Guide To Restaurant Staff Hiring

This comprehensive guide explores the complexities of restaurant staff hiring, offering practical strategies and innovative approaches to help you build an outstanding team.

Restaurant Staff Hiring: 6 Strategies for Building a Strong Team

Hiring restaurant staff goes beyond filling positions — it’s about building a team that delivers great service, smooth operations and a welcoming atmosphere. 

These strategies help managers recruit and retain top talent, creating a team that thrives under pressure and ensures excellence.

1. Identify Key Roles in Your Restaurant

Before diving into the hiring process, you must clearly understand the roles you need to fill across front-of-house (FOH), back-of-house (BOH) and management and administrative positions. 

Each role contributes uniquely to the overall operation and guest experience, ensuring your restaurant runs smoothly and delivers exceptional service.

Front-Of-House Positions

Position	Description
Hosts	They create the first impression, managing reservations and seating guests.
Servers	These team members are crucial for guest satisfaction, taking orders and ensuring smooth service.
Bartenders	Skilled in mixology, they’re essential for restaurants with bar service.

Back-Of-House Positions

Position	Description
Chefs	From Executive Chef to Line Cooks, these roles are vital for food quality and consistency.
Prep Cooks	They handle food preparation, ensuring ingredients are ready for service.
Dishwashers	Often overlooked, they’re essential for maintaining kitchen hygiene and efficiency.

Management and Administrative Positions

Position	Description
General Managers	Oversees all aspects of restaurant operations.
Assistant Managers	Support the General Manager and often focus on specific areas like scheduling or inventory.
Kitchen Managers	Supervise back-of-house staff, ensuring efficient kitchen operations and food quality.

2. Develop an Effective Job Description

A well-crafted job description is essential for attracting the right candidates and setting clear expectations. It helps potential applicants assess their fit for the role and your restaurant’s culture. 

To achieve this, start by being specific about responsibilities — use clear examples like “collaborate with kitchen staff for timely food delivery” rather than vague terms like “team player.” Pair this with realistic essential and preferred qualifications to encourage strong candidates to apply even if they don’t meet every criterion.

Next, use the job description to highlight your restaurant’s unique culture. Share details about your concept, service style and workplace environment. Including achievements or community involvement can make your restaurant more appealing to candidates who value being part of a successful or socially responsible organization.

Finally, provide practical details such as work schedules, wage ranges, benefits like health insurance or meal discounts and physical requirements. These specifics help set expectations and attract candidates who align with the role, reducing turnover in the long run.

In a high-turnover industry with rates averaging nearly 80%, clear and accurate job descriptions play a vital role in retention. Employees with role clarity are 84% more likely to remain with their company, making job descriptions a powerful tool for building a committed and stable team.

3. Implement Innovative Recruitment Strategies

In today’s competitive job market, traditional hiring methods may not be enough to attract top talent. Implementing innovative recruitment strategies can help your restaurant stand out and reach a wider pool of potential candidates.

Use Social Media Platforms

Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok are effective for reaching potential employees, especially younger demographics. Use these platforms to showcase your restaurant’s culture with engaging content such as behind-the-scenes videos, employee spotlights and team events.

Targeted ads can also help reach individuals with skills or interests relevant to hospitality, even if they’re not actively job searching.

Host Recruitment Events

Recruitment events offer a relaxed way to meet potential candidates while showcasing your restaurant’s culture. Host open houses where attendees can tour the restaurant, meet staff and learn about positions, or organize “working interview” events with mock service scenarios.

Partnering with local culinary schools or hospitality programs for career fairs can also connect you with passionate students and graduates.

Create an Employee Referral Program

Your current staff can be your best recruiters. Offer incentives like cash bonuses or extra time off for successful referrals. Communicate the program clearly and equip employees to share job openings with their networks, helping attract quality candidates who fit your team well.

4. Streamline the Application Process

A lengthy or complicated application process can deter potential candidates, especially in the fast-paced restaurant industry. Streamlining your application process can help you attract more applicants and quickly move qualified candidates through the hiring pipeline.

Mobile-friendly applications

Many job seekers, particularly younger generations, prefer to apply for jobs using their smartphones. Ensure your application process is mobile-friendly and can be completed easily on a small screen. This might include offering options to upload resumes directly from cloud storage or allowing applicants to apply using their social media profiles.

Automated screening tools

Utilize automated screening tools to help filter applications and identify the most promising candidates quickly. These tools can scan resumes for specific keywords or qualifications, saving time in the initial review process.

