Just a few months ago there was a tremendous amount of hope that the summer boom would ease the restaurant labor crisis. Many were optimistic that the expiration of enhanced unemployment would push former employees back into the sector. Disappointingly, the much-anticipated revival has not come. The alarming truth is that the situation is looking direr than before.
The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveal that the number of people employed in restaurants, cafes, and bars in the US dropped by 42,000 in August this year. This marks the first decline in restaurant industry employment since April 2020. According to the Department of Labor, job openings for July hit 10.9 million, setting a record high for the fifth month in a row.
The numbers paint a very bleak picture. Contrary to previous expectations, it seems the restaurant labor shortage will not be resolved any time soon. This, despite some very attractive incentives being offered by restaurant operators, including higher wages, interest-free loans for education, signing-on bonuses, and gifts for crossing the 6-month milestone.
The only way to run your restaurant in circumstances as trying as these would be to work around the labor shortage. You need to reconfigure operations so that you will not have to hire more hands. In other words, you need automation.
A restaurant online ordering app is the perfect starting point. Your customers can place their takeout and delivery orders via your app and you will not need a designated phone operator. That is already one role crossed off the list!
When we think of a restaurant’s online ordering app, our minds go directly to pick-up and delivery. The wonder of this technology is that it can be used in-house as well. Once customers are seated, they can browse your menu and place their orders through your app. Payment is made when they confirm their order. Relieved of the burden of accepting orders and clearing checks, your wait staff can serve more tables. You can increase the size of service sections, lowering the number of front-of-house staff you will need to roster per shift.
Many restaurateurs have had to take some drastic measures to continue functioning amidst the labor shortage. The most common have been shorter opening hours per day and fewer operating days per week. There are quite a few eating and drinking places that have scaled down their seating capacity so that their smaller staff base can cope with the demand. These kinds of reductions have taken a severe toll on revenue and, for some, the financial impact has been so overwhelming that they have had to close down altogether.
With an online ordering app, your restaurant can resume regular operations with fewer front-of-house staff. You can continue to rake in the revenue, even though you may not have as many employees working the floor as you previously did. What is more, a restaurant online ordering app can help you save money. By making your restaurant more efficient, you can do well with a smaller staff base. You will no longer need to keep searching for staff. Because you will not be hiring as much, you will not have to fork out inordinate sums of money for hiring bonuses or treats for interviewees.
An Applova custom online ordering app is your restaurant’s solution to the current labor crisis. With Appova, you can fortify your restaurant against the vagaries of the market and stabilize your business.