According to a study carried out by America’s Bureau of Labor Statistics in January this year, the restaurant labor force in that country is still over 450,000 jobs below pre-pandemic levels — marking the largest employment deficit among all U.S. industries. Although figures are not currently available for Canada, the situation is the same.

In November 2022, the USA National Restaurant Association found that 63% of full-service restaurants and 61% of limited-service places are operating with fewer employees than needed to accommodate guests. 

At the beginning of February this year, The Washington Post reported that although many industries have recovered since the start of the pandemic, in the USA (similar trends in Canada) 2 million hospitality and leisure jobs still remain open. 

“Hospitality is still stuck in the dark ages. High-friction ordering, slow and clunky payments, and labor challenges lead to low profitability and a poor customer experience,” notes Brian Duncan, President of me&u USA, a global leader in at-table ordering specializing in restaurants and bars. 

The labor shortage has led chefs and restaurateurs to reduce their workweeks, while some restaurant owners have had to increase the wages of their staff by as much as 20% in addition to closing earlier on weeknights. Others have even had to change their business practices to attract new employees.  

Technology can bridge the customer service gap when there are fewer employees available. Customers prefer to use self-service kiosks or access the menu by scanning QR codes because they can take additional time to read the menu, find new things to try, and customize their orders exactly to their preferences. 

Such technology means shorter waits at the counter, faster table turnover, and more accurate orders because the information is transmitted directly from the customer to the kitchen. Also, Pay-at-the-Table Technology cuts out the back-and-forth trips from the POS terminal to the table to process payments shaving several minutes off each table turn. 

“Manual orders are typically expensive, slow, and inefficient. Smart technology reduces labor costs, takes the load off servers, increases spending per order, and elevates the customer experience,” concludes Duncan.

• What factors are impacting the restaurant and hospitality industries in the U.S and Canada.? 
• How can technological innovations help restaurants operate with limited staff and still increase revenue? 
• How can self-service ordering and streamlined payment tools enhance customer experience? 

References: 

1. Guinn, Justin. How to Survive the Restaurant Industry Labor Shortage. January 2023. Toast. https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/on-the-line/how-to-handle-the-restaurant-industry-labor-shortage  
2. Restaurants added jobs in 24 consecutive months. January 6, 2023. National Restaurant Association. https://restaurant.org/research-and-media/research/economists-notebook/analysis-commentary/restaurants-added-jobs-in-24-consecutive-months/  
3. Latham, Tory. Restaurants Are Still Struggling to Hire as 2 Million Jobs Remain Unfilled. February 3, 2023. Robb Report. https://robbreport.com/food-drink/dining/hospitality-leisure-jobs-pandemic-1234803857/  
4. Latham, Tory. Despite 41,000 New Jobs, Restaurant Employment Still Lags Behind Pre-Pandemic Levels. July 8, 2022. Robb Report. https://robbreport.com/food-drink/dining/restaurant-industry-job-numbers-1234697181/  
5. Hospitality Labor Shortage 2022. May 17, 2022. NCC. https://www.nccusa.com/hospitality-labor-shortage-2022/