Restaurant Staffing for Today and Tomorrow

Since quarantine lockdowns began mid-March of 2020, restaurants faced unprecedented turmoil. Before global lockdowns, the U.S. restaurant industry suffered from a 74.9 percent annual turnover rate, and even more for some businesses. At the onset of the pandemic, around two thirds of all restaurant employees were displaced, with many restaurants pivoting to off-premise dining to survive. Already some prominent restaurant groups are rehiring their staff, signaling better times ahead. As we head into an uncertain future, let’s examine what restaurant staffing will look like post-pandemic.

The InvestmentRegardless of the circumstances, staffing is an economic commitment. On average, onboarding a new employee can cost between $1816 per hourly worker. If your restaurant team is 25 people and you lose 74.9 percent per year, then you’ve spent around 34K per year on training alone. This figure can go up for management staff, which costs $10,361 on average in 2019. With the median…