,

How Restaurants Can Attract Gen Z Staff

,

The War for Talent in the restaurant industry is a constant one, and it’s an aspect of your business that needs to constantly evolve as younger generations of workers enter the pool and demographics change.

Generation Z (aka Zoomers) should start being a focus on your recruiting efforts to bring in new, bright, and fresh talent to your restaurant. This generation comes on the heels of Millennials and, depending on who you talk to, are born between 1996 and sometime in the 2010s.

Unlike Millennials, who came into the workforce during the Great Recession, Zoomers entered employment during a strong economy and low-unemployment levels. COVID-19, of course, has changed all that and Gen Z has been hit especially hard.

In general, Gen Z is a highly educated generation with high-levels of college debt. They’re also more demographically diverse than previous generations and lean further left politically. Similarly to Millennials, they believe in the science that says climate-change is due to human activity, think black Americans are treated worse than white citizens, and are less likely to believe that the US better than all other countries. This remains true of their views even among Zoomers in the GOP.

So, what does all this mean for restaurants trying to court Gen Z candidates to work at their business? Let’s look at four broad categories.

Pay & Benefits

Like every other generation, Gen Z has bills to pay. And a lot of it is going toward their extremely high student loan debt. That means Zoomers are more demanding in how much they earn as well as the benefits the expect to receive.

In terms of pay, Gen Z has little toleration for being snubbed. More than a quarter of Zoomers (27%) stated they left their last job due to the pay. That’s a troubling for an industry known for low pay. And while there’s potential for restaurant servers to make some serious cash via tips, that doesn’t do the back-of-house staff much good. There’s also little security that servers will make a lot out of tips – COVID-19 notwithstanding.

But it’s not just solid pay that Gen Z cares about. They’re also looking for other benefits as well. According to one job report, Gen Z’s top three desired benefits include health insurance (32%), remote work (25%), and a 401k/retirement plan (25%).

And while working remote is a bit difficult in the restaurant industry (unless you have a dedicated marketing staff), you may want to look into adding a robust health insurance, PTO, and a retirement plan into your existing benefits.

Gen Z is also 7% more likely than Millennials to say that student loan assistance is their most desired benefit, so consider ways you can help this generation pay down their enormous school debt.

Promote Your Restaurant’s ‘Purpose Economy’

As we mentioned in our intro, Gen Z tends to lean heavier to the left politically than previous generations. And that political outlook plays heavily into their decisions to not only patronize a business but also accept employment from one.

Nearly a third of Zoomers said they would turn down a job due to a company’s negative social impact. They want to be part of a restaurant or business that has high ethics, appreciates diversity, and has a positive reputation in the community.

This means that if your business isn’t in line with their beliefs, you’ll have a harder time attracting them as employees. You’ll want to build and promote your restaurant as an inclusive and welcoming place that doesn’t tolerate harassment or bigotry from other employees or guests. You also don’t want a reputation for not treating your staff well, short-changing them, or abusing their status in your business.

Operators will also want to promote the good deeds you and your restaurant does outside of the dining room. Talk about what charities your business supports and has worked at. Play up your waste management and environmental sustainability programs. What projects has your restaurant participated in? What ways has your restaurant made the local community a better place to live and work? All this will help showcase your business as one that cares about more than just profit.

Work-Life-Balance is Key

This is one natural aspect of the restaurant industry that can really play into Gen Z’s wants. While the 9-to-5 job has been a staple of the American work culture for decades, Gen Z isn’t buying into it. The idea of “9-to-5” has slowly grown longer and longer for many workers, causing many severe stress. Mixed in with low pay, and Gen Z is more than happy to work elsewhere.

Gen Z wants a healthy work-life-balance. More than a third of Zoomers (36%) said a poor work-life-balance is a deal breaker when accepting a job. This is even higher than Millennials (28%) who said the same thing.

Additionally, more than half of Gen Z workers (55%) said they are drawn to gig jobs soley on the ability to work their own schedules.

This means restaurant operators and managers looking to hire Gen Z need to stress their business’s ability to do just that. Play up the fact that the restaurant industry and your business can provide the work-life-balance Zoomers crave. Talk about the varying shifts your staff have so they can enjoy an afternoon in the sun at the beach and then make some serious tips off guests in the evening.

Build a Healthy Work Culture

No doubt that work-life-balance is a key feature for what Gen Z would consider to be a healthy work culture. But it doesn’t begin or end there. Zoomers also want a nurturing, active, and creative environment.

More than 40% of Zoomers want to have a mentor at their job, stating that it helps build confidence and professional skills necessary for them to advance their careers. So pair up your Gen Z staff with your most seasoned employees. Have experienced staff show new Gen Z the ropes with an onboarding program and have them meet regularly for check-ins. Have involved conversations with them, too. Learn what they want, as individuals, from the restaurant industry and a career and figure out how your business can get them there.

Zoomers also want an active work environment – and what industry is more active on a daily basis than your restaurant? Regardless if they’re working as servers in your dining room, mixing drinks behind the bar on a weekend night, or serving up some amazing dishes in your kitchen, a restaurant is a highly active place to work.

In fact, Harvard Health Publishing estimates a 125lb person burns 150 calories per hour waiting tables, and a 185lb person burns 222 calories per hour of work. This translates into 750 calories per shift for 155lb server.

Zoomers also want work with a variety of people and at a place where they can be creative and try new things. So offer to let your Gen Z staff get their hands involved in several aspects of your business and solicit their opinion when it comes to making creative business decisions – such as your restaurant’s email marketing, new décor, and event planning.

Remember, it’s better (and cheaper) to build up raw talent already in-house than look outside your doors, so foster a healthy work culture and reap the benefits.

Share

Follow