Restaurants Diversify the Work Force
MFHA Talent Summit explores strategies for recruiting and retaining diverse employees.
By Maya Norris, Managing Editor -- Chain Leader, 8/25/2008 4:37:00 PM
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| The Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance's Talent Summit discussed best practices for recruiting and retaining a diverse work force. |
"Every day between now and the year 2025, America becomes more black, more brown, more Asian, more gray, more feminine," said Dr. Nat Irvin II, multicultural futurist and professor at the University of Louisville College of Business. "But we're struggling with this identity."
That's why Irvin and more than 200 foodservice and hospitality executives gathered Aug. 10-12 in Chicago for the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance's Talent Summit, where they addressed how to better recruit and retain the next generation of diverse employees.
Setting the Scene
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, the United States will experience a shortfall of 10 million workers by 2010. In addition, restaurants will face competition for employees from the health-care and education sectors, said Joni Doolin, founder and CEO of People Report, a Dallas-based human resources benchmarking firm. "Education and health care have large numbers of entry-level workers, and they need them as much as we do," she said. "They're being very aggressive about it."
Several speakers also explained that the industry will have to contend with a shift in demographics. Over the next 20 to 30 years, the Caucasian population will only grow about 4 percent. However, the Hispanic, African-American and Asian populations will triple in size, Irvin said.
The labor situation is complicated further as veterans, baby boomers, Generation X and millennials work together. "We're having to rub shoulders with different age groups that have different values," Dr. Quentin Vargas, founder of VKG Solutions, a training and development firm based in Flower Mound, Texas. "And we're beginning to experience a clash of those values and attitudes towards work that will deeply affect you in the next few years."
Best Practices
Several interactive sessions and workshops explored how to create an inclusive environment. For example, Brian Frost, lead assessment development manager for CorVirtus, a Colorado Springs, Colo.-based human-resources consultancy, used the results of the company's diversity survey to come up with some best practices for recruiting and retaining diverse talent.
Frost offered advice for how to take bias out of the equation when interviewing candidates. Before going into an interview, establish the standards the company is looking for, he said.
Frost recommended using a performance-based, multistage hiring system to get as much information about the candidate as possible. Employers should use several hiring tools such as applications, interviews and assessments, while the candidate undergoes several interviews. "Multiple steps means multiple faces can see that candidate, and that means less bias in play," he said.
Frost also suggested evaluating candidates on a broad range of attributes beyond the basic technical skills required for the job. It gives the employer more insight as to whether the candidate has the personality and drive to succeed in the restaurant industry.
He also encouraged interviewers to talk with the candidates about the diversity initiatives of the company.
Filling the Generation Gaps
Other sessions covered how to manage and work with employees of different generations. For example, while baby boomers and veterans are content with yearly evaluations, Generation X and millennials want constant feedback, said Josy Laza Gallagher, senior consultant for The FutureWork Institute, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based human-resources consultancy. She said the younger groups are also more focused on results rather than process and rules, and don't like being micromanaged.
It's something to keep in mind given that millennials make up 45 percent of the entry-level work force in restaurants. Growing about 4 percent a year, Millennials will be a good source for employers to tap in the next two to 14 years, Doolin said. But because they change jobs frequently, retaining them will be difficult. Companies should offer them challenging positions and the opportunity to upgrade their skills, she recommended. They also want to work for companies that have a positive social impact and give back to their communities. "They are not going to come to work for a company that does not value inclusion," Doolin said.
Restaurant companies should also consider employees over the age of 65, who are eager and willing to rejoin the work force, Vargas said. To recruit and retain them, companies need to offer flexible schedules, give them the opportunity to gain new experiences and recognize the experience they already bring. "These folks are more dependable. They are more reliable. They do give you loyalty," Vargas said.
While attendees and speakers at the summit said that the foodservice and hospitality industry still has a long way to go to in its diversity efforts, some recognized that the industry has seen some improvement over the last several years.
"It's better than it was 10 years ago," Doolin said. "But there's clearly some opportunity to be bringing people through."
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