Hiring Hurdles In The Food And Beverage Industry In 2024

Michael Lewis is the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at Swinomish Casino & Lodge, bringing over 15 years of experience to his role. Specializing in front-of-house operations, Michael is known for his focus on team member retention and operational excellence. Based in the Greater Seattle Area, he leverages his extensive industry background to contribute to the success of the renowned Swinomish Casino & Lodge.

Through this article, Michael reflects on the transformative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food and beverage industry. It also highlights the shift from traditional career pathways to a new reality where the industry had to adapt quickly to a mix of experienced and inexperienced workers.

When I entered the Food and Beverage industry at the tender age of 15, the various pathways to success were set in stone. You were to start as a host, work your way to bussing, then serving, bartending, and eventually supervising if you wanted to take a huge pay cut in lost tips until management. You worked harder than you should have, picked up shifts you didn’t want, and were a team player every day even though the other bussers never did as much side work as you. And so, it was to be that way until the end of time. Until 2020 happened. When the pandemic hit I was the Beverage Manager for a large casino and suddenly I was faced with the never-before-seen problems that all other Managers of the industry were faced with. Phasing people back to work after lockdown, severe labor reduction, inflation in wages and food costs, social distancing, and managing mask mandates quickly became part of life. New challenges to overcome also arose with these “new norms.”

Outside of all of the effects on the brass tacks of the industry, an entirely new set of soft skills had to be learned and taught to the entire management chain, from Directors to Leads and Supervisors. A seismic shift occurred during the pandemic lockdowns in that a lot of out-of-work industry employees transitioned into new careers and fields because they had the time and access to do so all of a sudden. I will never be one tohold anyone back from bettering their situation, but it created a new world order in the restaurant industry. Rather than have a steady diet of people who have worked in the industry and understand its unique challenges and required work ethic, we had to start hiring people for positions that they hadn’t worked towards to maintain staffing levels necessary to meet our service standards. The same amount of people who decided to leave the F&B industry, also joined the F&B industry to do something different for themselves, and this created conflict with the bar and restaurant veterans who stuck out during the pandemic.

“The key to building brand new industry employees into strong servers and bartenders in weeks as opposed to months or years, is all about structure. Having a structured training program is the most critical factor to the success of building a team in 2024”

As someone who has worked every job in the industry, it took a great deal of learning and patience to be able to train new employees for positions that they had never worked in, nor earned by the standards of the industry for decades. Teaching a server, who walks off the street and starts making$300-$400 a night, to appreciate the work and challenges of the busser or host, is challenging, to say the least. The key to building brand new industry employees into strong servers and bartenders in weeks as opposed to months or years, is all about structure. Having a structured training program is the most critical factor to the success of building a team in 2024. It can no longer be “drop them off with your best server and go.” Our training structure starts from day one in the operation I run, where trainees are assigned both a trainer and a training supervisor who will oversee their first 3 days to a week oftraining, ensuring they have all the support they need to be successful. During that first week we also have new hires, especially new to the industry hires, spend a shift in each support position to understand what that role does and why it is critical to the success of the outlet. It has taken the full four years since the pandemic lockdowns to develop this process and learn new ways to teach people what this industry means and how to be in it. At the Director level, it means searching for managers who have the necessary soft skills to navigate the broad landscape of having employees who are 20-year veterans of F&B to 18-year-old servers wanting to try something fun.

While this has been the most challenging few years of my career, I appreciate that it pushed me to change my views about this industry and how it should be run. It’s no secret that the F&B of old was filled with toxic work practices and chefs who would make Gordon Ramsay on Hells Kitchen blush, and I’m incredibly proud to be a part of the movement that has made the industry more inclusive and acceptable to all who want to give it a go. For any restaurant managers out there struggling to develop their team, always remember to be patient, be structured, and be there for your team.