DALLAS The second-quarter Workforce Index results for casual-dining companies mirrors what has been emerging as a theme for the segment in recent months. Some have said that "flat is the new growth for the industry" and holding steady in turbulent times is the name of the game.
In terms of staffing levels, just 24 percent of companies increased their management staffing, with the bulk of companies holding management levels steady. However, on the hourly level, twice as many companies — 40 percent — increased their hourly employees as the percentage — 20 percent — that decreased them.
Accordingly, while vacancies remained a problem for the industry, nearly 25 percent of casual-dining companies experienced a decrease in hourly vacancies, with 32 percent of companies undergoing a decrease in vacancies at the management level.
However, as nearly any recruiter will tell you, filling those vacancies is far from easy. Recruiting remains extremely difficult, and four out of every five companies saw no change in the difficulty to recruit hourly employees from the previous three months. In fact, only 8 percent of companies thought it easier to recruit hourly employees in Q1 '08 than in Q4 '07, and almost twice as many companies — 25 percent versus 13 percent — felt it was harder to find quality management hires.
One of the most closely monitored components of the Workforce Index, the turnover component, showed signs of easing this quarter, as only 48 percent of companies reported rising turnover rates at the hourly level. On the management front, just 13 percent experienced an increase in turnover.
While steady turnover and vacancies often show that companies are doing a better job at retaining both hourly and management employees, given the current stagnant economic environment, these developments indicate that industry employees are reacting to the economic uneasiness by holding onto their current jobs rather than leaving. Some of these people may be top performers, but history has shown that marginal employees are most likely to stay the longest during an uncertain job market.
With quality employees few and far between, casual-dining companies must continue to seek innovative ways to build quality bench strength in both hourly and management ranks. Many economists expect the current downturn to be short-lived, and as the economy turns the corner, rising turnover rates are sure to follow as new jobs will be plentiful — especially for the most marketable employees. Operators would be wise to lay the groundwork now for recruiting and retaining new sources of great talent.
— By People Report analysts
