Maximizing Holiday Sales with Effective Restaurant Staffing Strategies
The holidays are always a busy time for restaurants. With families and friends gathering for festive meals, it’s no surprise that business picks up. But as you work to meet the demand and create great experiences, you may encounter staff problems in your restaurant.
Your regular team might be stretched too thin, leading to longer wait times. Plus, you may struggle to hire and train new seasonal hires, causing service hiccups. These challenges can make it hard to keep up the quality your customers expect.
The solution? Strategic planning and proactive staffing. By expanding your team before the rush, you can ensure you have enough trained staff on hand.
In this blog, we’ll share practical tips on how to expand your staff for the holiday season and how a manpower agency for Canada-based restaurants can help.
Understanding High-Volume Recruitment: What it Means for Restaurants
Peak season hiring is common in the restaurant industry, but it’s not always easy. The festive season brings a surge in customers, requiring more staff to keep things running smoothly. However, finding and keeping the right candidates can be tough.
Unique Challenges of Holiday Recruitment in the Restaurant Industry
● High competition
One of the biggest challenges of holiday recruitment is the increased competition for talent. Many restaurants want to expand their teams during this time, making it difficult to attract and retain qualified candidates.
● Inconsistent workload
During the holidays, restaurants need more staff to handle the influx of customers, but once the season ends, the demand decreases. This makes it hard for restaurants to keep skilled and experienced workers all year long.
● Employee turnover
Restaurant employees are ordinary people, too, who want to spend the holidays with their family and friends. They may request some days off or completely quit the food scene.
● Attracting qualified candidates
Restaurants aren’t the only ones needing extra help during the holidays. Retail businesses, for instance, also hire temporary workers for customer service, warehouse, or delivery jobs.
● Training and onboarding The high turnover during seasonal changes makes training new hires more costly and time-consuming. Restaurants need to train new staff quickly so they can provide top-quality service during the holiday rush.
How Early Planning Prevents Last-Minute Staffing Shortages
The demand for more staff during the holiday season can be overwhelming. It’s not just about having more people; it’s about having the right ones in the right roles. You need servers who can handle the fast pace, kitchen staff who can keep up with orders, and hosts who can manage the crowd—all while delivering top-notch service.
This is why planning is so important. Rushed hiring often means bringing in underqualified or untrained staff, leading to mistakes, slower service, and unhappy customers. By starting your recruitment early, you can avoid these issues and ensure you have a well-trained team ready for the holiday rush.
Having effective high-volume recruitment strategies can help you build a team that can maintain your restaurant’s standards during the busiest time of the year.
4 Effective Recruitment Strategies for Restaurants
Prepare for the holiday rush as soon as today. Here are some practical tips for expanding your restaurant staff.
1. Start early
The sooner you start recruiting, the more time you have to find, screen, and train the right people. Starting early also helps you avoid the stress of last-minute hiring, which often leads to rushed decisions and underqualified staff.
For instance, if your restaurant gets busier in December, begin hiring in late September or early October. This timeline gives you plenty of time to fill positions and ensure new hires are ready for the holiday rush.
2. Leverage employee referrals
Who else can point you to qualified candidates than your existing staff? Employee referral programs are great for hiring faster and more reliably.
Referred candidates also tend to understand the workplace better, which means they might stay longer. You can offer incentives like a bonus or extra time off to employees who refer someone who stays through the holiday season.
3. Utilize staffing agencies
Recruitment is often time- and resource-intensive, so consider hiring a manpower agency to do all the work for you. They specialize in quickly matching you with qualified candidates, which is especially helpful during busy times like the holidays.
For example, if you don’t have the time to hire thoroughly, recruitment agencies for restaurant staff can provide a list of pre-screened, experienced candidates ready to work. This saves you time and gives you access to a wider pool of talent, reducing the risk of staffing shortages during the busy season.
4. Digital recruitment tools
Technology can be your best friend when hiring for the holidays. Use online job boards and social media to attract candidates who might not be actively searching for jobs in more traditional ways.
You can also use targeted ads on social media to reach specific demographics, such as students looking for seasonal work or experienced professionals seeking part-time positions. Leveraging these digital tools can help you cast a wider net and find the best candidates faster.
How to Conduct a Post-Holiday Analysis
After the holiday season, it’s important to review your restaurant’s performance to see what went well and what didn’t. This way, you can improve and plan better for future busy times like Valentine’s Day or summer holidays.
Here are some key areas to focus on:
● Staffing levels – Evaluate whether your staffing levels were adequate to meet the increased demand. Did you experience any staffing shortages or surpluses?
● Service quality – Assess customer satisfaction levels and identify any areas where service quality could be improved.
● Operational efficiency – Review your restaurant’s overall efficiency during the holiday season, including factors like kitchen performance, turnaround times, and waste management.
● Revenue and profitability – Analyze your restaurant’s financial performance during the holiday period. Did you achieve your revenue and profit goals?
Contact Staffhouse to Ensure Your Restaurant is Fully Staffed and Ready to Thrive this Holiday Season
The holidays mean more restaurant customers, so a strong staffing plan is essential. Use the strategies in this blog to recruit and manage your team for a successful holiday season.
Leverage Staffhouse International Resources’ deep-rooted expertise in the food and beverage industry. With a proven track record spanning from bustling quick-service restaurants to upscale fine dining establishments and luxurious hotels, our team excels in sourcing and delivering tailored candidates.
