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CONCLUSION
Safety and ergonomics shouldn't be the only aspects considered in designing employee-facing
facilities. It is imperative that organizations demonstrate their appreciation and understanding of the
importance of the people doing the work. Spaces should be professionalized so that employees are
proud to come to work and feel taken care of. Employees should have a way to enter the space
without walking through the waste area as it is not inviting for the first glimpses and smells of a shift
to be food waste. Employees should have comfortable locker rooms to change in and take care of
themselves before and after their shifts. Organizations should design the facilities so that they are
both temperature and humidity controlled as this has a great impact on the comfort of the employee.
Working towards professionalizing the work environment for crucial team members will not only help
to increase efficiency but also employee affinity for the organization.
Labor issues, including cost and availability, have been and look to continue to be major issues for
college and university foodservice. Professionalizing the environment, as just discussed, is one
avenue to create greater affinity with employees, increasing attraction and retention. Employees are
also looking for greater flexibility in their hours and pay timetables. Organizations should explore
how to offer employees 12-month work opportunities, along with the traditional 9-month standard.
Flexibility in shifts should also be considered in that some employees need short, extended, or split
shifts to accommodate their other responsibilities. Pay should also be made available through an app
on a more frequent (even daily) basis.
Issues surrounding labor extend beyond hours and pay, and delve into areas of employee skills and
the attractiveness of the institution. Foodservice organizations need to market themselves better to
those highly skilled individuals within the labor market. Benefits, work-life balance, and training and
development are all elements that institutions should tout to attract more qualified employees. There
is still a stigma among restaurant culinary employees that working in institutional foodservice is not
going to be fulfilling. To combat this perception, it is crucial that potential employees are shown their
impact on students and the innovation ingrained into the dining programs.
Training and development are not new concepts, however, they need to be codified and entrenched
into the college and university foodservice culture. Institutions should create impactful, relevant, and
clear training programs that provide a concrete path to take less skilled employees and elevate them
through the ranks, gaining knowledge and executing ever-greater competencies along the way. By
investing in their growth, institutions can create greater affinity with the employee, create a deeper
'bench' of talent, and retain these individuals.
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