Career development plans, English or cocktail classes, bonuses for good customer reviews, respect and scheduling… The restaurant industry is sharpening its wits to find and retain workers in the dining room and kitchen, in the face of the labor shortage it is experiencing.
Marketing theorists rack their brains to attract customers, generate visits, and increase spending, but by necessity, business owners innovate to design offers capable of attracting workers in a competitive environment.
According to the latest report from one of the job search and recruitment portals, Infojobs, in 2023 there were 63,562 waiter vacancies and 28,457 cook vacancies in Spain.
The average salary is 22,650 euros for waiters and 28,457 for cooks, but salary is just one of the issues that job offerers handle, as they increasingly include more “hooks” to fill the positions.
The “new” job offers
“We are looking for a receptionist: Opportunity to work in a jovial and entertaining environment. We offer an indefinite contract for 40 hours per week, with two consecutive and rotating days off, 30 days of vacation and 14 bank holidays, 12 payments, continuous training programs, English and cocktail courses.”
This is a real advertisement for a restaurant in Madrid, Inclan Brutal Bar, from the “Rosy la Loca world” group, managed with enthusiasm by Minerva Tapial, with a team of 200 employees on the payroll and seven locations with “hardly any turnover”.
One of the keys is the origin of its employees: “We just opened a new location and 70% of the staff comes from the rest of the group’s establishments, from the farm team; what we try to do is make them grow within, with us.”
It starts from the bottom, as the group has agreements with foundations that put them in contact with “people who are interested in working in the sector” and who have undergone “a training process of three or four months in the hospitality industry.”
The first step is to be a “runner”, who checks the table and delivers the dishes, but who also has to know how to explain it; that’s where the training plan on recipes or ingredients comes in.
“They have to know intonation, oratory so that when they arrive at a table they don’t sound abrupt or interrupt, and come off as rude,” explains Tapial.
Bonus for digital popularity
Regarding salary, in addition to bonuses associated with promotion, there are others awarded for sales and “digital popularity” (customer ratings on social networks).
Tapial argues that contrary to what has traditionally been said, not everyone can be a good professional in this sector, you need skills like empathy and hospitality: “The most important thing is to be hospitable. Then carrying the tray or opening the wine can be taught.”
On the other major issue in hospitality labor hiring, work-life balance, Tapial recalls that legally there are “two consecutive days off and 12 hours between shifts, but you can go much further, like turning the workplace into “safe” and coexistence spaces, where when someone has a problem, they can be helped.
“That’s where empathy towards your own lies,” she concludes, and everyone wins: “Happy employee, happy customer.”
Those who don’t have trouble finding professionals
Through his social media profiles and numerous appearances in the media, Jesús Soriano (@soycamarero) has become a reference for addressing the reality of a profession that is essential for the Spanish economy, highly dependent on tourism.
And, although he often posts embarrassing conversations and offers, he points out that “there are many companies that do it right and they have no trouble finding workers; others do, because they don’t do things as they should, and now, fortunately, people are more hesitant.”
Breaks, split shifts, or unpaid trials continue in a sector where “although we know we have to work on weekends, we don’t want to be slaves.”
Therefore, he notes, professionals value, work happily, and consequently provide better customer service where schedules are respected and planned well in advance, conditions are maintained, and the salary is adequate, with the extras required for split shifts or night work.
After a half-hearted Easter, the sector is gearing up for a high season in the restaurant industry, where they will have to strive to attract workers who can, in turn, attend to their customers.
