
WHAT IS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WISH YOU COULD OFFER YOUR FORMER, EXPECTANT SELF?
It’s going to get harder in ways you can’t imagine. It’s going to get easier in ways you can’t imagine. It’s going to be more magical in ways you can’t imagine. Change will be the greatest constant in your life – learn how to sit in that.
DID YOUR CHEESE CAREER START OFF AS A PASSION PROJECT? WHAT CAME BEFORE? WHY DID YOU MAKE THE SHIFT?
I headed into the cheese world like I do other paths in my life – with curiosity and a complete unwillingness to look before I leap. It was an unusual feld with a cool skillset to learn. And by the third day I realized it combined everything I loved, customer service, working with rare objects, esoteric history, culinary, small farms, science. My business came because there aren’t a ton of jobs doing what I do and if I wanted to grow I’d need to create the opportunity for myself. No one was going to hand it to me. (Whenever someone says that it’s because they were exasperated and wanted to give up.)
My educational background has no bearing on what I eventually became. Getting a degree in experimental flm trained me to be a really great waitress. I landed in hospitality backwards but found its where I should have been all along.
IS THIS WHAT YOU EXPECTED WHEN YOU MADE YOUR MOVE TO CHEESEMONGER?
Oh boy. I don’t know if anyone has any preconceptions of what it is is to be a cheesemonger! I never even *knew* a cheesemonger before I became one. But I think that’s part of what I love. It’s an obscure feld where I get to write my own rules, my own professional code to go by. I don’t have a career yardstick to measure myself against or to which other people can judge me.
WITH TWO KIDS AND MANY RELATIVES CLOSE BY YOU HAVE A BUSY HOME LIFE, HOW DO YOU MANAGE ALL YOU DO?
My kingdom for a time turner. Work and family can subsume you. And often, I do feel like I’m squeezing myself into the cracks of my life especially in light of two inherently demanding young children. They need to be loved, cuddled, fed, taught, listened to, and cherished. I sacrifce loads of personal time to the needs of those around me and what I’ve created in my family and career.
On a practical level coordinating all my gadgets and gizmos with Apple has been a game changer. I have to code switch between mom to business owner frequently through the day. Stealing a few minutes here to write an email on my phone or getting text messages on my watch during school pickup or signing a contract in my ipad while cooking dinner. Not having to translate all these notes to different devices saves me hours of work time every week. Making my time more effcient is everything.
Jessica Affatato
Harbor Cheese
Julia Beck, founder of the It’s Working Project has been an active and engaged industry innovator for more than 25 years. As the category’s defnitive elder statesman and strategic partner, Julia and her team have been on the leading edge of the conversation and challenges at the center of the intersection between work and the female and parent universe. Julia’s unique perch and her cadre of cross-industry connections have led her on a path that at once supports economic growth, women and families. Julia’s passionate focus on the quality of and recognition of women is just part of the story. An avid traveler and home cook, Julia has an unparalleled enthusiasm for the whole of the food and beverage space. She is known for hosting an annual Cheese Suite in New York, dinners - ranging from high to low and is often found enjoying a bar-dine at some of her favorite spots. Ask someone where they met Julia, the answer will likely be right there - tasting and talking her way through a night at Gramercy Tavern, Eventide or Ris. Look for her too exploring new cities, cultures and food halls never forgetting her Philadelphia roots (pretzel, please), Julia’s career can best be categorized as consistently vibrant, evolving and certainly exciting. Her signature enthusiasm, humor, natural leadership and genuine care for her clients and the world as a whole have led Ms. Beck on an exciting path. We are thrilled to have her here, introducing us to some of her most beloved food fnds, the remarkable mothers who defne the world of Food and Beverage.
BECK JULIA
YOU WORK LONG HOURS AND OBVIOUSLY POUR YOUR DEDICATION INTO ALL YOU DO. HOW TO YOU KEEP YOURSELF RESTED AND WELL?
HA. Well that’s the name of the game, isn’t it? It’s a struggle to fnd space to attend to yourself. I try to remove as many “trackers” as I can in my own life. So no habit tracking, no food logging, no water logging. If I don’t have room to sit in my own mind to understand why I maybe didn’t hit a goal then the whole business becomes an exercise of self-fagellation. I try – and often fail, but keep trying – to fnd a way to be as present as possible in each moment.. The greatest and most radical form of self care is to live with a heart and soul wide open not only when they are perfect but also when they are in disarray. That deeper connection with those you love is worth everything.
WHAT PRO-TIPS DO YOU HAVE TO SHARE WITH OTHER NEW OR EXPECTANT MOTHERS?
That little life in you or in front of you has never existed and never will again. They are just as in awe of the moment as you are. We are but stardust made whole for a tiny bit of time. It will be a mess but it will be your beautiful mess that has never existed and will never exist again. And in that it is perfect.
WHO WAS YOUR BIGGEST SOURCE OF SUPPORT IN RETURNING TO WORK AS A NEW MOTHER?