Implement pre-screening questions that help determine if candidates meet the basic requirements for the position. This can include availability, necessary certifications or experience levels. Automated tools can flag applications that meet these criteria for further review.

Timely communication

Maintaining clear and timely communication throughout the application process is essential for keeping candidates engaged. 

Set up automated responses to confirm receipt of applications and provide information about next steps. Surprisingly, only 58% of candidates report receiving an automated “thank you” message after completing an application, highlighting a missed opportunity to enhance the candidate experience.

To further improve communication, consider using chatbots on your careers page to answer common questions about the application process or available positions. These tools provide instant support to potential applicants and create a more seamless, positive experience with your brand.

5. Conduct Effective Interviews

The interview process is crucial for assessing candidates’ skills, experience and cultural fit. 

A structured format ensures consistency, allows fair comparisons and minimizes bias. Use standardized questions focused on key role competencies, including behavioral ones that prompt candidates to share examples of handling relevant situations, such as resolving a difficult customer issue.

Incorporate practical assessments to evaluate skills in action. Kitchen roles might require a cooking test or knife skills demonstration, while front-of-house positions could involve role-playing customer interactions. These assessments provide insight into candidates’ abilities, how they handle pressure and a realistic preview of the job.

Finally, involve team members in the process to gain multiple perspectives and assess team fit. Consider a “trial shift” for final candidates, allowing them to work alongside your staff for a few hours. This helps both the candidate and your team evaluate the potential fit for a smoother hiring decision.

6. Onboard and Train New Hires

Effective onboarding and training are essential for setting new hires up for success and reducing early turnover. A well-structured program helps employees integrate quickly into your team and become productive contributors.

Start with a thorough orientation to introduce new hires to your restaurant’s culture, values and operational procedures. Include a facility tour, introductions to key team members, an overview of company policies and safety protocols.

Providing a welcome packet with essential information, such as an employee handbook and contact details, ensures they have a reference point during their first weeks.

Develop a structured training program tailored to each role. This may include shadowing experienced staff, hands-on practice with equipment, role-specific skills training like menu knowledge for servers or food preparation techniques for kitchen staff, and customer service training.

Break the program into manageable modules with clear milestones to track progress and cover all necessary skills.

Finally, implement ongoing support and feedback. Assign a mentor or buddy to new hires for guidance beyond the initial training period. Schedule regular check-ins during the first few months to address concerns, provide feedback and assess progress.

This approach shows your commitment to their success and helps identify areas for additional support, fostering a smooth transition into your team.

Investing in effective onboarding can significantly enhance employee retention and productivity. Organizations with a strong onboarding process experience an 82% increase in new hire retention and over 70% improvement in productivity. 

By dedicating time and resources to a robust onboarding program, you not only set your new hires up for success but also strengthen your team’s overall performance and cohesion, paving the way for long-term growth and stability in your restaurant.

Legal Considerations in Restaurant Staff Hiring

Understanding the legal aspects of hiring is crucial for protecting your business and ensuring fair treatment of all applicants and employees. Stay informed about relevant laws and regulations to avoid potential legal issues.

Non-discrimination practices

Ensure your hiring practices comply with anti-discrimination laws. This includes:

• Using inclusive language in job postings
• Avoiding questions about protected characteristics during interviews
• Making hiring decisions based solely on job-related criteria

Train all staff involved in the hiring process on proper interview techniques and legal considerations. This helps prevent unintentional discrimination and promotes fair hiring practices.

Work authorization and documentation

Verify that all new hires are legally authorized to work in the country. This typically involves:

• Completing I-9 forms for all new employees
• Properly documenting and storing employment eligibility information
• Using E-Verify if required in your state or for certain federal contracts

Stay informed about any changes to immigration laws or work authorization requirements that may affect your hiring practices.

Wage and hour compliance

Ensure your compensation practices comply with federal, state and local wage and hour laws. This includes:

• Properly classifying employees as exempt or non-exempt
• Following minimum wage and overtime regulations
• Complying with any applicable predictive scheduling laws

Be aware of any industry-specific regulations, such as tip credit rules or youth employment restrictions, that may apply to your restaurant.

Key Takeaways for Restaurant Staff Hiring

Hiring the right restaurant staff is a critical step in building a strong cohesive team that drives exceptional service and operational success. 

By identifying key roles, crafting effective job descriptions, utilizing innovative recruitment strategies, streamlining the application process, conducting thoughtful interviews and implementing robust onboarding and training programs, you can create a workplace that attracts and retains top talent. 

Prioritizing legal compliance ensures your hiring practices are fair, transparent and secure, helping you build a team poised for long-term success.