Four Hidden Costs of Turnover and Tangible Strategies to Increase Retention

For operators in the restaurant industry, facing all too familiar workforce pressures in 2022, greater retention should be this year’s focus. 

The sector is on the heels of what the Washington Post dubbed “the most unusual job market in American history,” compounded by a newly familiar list of challenges: supply chain woes bearing down on procurement, a broader shift from onsite food consumption to app-based food delivery services, and escalating arms race of compensations and benefits among operators competing for an ever-shrinking pool of talent. 

Hospitality employees separated from their jobs at a rate of 6.8 percent in August 2021 according to St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank numbers, more than double the average for all other industries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that some 890,000 workers in the sector quit their jobs in a single month. 

In 2006, the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research estimated that the average cost to an employer per turned-over…