Navigating Talent Gaps Across the Foodservice Industry

This edition of MRM's "Ask the Expert” features advice from Buyers Edge Platform. Please send questions to Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine Executive Editor Barbara Castiglia at bcastiglia@modernrestaurantmanagement.com.As restaurants open back up, operators are ready to hire, and in some cases, rehire, employees – but many are finding it difficult to find candidates willing to return to work, and the search for good talent is tougher than expected. With the unemployment boost extended through the beginning of September, unemployed foodservice workers don’t seem motivated to return to work. And since hospitality was one of the hardest hit industries during the COVID-19 pandemic, people are on the hunt for different kinds of “pandemic-proof” jobs. 

While restaurant employment has risen each month this year, according to the National Restaurant Association, despite the broad-based gains, restaurant employment remains below pre-pandemic levels in every…