Pizza Today - January 2022 - 32

of issues. " The bosses aren't calling the
shots, " O'Brien says. " We make decisions
collaboratively with the employees it
affects. It's a two way dialog and a high
level of engagement. "
O'Brien adds that workers want more
than fair wages. They also want stability.
For example, they don't want to call in
sick and worry that it will result in getting
less desirable shifts in the future, or
otherwise losing status.
While wages get much attention in
the current environment, engagement
is important. Communicating with
employees is crucial to helping workers,
and the employer, thrive. " The mistake
business owners make is deciding in a
boardroom with their chief people that
this is what people need, " says Kathleen
Quinn Votaw, founder and CEO of
TalenTrust, a recruiting firm in Denver.
" They haven't even asked what they
need. "
Restaurant owners might find that
employees want to work shorter shifts,
or they might want to be involved in
decisions that affect their daily tasks.
More broadly, they want a feeling of
community, and they want to work
somewhere where they want to be. " It's
by Galbani®
Tigrato®
not about money, " Quinn Votaw says.
" Most workers will take 10 percent less
compensation if they feel respected, welcome,
cherished, and that they matter. "
They also want flexibility, as many workCut
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ers have other jobs and schedules. " We're
in a gig economy, " Quinn Votaw says.
Money and time
Others maintain that employee expec1
cheese brand.
tations are more mundane. " It depends
on if you're talking about salary or hourly
employees, " says Jason Berry, founder
and principal of KNEAD Hospitality +
Design, a restaurant group in Washington,
D.C. " The hourly employees want a
job, to get paid on time, and to go home
when they want to go home. "
The company's restaurants include
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Galbani is a® of Egidio Galbani S.r.l.
Kneadza Pizza and other concepts with
schedules ranging from early morning
bakery/breakfast to dinner. Berry says
employees, especially servers, want to
work early in the day. " People want the
opportunity to work breakfast and make
good money, " he says. " It's not as hard to
find those people. Everyone is competing
for dinner cooks, dinner hosts. That's
the challenge. "
Another challenge is that employees
might find certain benefits to be less
valuable than management thought
they would be. KNEAD Hospitality
offers health insurance to employees,
and shortened the waiting period from
one year to 90 days. Less than half of
workers signed up. " Most everybody is
young, " Berry says. " They don't think
they will die or get sick. "
Employees have other things on
their minds. " The majority of people
want three things: a fair wage, a safe and
inclusive environment and potential for
career development, " says Miller Mobley,
founder and co-owner of Slim's Pizzeria
in Birmingham, Alabama. " The people we
hire desire an environment that encourages
mutual respect, clear communication,
and freedom of self-expression. "
Slim's, which opened earlier this year,
tries to take care of staff needs. " We
believe if they are happy and feel taken
care of, they will in turn take excellent
care of our valuable customers, " Mobley
says.
Maybe it is about pay
Pay raises are presumably one way to
take care of employees. According to the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the
year ended September 2021, compensation
costs for workers in the leisure
and hospitality industry increased 6.9
percent from September 2020 to September
2021, compared with an increase
of 4.1 percent for the 12 months ended
September 2020. For private industry
workers overall, compensation costs
increased 4.1 percent, compared with
an increase of 2.4 percent for the year
ended September 2020.
More commonly, though, employees
want something else, and it helps to
listen to the questions applicants ask
during the interview. " We don't believe
there is a labor shortage, " says O'Brien,
from Pizzeria Lola. " There is a mismatch
of needs, and not finding common
ground. " n
NORA CALEY is a freelance writer who
covers small business, finance and lifestyle
topics.
http://www.GalbaniPro.com http://www.GalbaniPro.com
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