Yeah, yeah........I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but take a look at the Positions Vacant section of todays Merc, then check out all the hospitality-related jobs. You'll find 17 establishments TODAY requiring staff, who have advertised. There are only 2 pages comprising the Positions Vacant section today. Guaranteed there are more who haven't advertised today.
Black Buffalo, Astor Grill, Zum, Jean Pascal, Mens Gallery, Geppettos of Sorell, La Porchetta, Theatre Royal, Royal Hobart Golf Club, Carlyle, Barilla Bay to name but a few.
So - to hark back to my question of a few weeks ago - this coming summer season is going to see the crisis in (particularly hospitality) staffing - hospitality business owners - what are you going to do? It's NOT going to revert to the 'good old days' of having heaps of people tripping over themselves to attend your job interviews.
You'll be lucky to get 5 applicants for your job ad in the paper. Then you'll be equally lucky to get 3 to turn up for interview. Then, if you find one or two satisfactory for hiring, and offer them the job, you'll find yourself surprised if they actually get to stick it out longer than the first few shifts, if they've turned up that is. (Please note I'm definitely not bagging jobseekers here! It may sound like that to the defensive, but believe me, that's not the aim of this post)
I'm generalising - but the above is now commonplace in Hobart today, as we speak.
To quote a hospitality manager who said these very words to me last week - "I don't interview them now, they interview me".
The worm has turned. It's up to you to look intelligently at your businesses. Think globally about exactly what it is you are wanting to achieve. Whether it's a tax write-off for your other activities, a venue to produce your best food, the trendiest tapas bar in Hobart or whatever. You need to think seriously and laterally about how you are going to achieve your requirements of the business.
You might need to re-look at your shift times to make them more accomodating for staff with different time constraints to you. You might want to find a like-minded fellow business owner to 'share' a valuable employee who requires more or different hours which you can't offer them on your own. Dare I say it - but you might even need to offer a higher wage to retain people you value.
Again - I say - don't say I didn't warn you.
Wednesday, 3 October 2007
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27 comments:
look at the venues? what could one of them offer a person who is passionate about food, wine and service. i say it'll be tough for the guys getting served by topless women......no wedges with the titties?!?!
these places run on uni students/ drifters. serious hospitality workers are already employed. they just need to be cloned!
It would be professional suicide to comment on the venues, Anon! So I won't.
The serious hospitality workers you mention are in grave danger of being poached. I have heard of 2, I repeat TWO, serious hospitality workers who have been approached within the last 24 hours to switch employer! Money is the key in both scenarios. They are comparing money they are currently being offered, and money the potential new employer is using to tempt them.
And yes, I agree. They DO need to be cloned.
The obvious answer for me is to get involved "grass roots" style and capitalise on the popularity that "celebrity chefs" have brought into homes around the world.
I know of groups of teens studying the culinary arts who would kill for the opportunity to get a hands on exposure to the stuff they see on TV. Why not get them together in an environment with some hype and excitement and no bollocks, and show them how gratifying creation of flavours and art-on-a-plate can be.
Rita, the points you make are extremely valid and Tasmania cannot afford apathy in this situation. People shortages aren't a ficticious thing politicians like to trot out when there's nothing better to say, they're a very real problem now!
Tasmania R-E-L-I-E-S on tourism and people who come here expect more. If we don't provide it, they will turn away and where will that leave us? A stunted economy, low (or negative) growth and it'll be the 1990's all over again.
Thanks for endorsing my words of wisdom Gary.
Let's hope more read and take note.
I wanna be there for the culinary hype and excitement and no bollocks day! Let's do it!
hehe not that they need my endorsement but I get passionate about stuff...
thats ALOT! If I didnt HATE HATE HATE working hospitality (low fool and idiot tolerance) I'd apply to get some extra money. But still - thats ALOT of people.
Wow, Rita, that's bad and as you say there's probably a lot more who haven't advertised yet.
My missus saw a half-page ad from Harris Scarfe (I think it was Saturday) looking for heaps of staff from management down.
