hospitality hiring in an impossible environment

INSTAWORK

1

Hiring in an Impossible Market

The Problem

2

“How Tech Companies Disrupted Silicon Valley’s Restaurant Scene”

- NYT September 18

Expensive to Operate

3

• 70,000 square feet of Palo Alto retail and restaurant space were lost to office space from 2008-2015

• Palo Alto lease costs are $7.33 /square foot (up 60% from four years ago)

Expensive to Live

4

5

What We’re Seeing• Compensation increases

• High turnover

• 90-120% for BOH

• 50-80% for FOH

• Why people are moving

• Location/closer job

• Money

• Schedule flexibility

6

Hardest Areas• Geos

• Peninsula

• North Bay & Napa/Sonoma

• South Bay/East Bay

• SF

• Positions

• Line Cook

• Prep Cook/Dishwasher

• Host/Hostess/Reservationist

• Sous Chef7

Solutions

• Growing the labor pool

• Cross-training roles

• Creative compensation structures (compete with tech companies!)

8

9

• Scheduling

• Accommodating multiple jobs

• Partnering with neighboring restaurants

Job Posting Tips• Content

• Shorter = better

• Spanish translation

• Include compensation (even a range)

• Speed

• Stay on top of hiring managers

• SMS, phone, then email

• Combining stage + interview10

INSTAWORK

11

Hiring in an Impossible Market