Other moms telling me I am not in fact losing my mind. Also wine.
WHO ARE YOUR MENTORS? WHO DO YOU MENTOR?
I wouldn’t have one specifc person who I’d pluck out as a mentor. I have a lot of people I turn to for advice but never so much in a professional way. I do work hard to be an open book for anyone who comes to me for advice. I follow up with them and take such joy in seeing them develop.
FILL IN THE BLANKS
As a working parent, I never expected _________would be so hard and _____would be so much easier. As a working parent I never expected stillness would be so hard to live in and saying no would be so much easier
Leter from OurHouseKC A
OurHouseKC is a fast casual, laid back vibezzzz kind of place. When you walk in you are greeted by the bartender, the cashier, the food runner, and the owner alike. It never gets old…” Hey! Welcome to OurHouseKC! Check out the menu and order at the counter when you are ready.” We empower the customer to be on their own timeline. They can grab a drink at the bar while they wait for a friend, or step right up and order their food then head up to enjoy the live acoustic duo on the rooftop patio. We do live music 6 days a week. We also make the customer experience fun by handing them an original portrait of a musician as their table marker when they order. Table numbers are overrated, how about Bob Marley on your table while you eat instead? There are two things in this world that bring people together over all else…Food and Music. Our concept has these two forces at the forefront of our mission.
The atmosphere is casual, comfortable… the music on point…jammy, blusey, jazzy, some of the best local musicians in the city. The fresh, scratch made food is all original recipes from the owner growing up in the kitchen. Our ticket times are fast so you can be on your way, or feel free to stay. Everything is integrated so you can visit the café, bar, restaurant, rooftop and then close out your tab; or you can simply order and pay at the counter. We have really embodied the best customer experience from all angles and have almost everything a person could need throughout the day. Our rewards program is especially rewarding if you use us for your morning coffee, offce lunch, and fnally dinner or dessert…you never have to leave! Or you can come and go as you please.
This magical, easy-going experience all takes place in our little oasis on 39th street in Kansas City. We opened up the main dining room to allow the bar and dining room to be as one. When we are busy, its like a house party. People are free to move around as they please and we track them with their musician. If they move to the roof, they simply take Bob Marley with them and they can keep ordering from our food runners equipped with tablets. The feeling is warm, the murals are bright and colorful, the food is inspired by the city and out of this world, our margarita is one of the best there ever was…Everything has come together as one…YourHouse… Everyone’sHouse…OurHouseKC After working like crazy through the pandemic, losing both our fathers, remote schooling 4 children on the fy we decided to make one fnal push on this dream of ours that we had been working on for 3 years prior. Taking every meeting we could with every restaurant head we knew, meetings upon meetings upon meetings. In the true entrepreneur spirit, we weren’t taking no for an answer… but we did…a million times over…. until fnally the stars aligned, and we heard a yes, followed by another yes and before we knew it we had secured our location and it was on. We signed the paperwork to the minute of the one-year anniversary of one of our dads passing away. It was magic, it was him, it was both of them guiding us through. You ever open a restaurant with four kids 10 and under? First thing we did was put in a “kid room” speak easy in the basement. A place for them to do homework, watch tv, show off to their friends…they were set. And then the work began… We painted, put in foors, installed equipment, plumbing…omg the plumbing. We built out our place ourselves and with our loyal team that we had brought with us. We were the underdogs going to make it big in this restaurant world…Didn’t sleep for a few months and bam, we were at our grand opening!
The reviews were in and everything was a hit. Our Bob’s Burnt End French Dip Sandwich was named best bbq sandwich in the city. Our cinnamon rolls were driving people in our café doors, our Nutella latte was blowing people’s minds, our cocktails were the freshest people had ever tasted. We launched multiple menus including our Lunch & Dinner menu, our Brunch Menu, our Café Menu, our “House Party” menu for bulk group orders and our Buffet Catering Menu. We had online ordering and curbside from jump street. We were ready to get our community their food however they wanted it. Our product was coming out consistent and fabulous. In addition to our amazing food and drinks, we were helping to re-build the music community in our area. Live music was hit hard during the pandemic…we became a shining star for these musicians to perform to a crowd 6 days a week. We started hosting a song circle each month in our café for original music to be showcased as well as an open mic night once a month for any aspiring musician to take a shot at it. We built a long line of contacts in the music industry who quickly became friends in our mission to supporting the local music scene in Kansas City all the while making a name for ourselves in the food industry.
While we are still very new and launching something new each week such as private events, Chiefs watch parties, lunch box catering for an offce…we feel like we have been in this location, spreading the OurHouseKC love for years. We hope to grow old in this space and add a second or third location in our town. The Pandemic has taken a toll on everyone, we are happy to be part of the recovery bringing good beats, great eats and smoked meats back to our community. If you are ever in Kansas City, please stop by and see us, you won’t regret it. Now, let’s rock n roll.
