Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - March/April 2024 - 20

USE SOCIAL MEDIA
NETWORKS
to advertise jobs, like sharing
opportunities on LinkedIn,
creating a promoted post
on Instagram, or sharing
job postings in local town
Facebook groups.
rent, food, and utilities. The largest killer of work ethic is the
lack of reasonable pay. Why would you pour yourself into
work if you can't afford necessities of living? " (M. Tollefson,
personal communication, January 22, 2024).
If your salary is below a living wage or market rate-which
will vary by area-see if you can work with administrators
to increase your labor budget. If that is not an option, figure
out how to maximize other employment perks such as
tuition remission, continuing education, flexible schedule,
exceptional health benefits, free meals, etc.
Advertise jobs in multiple ways.
Surveys found Gen Z employees are likely to look for jobs
via word of mouth, online search engines, and social media
(National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation,
2018).
Let your personal network know that your department is
hiring, as they may have friends or neighbors looking for
positions. Use social media networks to advertise jobs, like
sharing opportunities on LinkedIn, creating a promoted post
on Instagram, or sharing job postings in local town Facebook
groups-along with posting on classic job websites like
Indeed.
Make the application process quick and easy.
Can job hunters quickly find your open positions online?
Is there a clearly visible " apply " button? And perhaps most
importantly, can the application be completed on a mobile
device, which is where many Gen Z folks may do so?
Research from Glassdoor found almost 65 percent of
foodservice job seekers use mobile devices to apply for
positions - higher than any other industry in their internal
research (Zhao, 2019).
Similarly, consider the length of the application. Research
from Glassdoor found that cutting application time by
10 percent was linked to a 2.3 percent increase in job
applications on mobile devices and 1.5 percent bump on
desktop devices (Zhao, 2019).
In other words, the longer the application and the more
difficult it is to complete on a phone, the more potential
applicants you're losing.
Emphasize stability.
Growing up during times of economic uncertainty and a
worldwide pandemic, members of this generation are often
considered more pragmatic and less idealistic than their
predecessors, the millennials.
In fact, research published by McKinsey & Company noted
" Many Gen Zers are keenly aware of the need to save for the
future...They already show a high preference for regular
employment rather than freelance or part-time work,
which may come as a surprise compared to the attitude of
millennials " (Francis & Hoefel, 2018).
In organizational food service, you can use this to your
advantage. Unlike the uncertainty of restaurants where tips
can make or break a shift, working in school food service or
a long-term care facility offers steady paychecks. Applicants
can also take comfort in the fact that employees are always
needed to prepare and serve meals in noncommercial
settings.
20 NUTRITION & FOODSERVICE EDGE | MARCH-APRIL 2024
Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - March/April 2024

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