I was in there two weeks ago and couldn't find anyone to help. There was one girl on a ``checkout'' at the door.
So retail and the food industry are suffering. Why? Shit hours and shit pay.
One chain store told its dwindling staff that they had to ``teach the customers to serve themselves''.
What a bloody attitude.
No kids, don't settle for the crap on offer, demand better. Management, politicians, are you listening or sharpening up the clauses in your AWAs?
Sir Grumpy
it's not just the retail and hospitality sectors that are suffering... tasmania is losing people of working age rapidly to greener pastures (in their opinion).
We have reverted to negative net interstate migration and have now had 5 consecutive quarters of more people leaving the state than moving here.
In all the time since man existed (probably anyway) we have always experienced more people in the working age popluation (18 - 45 year olds) leaving Tasmania.
We all need to work together to either stop them leaving or get them to move back here. We need to commmunicate our wonderful opportunities and lifestyle but also work with our industries and valued staff to ensure they stay.
And poaching from each other doesn't help anyone...
Good post Rita, we seem to be all covering the staff dilemma these days.
Yes you are right to bring up more money, conditions & career advancement to entive & keep people in hospitality.
The fact remains that to be successful in hospitality you must really love it.
The public have a right to expect a high level of service & food when they part with their money.
The problem is thathospitality is such a subjective thing that someone may think that because they are serving/cooking/cleaning to a satisfactory level that it equates to doing a good job.
The reality is that 'doing a good or satisfactory job' does not neccesarily a good experience make. In fact, paradoxically it is rated as 'not a good job' or actually 'below parr' by most people who eaty out.
part of the problem is that people are looking at it like a job which is fine on finacial terms but not on human terms. By this I mean yes they are doing what is required but turn the tables & ask them if they were being served/cooked for / or cleaned for, would they have the same level of detatchment?
The answer is probably no. Sure not everyone is a live wire who can make the most mundane job sing but I believe everyone can determine who is giving their all as opposed to those who are just clock punchers.
Hospitality cannot be done by just anyone. because it is treated as a 'right of passage', a way to get through uni or anyone can do it does not serve the industry well. In fact it really devalues those who make a career aout of it. Sure there may an article about some long serving sommelier or funky new chef but it is still treated like a frivolous, anyone-can-do career. Thats why there is so much to-ing & fro-ing about our experiences at cafes/restaurants etc, we're all experts you see.
But you know what, we're not.
We may be as critical of the sparky, the chippie & the plumber but we will always ring them when we need them, especially if the choice is limited. The same cannot be said of the restaurant, cafe or kiosk.
perhaps that is the secret? This industry is not an essential service for sure, but it would be a very dull place without it.
great thread again,
sir g,shit hours,shit pay,dont forget shit work!
gary,this is where i think keeping youngsters in the trade is going to be difficult.celeb chefs rocking in looking cool whipping up a treat ...its bullshit ,sure it might get some interested but when they find out what its really like its more often than not "im outta here"kids these days seem to want to start at the top,they dont realise that this industry is a real grind a t first.its real dirty work not glamourous as its made out to be .
gobbler .you nailed it,you must have passion and love it.
lisa,you cant blame ppl for wanting to experience new experiences and chase some dollars especially if you havnt been/lived anywhere else.but like you say,tassy has a great lifestyle and plenty to offer, in particular to mainlanders and internationals.
rita "show me the money"!!!
Gobbler - well said. You're spot on when you say hospitality can't be done by just anyone. Maybe in 40 years time it will be looked on as a specific career which requires that specific mindset as well as committment to providing the superlative customer service experience, which would embrace all facets of service - genuine friendliness; care; expert knowledge about the food and wine, the flavours, the origins etc. I just don't see it happening overnight, because as you point out, it's currently a right-of-passage for many; a vehicle to get them from point A to point B. I wish it could be different, and I passionately hope I live long enough to witness same.
Lisa - valid points all.
