We’ve said this a few times on the Welcome Table blog, but that’s because it’s an unavoidable truth of the restaurant industry.

Keeping staff is damn hard.

If there’s one sector where staff turnover is particularly high, it’s hospitality, and restaurants have long battled with the prospect of having to continually recruit to replace talent that has spent only fleeting moments preparing food or serving customers.

Here’s a few reasons why you might be losing yours.

They were never going to hang around

Some things just don’t work out. Some staff appointments were never going to last.

That’s life.

It’s another unfortunate truth of this industry that there are plenty of people who don’t view it as a long term career; for them, it’s a stepping stone or a stop-gap. That’s fine, but the trick lies in identifying such people early on. Most will be honest with their aspirations during the interview stage, and if you know they’re likely to head off relatively swiftly, it at least won’t come as a surprise.

They don’t feel appreciated

A “thank you” for a member of staff doesn’t have to be monetary or tangible in any other way; those two words are usually enough to demonstrate that you genuinely appreciate their effort.

Running a restaurant is undoubtedly a tough, time-consuming job, but it shouldn’t be all-encompassing to the point where you neglect the basics of staff appreciation.

Use sincere complements whenever you can – and not only when someone goes above and beyond the call of duty. Anything that catches your eye and which has a tangible impact on guest experience should be celebrated in this way and might just make staff stick around longer than they would otherwise.

There’s toxicity somewhere

This is a much harder issue to pinpoint and address, but if there’s toxicity within the team, anyone who enters it will pick up on the bad vibes fairly quickly.

Toxic employees are particularly problematic because they tend to hang around and, due to their nature, can be difficult to address.

The best way to tackle issues like this is to do so directly, swiftly and in a way that doesn’t land you in hot water, HR-wise. Keep notes, speak to everyone and have that chat with the suspected bad egg as soon as you can.

The kit and technology they work with is poor

Have you long been meaning to upgrade some of your cookware? Are you still limping along with a manual bookings diary? What, you don’t have online table booking for your website?

Modern staff are increasingly becoming used to tech comforts that make their working lives easier and far more efficient. If your restaurant hasn’t invested smartly in the right kit or technology, it might be turning more employees off than you realise.

They can’t see any opportunities for growth

When was the last time you offered staff training? When was the last time you spotted a talent in someone which didn’t fit their current role but which would work very well elsewhere in the business?

Modern staff want to learn and move both upwards and sideways. If you’re not providing ample opportunity for them to do so, why should they hang around?

Wrapping up

You’ll never resolve the issue of high staff turnover at your restaurant, but use our tips above, and you’ll begin to retain those that are most valuable to your business for much longer.