Signing bonuses are usually reserved for star athletes, but restaurants desperate to hire staff to capitalize on the enthusiastic return of customers are having to get creative to lure workers back to the front of the house.
The generosity of American taxpayers offering extended unemployment benefits is having an impact.
Cameron James, president of the Greater Houston Restaurant Association, says higher salaries are an option some managers are adopting. “Wages are going up, and when wages go up, just like any cost going up, you have to look at you P&L and try to offset that cost, and I know one thing some operators are doing is a price adjustment.”
That means you’re going to pay in the end. Restaurants are having to make all kinds of adjustments. “The workforce shortage is eliminating hours that restaurants are open, limiting days of the week they are open. Chic Fil A is not the only one closed on Sunday. A lot of operators are having to choose a couple days that they can take the day off because they don’t have enough people,” James says.
photo: Getty Images