Valentino - you're right about the "shit hours, shit work, shit pay", but ideally, if you're one of those serious hospitality workers I was speaking about earlier, that's par for the course. You already know & acknowledge that. You've moved on from that negative, and you just get in there & do whatever you have to do on the day to provide your penultimate hospitality experience for your customers.
Gary's point is valid, because the young ones are the ones who'll be the grumpy old grouches in 10 years time whining about the shit hospitality experience they had from a member of their own generation yesterday at their local cafe.
so, does/can anyone propose a solution?
is it possible to provide a career in hospitality in Hobart/Tasmania at one establishment? ie can you employ people on a permanent, full time basis to provide the expected service?
Can we redesign the job descriptions so that the 'crap work' is removed from the essential service delivery that affects the 'brand', reputation of the industry or establishment and create employment opportunities for the disadvantaged or capable disabled?
Perhaps rethinking the target market of who and what you want to attract to work in the industry and then rethink how you communicate to the market place?
Obviously there are seasonal issues in place that require casual transients but there must be ways to manage it better, for everyone involved, industry, establishment, employer, employee and diner.. not too mention blogger!
We are all ears Lisa. When you say 'there must be ways to manage it better', do you have any suggestions?
I thought I had outlined a few :-)
1) assess or reassess and redesign job descriptions, roles and responsibilities
2) try to identify opportunities for permanent, career based positions
3) utilise industry/regional cluster options by sharing staff to engage more permanent, committed staff
5) invest in staff - financially and non-financially, support their committment to hospitality as a career
6) utilise non-traditional sources of labour for crap/lower skilled work eg disadvantaged and disabled - contact WISE Employment
7) change the target market and communication message and position, language and tone to attract different candidates/job seekers
8) empower permanent staff to engage and motivate seasonal/casual staff
9) try to be flexible and at least have the discussion with valued staff. Be fair.
Finally, recognise that things have changed and the status quo doesn't necessarily work anymore... change with the times...
Boy lisa you've got all the buzzwords and phrases down.
Sory, but most of your list is just management-speak and is exactly the management-style response that dresses itself up as action but is, sorry, mostly bullshit.
Redesign job descriptions...yeah that'll peel potatoes.
Cluster options..ain't that cluster bombs?
Number 7 was unintelligible (I don't usually like that word but was responding in kind). It was something to do with language and communication but was a shitload of nonsense.
Make permanent staff motivate casuals...I think they do but they've got enough on their plate.
BUT LISA AND THIS IS WHERE I THINK YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED.. NUMBER 6.
YOU WANT ``CRAP/LOWER WORK'' to be done by THE DISABLED OR DISADVANTAGED.
JESUS CHRIST. What about internment camps for a labour pool, or refugees from africa perhaps?
Sir Grumpy but astonished.
Lisa, did David Brent write these comments?
SEriously, I am sure that your ponts are constructive but frankly I had real trouble understanding what you are saying, sorry!
I will pick up on one point though, changing the job description from 'Potato Peeler' to;
A Tuber casing exclusion specialist
still means they have to peel the potato. It doesn't change anything. In fact I think by making a job description sound more grand that it actually causes people to feel patronized.
I think it would be helpful to use plain language in order for your ideas not to sound like jargon Lisa. Please try again.
Lisa, you weren't the person behind Tassie's Essential Learnings (sic) plan that was flushed down the toilet were you?
That jargon is just the stuff every worker hears from management who never see the real world.
But using such jargon usually wins you a job at the top.
Amazing, eh?
Actually, you got it wrong, and I rest my case.
Quit whinging about your staff problems and recognise that you need to change and then do something about it.
You can't change the people that work for you, you can only help yourself.
Good luck, from a small business owner
So when questioned about her ideas Lisa's response is to say 'Stop whinging'.
Isn't there a contradiction to her point 10?
"try to be flexible and at least have the discussion with valued staff. Be fair"
These words sound as hollow as I suspected after all.
