Even before being hit by the double whammy of the Covid 19 pandemic and Brexit, the restaurant business was facing a crisis in chef recruitment. Pre Covid and Brexit, the industry needed to attract 200,000 new recruits just to deal with natural churn. Pre-Brexit research suggested that there would be a shortage of 11,000 chefs in the industry in 2020, and this was prior to the decimation of the pandemic.
Add into the mix the fact that restaurants will now be squeezed by new immigration rules and the fact that many experienced chefs have left the industry to find regular employment since Covid, it is now more important than ever to ensure that your business is equipped to keep the chefs you already have and recruit fresh blood into your organisation.
With this is mind we thought we’d look at some ways in which your business could alleviate the chef shortage.
1. Engage with your local college
Research has found that a mismatch between students’ expectations and the reality of working in the kitchen means large numbers of young chefs turn their back on the industry. Partnering with your local college can help remedy this.
By offering work experience placements and part-time jobs, or simply supporting the college by acting as a guest speaker or advisor, you can help give students an insight into what it’s really like to work for your business – so they’re ready to hit the ground running on graduation.
2. Offer an apprenticeship
Recent changes to the apprenticeship system in England have given businesses much greater flexibility in how they develop the skills and knowledge of apprentice chefs. The new chef apprenticeship standards have been created by employers themselves and are a fantastic solution for businesses looking to develop skilled chefs.
Research indicates that 80% of companies that invest in apprentices report an increase in staff retention, but that’s just the beginning – there is also compelling evidence that progressing your brightest and best talent through apprenticeships can significantly boost the bottom line.
3. Understand what makes your existing chefs stay
When we talk about a ‘chef shortage’, it’s usually in terms of recruitment, and difficulty filling vacancies. In fact, retention is just as big an issue – labour turnover for chefs is 40%, compared to the UK average of 15% across all industries.
Knowing what makes your chefs tick is critical to keeping them happy. Talk to your existing staff to find out why they stay with you – and don’t be afraid to ask them what they don’t like too.
Understanding what motivates them will help you to reinforce those areas and make sure you promote them in your recruitment process, as well as reviewing any problem areas.
You can gather this information through regular engagement surveys or simply through conversations with staff. You can then develop a plan in conjunction with senior managers to help address any issues.
4. Develop a culture of regular, informal catch-up sessions between chefs and their managers
Staying with the theme of retention, having regular catch-ups is another critical step to support chefs and keep them on board.
Performance reviews are a valuable tool for managers, but the way businesses are using them is changing. There is a clear move away from annual performance reviews towards more frequent, informal conversations to ‘take the temperature’ of an individual.
This approach can help your chefs feel valued, and will give you more opportunities to address potential issues before they result in a staff member leaving. This works even better when chefs can see how they are doing against a clear progression and development plan.
5. Support senior chefs with management and leadership training
Chefs are usually promoted because of their culinary skills, and many haven’t received the management and leadership development that would have been available to other roles in the industry.
But soft skills are every bit as critical in the kitchen as they are elsewhere. As the saying goes: “People don’t leave bad companies, they leave bad managers”. No matter how technically competent your senior chefs are, if they’re terrible managers, they’ll keep losing staff.
Making sure that your senior chefs have the skills to communicate, engage, support, develop and motivate their teams can have a major impact on retention. A number of larger businesses are doing this through apprenticeships or giving chefs access to shorter, targeted courses.
6. Create the right culture in the kitchen
It’s long been the case that the kitchen has had its own culture, separate from the rest of the business. But treating it as a completely unique entity means that inappropriate behaviour is more likely to go unchecked, increasing the risk of bullying and harassment among staff.
Where toxic cultures develop, they not only drive existing staff away, but also put young people off entering the industry altogether. A number of students we spoke with had become disillusioned after negative experiences during work placements.
Introducing a code of conduct to clearly spell out what is acceptable can help to create the right culture in the kitchen, but, to be truly effective, it needs buy-in from kitchen staff themselves.
If you decide to introduce a code, get your chefs and those who interact with the kitchen involved in drawing it up. This will make them reflect on those behaviours and compare them with other workplace settings, as well as making sure they feel ownership over its content.
7. Look at whether rotas can be changed to reduce hours
Chefs are often working 60-70 hours a week, and it’s a huge factor driving people out of the industry. It’s also one of the most challenging areas to address.
Can your brigades be organised to reduce the number of hours worked? How many chefs are needed for which shifts? Can preparation be done by other teams working different shifts? What skill-level of chef is required to undertake certain tasks at certain points of the day?
The answers to these questions will uniquely depend on your business and its operation. However, it‘s vital to take a step back and think differently. It often helps for a senior chef to get support from others in the business or external partners to ask key questions and challenge existing thinking.
Another thing you can do is look at the flexibility of your contracts to meet different needs. For many businesses, this is very different approach from the past. If it seems overwhelming, there are a number of software packages available – such as Shiftboard, 7shifts and Jolt – that can help you keep on top of scheduling.
8. Improve the physical work environment
While a lot of the factors driving the chef shortage are complex, one of the easiest to fix is the physical environment.
Improving the comfort, convenience and aesthetic of the workplace will make it more pleasant and differentiate your business from its competitors.
Examples including investing in better and brighter lighting, repairing floors, investing in uniforms, shoes and clogs, and renovating staff changing rooms and eating areas to make them more attractive, secure and hygienic.
If you are in need of a Chef and would like to get in-touch with our Chef Agency then give us a call on 0117 9041001. Or go to our contact page.