WORKFORCE
Labor takes center stage at the National Restaurant Association Show Several attendees talked about the importance of culture to improve employee retention, citing the pandemic as a catalyst on how the industry approaches its workforce. S everal themes emerged at this year’s National Restau- rant Association Show, many of which weren’t BY ALICIA KELSO EXECUTIVE EDITOR NATION’S RESTAURANT NEWS
came back to labor in some way, shape or form. Perhaps that also shouldn’t be surprising. The industry has been through the ringer on labor throughout the past few years, experiencing an all-time-high quit rate, union organizing, recruitment challenges and then some. The en- vironment has compromised oper- ating hours and has left big chunks of money on the table for many establishments. The hospitality in- dustry’s churn rate is double the
national average at 5.4%, while 79% of operators are still strug- gling to hire. That said, mindsets seem to be changing. “The pandemic created a spark in the hospitality industry that made us realize how important it is to invest in your culture. When you do that, turnover plummets. Employees have a lot of power right now. They’re not going to put up with a crappy workplace envi- ronment,” said Anthony Lambatos, founder of Mibe (Make it Better Ev- eryday). His company was started in 2020 to help hospitality industry leaders achieve “heart-led leadership and a strong company culture” through business coaching, workshops and more. The objective is to create a place where workers want to be and stay. “Culture is not equal to perks and benefits. Workers now want to be doing jobs where they feel they have a purpose and add value and with people they love, trust and re- spect, and that’s where our train- ing is focused,” Lambatos said. “Our philosophy is if you serve your people, they’ll better serve your customers.” Indeed, if there is a sub-theme to pull from the giant labor theme, it’s training. This is what the Na- tional Restaurant Association’s
all that surprising – for example, robots, invisible technology and plant-based offerings. But the recurring theme that tied much of this together was labor. Most conversations with exhibitors and operators and general attendees
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PHOTO CREDIT: NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION SHOW / OSCAR & ASSOCIATES
National Restaurant Association Show 2024
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