I hardly think that Lisa's attitude is constructive or promotes discussion, in fact it says the opposite to me.
With that kind of dictatorial attitude I'm sure she'll be in small business for a while to come.
Good luck her employees who wanted to discuss.
sigh, why should I bother when I get abused like this? I hope that you don't speak to your staff or friends or family in this way, I hardly think you are constructive anonymous.
Gobbler, thank you for being constructive in your approach.
I actually didn't mean fancy up the job titles, and I totally agree with you about over selling the roles. What I meant was try and look at a way to separate the different responsibilities within a role so that you can attract the right people to fit the type of role. Can a job be split into two and target two different types of staff to fill the role appropriately? Does one person have to do the potato peeling, washing up, sweeping, order taking, front of house etc?
Valentino and Anonymous Mr Grumpy referred to shit hours, shit pay and shit work... Gobbler referred to devaluing those people who choose hospitality as a career.
Rita said in her initial blog "The worm has turned. It's up to you to look intelligently at your businesses. Think globally about exactly what it is you are wanting to achieve. You need to think seriously and laterally about how you are going to achieve your requirements of the business.
You might need to re-look at your shift times to make them more accomodating for staff with different time constraints to you. You might want to find a like-minded fellow business owner to 'share' a valuable employee who requires more or different hours which you can't offer them on your own. Dare I say it - but you might even need to offer a higher wage to retain people you value.
Stop targetting people who see hospitality as a means to an end and try and get people to have the passion and love hospitality like gobbler does.
Because I didn't have a point 10 previously, I will add one in now:
10) treat people as you would like to be treated
Thanks for explaining in more detail Lisa. I think the last anon & Sir Grumpy were a bit harsh because I can see that you have given this issue much thought.
In recent years I have begun to realise that it is I that must change some of the ways I interact with staff & yes I've made mistakes & not handled things as well as I'd liked. In fact I have done quite a few recent postings on this subject(sorry to spruik on your blog Rita!) on my blog.
Perhaps a reason for some of the anguished sentiment that your comment elicited from a couple of people could be that they are suspicious of the whole 'manangement speak' that tends to be more common in the workforce these days? This coupled with a perhaps a misunderstanding of generational value changes may be why the responses are so passionate. It may be that these frustrations are borne from not knowing how to deal with these differenes effectively?
Sir Grumpy was harsh because while he might have been kinder he then got to the point about using the disabled/disadvantaged for the Crap/lower skilled work.
Then, any regard for your case evaporated. Couldn't help it.
I notice you don't mention this point in your reply.
If I offended you with my responses, I'm sorry.
Did you really mean to say that Lisa, or were you just not thinking?
I prefer to hope you didn't think it through.
Point 10 means nothing if you maintain your views on people from that point 6 sentiment, Lisa.
Sir Grumpy but perplexed.
PS. I meant to say I'm glad you DO bother Lisa. And we've all had a serve from time to time...especially me...and I never even deserved it, it was Gobbler's idea, honest.
Sir Grumpy
To all those having a go at Lisa- don't shoot the messenger!
Labour is a market. We have to deliver to this market as well as we try to deliver to consumers.
The opportunities are there for those who grasp this opportunity.
Otherwise you can join the back of the labour queue.
Sir Lancelot
does lisa the small business owner actually think that none of us out there might also be small business owners doing it tought because we wanted to get out of that shit hours shit pay etc...and still we get thr raw end of the deal beacuse as we are small the bigger wholeale places dont want to deliver to us as we are out of the way or sorry we dont supply that small amount can you buy by the pellet load...sorry am i getting of the point...yes I probably am....another small business owner frustrated by the hospitality industry but still here coz I DO have the passion for food and i DO love the most of the time good people I get to mix with(ie customers/clients)
(Apologies for such a long post)
I'm a little disturbed by the way this has turned. I jumped on board because I am passionate about young people making the right career choices for both their future, and for an increasingly competitive labour market.
My understanding is that people who are highly successful in hospitality are masters of subtle communication but we're not seeing a great deal of it in parts of this thread.
