Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - November/December 2021 - 33

ChristinaBodanza@morrisonliving.com
Associates are leaving food service. This is a
hard and brutal truth, that even as businesses
ramp up or reopen post-pandemic, previous
employees are either not returning; or, in
many cases, current ones are calling it quits.
They are through with the long hours, hard
work, low wages, and missed time with
family and loved ones. And those are just the
managers.
The June 13, 2021 issue of Business Insider
reported that a whopping 5.6 percent of
restaurant workers quit their jobs in April,
leaving the restaurant segment with 1.34
million job openings. Statistics like these
have sent shock waves throughout the
foodservice industry, which was already
facing an acute labor shortage pre-pandemic.
Seeking to stick a bandage on the problem,
we're seeing billboards and marquees
promising higher wages, sign-on bonuses,
referral rewards, and " free training. " Make
no mistake, we have always offered to train
for free-preferably on the job, and while
covering a shift for a call-off.
Are any of these incentives really new? We
have experienced almost desperate pleas
for staffing for the past several years from
all industry segments including fast food,
fine dining, business, and health care.
The difference is that now even long-term
employees are leaving-frequently in the
middle of a shift. In explanation, they have
simply had enough.
Stop the chaos. We have taken years to get
here, through our own actions, offering
lower wages while expecting more skilled
applicants. For anyone crunching numbers
the answer is simple: We must tighten
budgets to meet financial demands. Food
is going up, and health care and benefits
increase every year. However, are these
substantive reasons, or an excuse? We often
disparage excuses from our employees,
so why are we now accepting them from
ourselves?
As a regional executive chef for a leading
senior living hospitality company, I have
great opportunities to rub elbows with all
levels of leadership while managing the dayto-day
grind of a working production team.
The formula for success with hiring plays out
across the nation: How do we find the right
level of talent, pay them what we have in our
post-pandemic budget, and not just meet but
exceed our resident and client expectations?
What follows is a collective wealth of
knowledge from professional colleagues
across industry segments and the breadth of
the nation.
EVALUATE YOUR
COMPENSATION PROGRAM
First and foremost, find the compensation
point that you need to hire professionals,
because that is what you want-not a oneoff,
pirate chef with a questionable past and
sketchy work ethic. A word of guidance from
a past employer has stuck with me through
the years-when the unemployment rate is
low, it equates to an employment rate that is
high; this means there are a wealth of bodies
going to work each day, completing tasks,
and meeting expectations. You just need to
have them punching in on your time clock.
ENGAGE YOUR TEAM
The pandemic has taught many in the
workplace that what they want most in
a career are purpose and opportunity. In
senior living and throughout health care
we have the perfect environment to supply
these things. Engage your team. Take turns
with resident demos and " meet the cook "
teaching kitchens to bridge the gap between
what we do and who it's for. Delve further
into associate involvement opportunities by
pairing line cooks with sanitation goals and
menu development; plan outdoor events
and feature a team member's favorite family
Continued on page 34
NUTRITION & FOODSERVICE EDGE | November-December 2021 33
Christina Bodanza,
CEC, CDM, CFPP,
CDP, PCII is Regional
Executive Chef,
Michigan Morrison
Living/Compass Group.
She was named Chef
Professional 2018 by
the Greater Grand
Rapids Chapter of the
American Culinary
Federation.
Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - November/December 2021

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