In 2019, Restaurant Business reported that most seasonal workers would prefer to work with a retail store than a restaurant. In the past, many people believed this was because retail stores offered merchandise discounts. However, new studies demonstrated that this was not the case.

Instead, seasonal workers identified two primary reasons they preferred to work in retail:

● increased schedule flexibility
● higher pay

You can use these desires to your advantage. First, work on providing flexible scheduling for your staff. The more employees you can draw, the easier this becomes. The fewer employees you have, the harder scheduling gets. Adequate staffing = scheduling flexibility.

Next, consider ways to pay your restaurant employees more. Many respondents in the Restaurant Business study wanted to make at least $13.21/hour. However, the average server makes approximately $12.15/hour.

You may wonder how you can afford to pay new employees this much. After all, you may struggle to pay your current employees!

However, remember that many people have grown frustrated with the long waits in restaurants. If your restaurant is the only one around with enough staffing, you can draw substantially more business. This additional business can help you pay the additional employees.