How Restaurants Can Attract and Retain Workers Tempted by Retail Holiday Job Offers

Restaurants are still suffering from a labor shortage – according to the National Restaurant Association, as of September 2022 “eating and drinking places [were] still 560,000 jobs (or 4.5%) below their pre-pandemic staffing levels – tops among all U.S. industries.”

As a result, we’re seeing restaurants closing early or not able to open at all because they don’t have enough staff. They are struggling with false waits (customers waiting to be seated even when there are plenty of empty tables). And they are hiring staff they should not, assuming any warm body is better than no bodies.

And now cue the retail holiday job ads, that annual event enticing restaurant workers away with promises of elevated hourly pay and bonuses. Amazon, for instance, is advertising sign-on bonuses of up to $3000 for seasonal help. Each year, we hear from restaurant general managers how frustrated they are about staff jumping to retail jobs over the holidays. How can restaurants compete with…