The restaurant sector talks a lot about ‘attracting, retaining and developing the best
people’ and they try seemingly
half-hearted. Half-hearted, yes because
simultaneously we read that the restaurant industry has been lobbying hard in state
Capitol’s
and in Washington DC to convince
lawmakers that proposals to raise the minimum wage should not move forward and
that restaurant workers should be exempt including waiters, bartenders, valet parking
attendants and other tipped employees who generally supplement their base pay
with gratuities.
We are talking companies the ilk of
YUM! Brands, (YUM) which owns
Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut; Darden Restaurants (DRI), which owns Olive Garden,
and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) each has directly lobbied against a bill to raise the
minimum wage.
Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant
Guru® believes that the undercurrents of change maybe evolving the thinking by
branded chain restaurants on employee pay.
The National
Restaurant Association reports that “The overall turnover rate in the
restaurants-and-accommodations* sector was 66.3 percent in 2014, up 10 percentage
points from the recent low of 56.6 percent in 2010.” The 2015 number will not be any better.
So, what’s going to drive the
change? Convenience stores and Grocery
store delis are proactively recruiting trained restaurant employees as they
expand into Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food according to our own Grocerant
Guru®. They are offering trained restaurant workers
better pay and incremental benefits.
Over the past several weeks what looks as if it were a strategic
competitive industry position shift as four key convenience stores announced
that they were increasing employee compensation. That is a huge shift in mind-set even for an
industry that pays more on average than the restaurant already. Most important the companies raising pay are
leaders in the ‘battle for share of stomach’ with the restaurant sector.
Sheetz
said it will invest more than $15 million to raise the wages of store employees across the company
without cutting back on hours for full-time employees. The starting hourly wage
for sales associates will rise to $10 this month, with shift supervisors making
$13 and assistant managers $16. The minimum wage in Pennsylvania is $7.25.
Another
major Wawa convenience-store operator based in
Pennsylvania is also raising its wages.
They “are moving to $10 as our minimum rate for our customer-service
associates along with increasing their pay band overall,” “All of our associates will be receiving a 5%
increase, in addition to the annual merit increase provided this year. Wawa’s
shift supervisors start at $13 an hour”
Rutter’s Farm
Stores join the ranks as well. All new employees at
Rutter’s start at $10 an hour, plus an additional $1.50 an hour for
working third shift. Store managers earn between $54,972 and $74,060 annually,
and restaurant managers earn between $36,254 and $58,435. Ricker’s Convenience Stores Ind.-based
company raised its entry wage to $9 an hour—$1.75 more.
Employees are more than another
commodity. They are your brand ambassadors. The restaurant sector might want to
rethink quickly rethink the half-hearted efforts put forth of late and become
more proactive in attracting, retaining, and developing the best people.
The grocery deli sector is an $11
Billion dollar sector growing at 10% a year according to FMI and they too are
looking for trained, quality, restaurant workers. Since restaurants train,
develop employees they should not let their hard costly efforts go to waste
letting grocery stores and C-stores reap what should be your rewards.
For international corporate
presentations, educational forums, or keynotes speeches contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us With extensive experience as a multi-unit
restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public
speaking he educate and elevate everyone while providing success clues for all. www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or www.GrocerantGuru.com
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