Chefs are in charge of their kitchen and ultimately responsible for what goes on the table and I know there's a lot being bandied about regarding Gen-Y but the serious warning is that if you don't learn how to communicate with this age group, you will not only lose fresh staff through attrition, you will be hard pressed to find them to replace them and bring fresh ideas through. Of equal concern to everyone should be that this will also translate to loss of customers. Young people want to be in a young-consumer-oriented environment, surrounded by like people and being treated to experiences and sensations that push their buttons.
How are you going to provide this if you adopt a "bah humbug" attitude?
Do I prefer going to a place which suits my attitude toward life and decor? Do I like being served by a friendly emo chick (or guy) with several colours in their hair who sits at the table while they take my order? Would I like it if said waiter sat down and joined me for a cigarette (providing the conversation with my dining partners wasn't serious)? Yes, yes and yes but only if there was strong attention to detail, a few little extras you wouldn't normally expect, the behaviour was appropriate for the space and the food was exciting enough.
Ok so that's not appropriate for fine dining and I am not suggesting that young people should be the only ones who are catered for, but that's where a restaurant needs to build a culture and employ people and strategies based around that culture.
Too many places I've experienced here try to capture as many demographics as possible and end up being little more than average.
Kaos (and Soak), Gilt, Sugo are fine examples of cafes who understand their markets, pitch appropriate coffee, food and prices, and wrap it up in perfect ambiance and staff attitude. And they work very well. The Bay Leaf Bistro in Sandy Bay is another fine example of an establishment that knows it client base extremely well and pitches to it.
Garry, a Gen-Y with an attention span.
I actually believe that industry/employers (all industries) discriminated against the disadvantaged/disabled, with the perception that employing those that are physically or interlectually challenged adds to the costs, financial, time and effort of running a business. I quote from a recent article "WISE Employment’s Regional Manager Southern Tasmania, Colleen Hooper has many years experience working with people with a disability to find employment. She believes that people with a disability are an under-utilised and undiscovered source of talent in the workforce.
“Did you know that employees with a disability have been found to have less occupational health and safety incidents, as well as having excellent productivity and attendance rates? ” Colleen said.
Colleen believes that hiring a job seeker with a disability can bring a number of benefits to an employer.
“With staff from a broad range of backgrounds, your organisation can understand and communicate more effectively with a diverse customer base,” she said.
“A diverse workforce can expose staff members to new ideas helping them to become more responsive to change.”
Workplace diversity embraces people’s individual experience and skills – meaning you have happier, more productive staff member who are more likely to stay with your organisation.
Which is why I suggested reassessing your traditional hospitality roles, dissecting or separating some of the tasks to create new 'job descriptions' that you can use to target the most appropriate skill set.
I would also like to disagree with a comment Gobbler made earlier, that the hospitality industry is not an essential service like our trades. I would argue that the hospitality industry is becoming more and more important to the every day person as more emphasis is placed on the life component of people's life work balance. Gone are the days when a treat out was a night at the pub, these days you go to the pub when you can't be bothered cooking yourself, and a treat out is Restaurant 373 or Monty's or the new Piccalilly.. people are turning to more traditional hours of work (which is why hospitality and the health services industries in particular struggle to get staff) so that they can enjoy their evenings and weekends as singles, couples or families. As such they place a greater expectation of delivery of service because it means so much more.
And finally, yes, I have given this a lot of thought, because this is what I do. You are experts in the hospitality industry and I am an economist/marketer and tasmanian and labour market enthusiast. If as Gobbler says 'It may be that these frustrations are borne from not knowing how to deal with these differences effectively?" then there is nothing wrong with admitting that you may need help/advice in understanding the changes in the generations, values and labour market conditions. My suggestion is to bite the bullet and get an HR consultant that either specialises in hospitality or not and work out a strategy together. Leave it to us and our management speak to do what we do best and we will leave the running of the kitchens and creativity with food and wine and more food and wine to you...
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