Staffing

Solving the labor issue: Offer a career path, not just a job

Every pizzeria is likely facing the tough challenge of hiring and retaining employees. One successful approach is to provide a career opportunity and not just a job.

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November 11, 2021 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group

Attracting top talent is critical in the restaurant industry. But it's not an easy task these days due, in part, to the economic shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The industry has seen a mass exodus of employees who simply didn't return after being laid off when restaurants closed.

Last summer, 75% of operators said recruiting and retaining talent was the top challenge facing their business, according to the National Restaurant Association. The association added that hourly wages are rising at a pace more than double earnings in the private sector. The NRA says dining establishments are nearly 1 million jobs (8%) below pre-pandemic levels.

"Right now is a very difficult labor market, and we do have quite a history where it seems people are switching jobs very frequently, and any one person committed to a job or a career for more than three or four years, it seems like it's abnormal," Doug Ramsthel, EVP and partner with benefits management company Burnham Benefits, told Pizza Marketplace in an phone interview. "Bucking that trend is challenging."

One successful approach is offering more than a "job" and providing a rewarding career path. In phone interviews, three pizza leaders shared how they all began their career at the store level and worked their way up the ladder to a leadership role.

All in the family

Carrie Haller is a second-generation Pizza Hut employee. Her mother started working for the company in Indiana when Haller was two, and the family had to move towns when her mom became a general manager of a Pizza Hut store. Her dad would take the family to visit her mother at work, and "at a very young age — I'd say 10 or 11 — I'd go in and they'd be busy. It was very different times then. She would show me how to wash dishes, how to fold boxes and at 10, I thought it was the coolest thing ever," Haller said.

At the age of 16, Haller joined the company working in her mom's store in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. "Through high school it was a great flexible job," she said.

When her mom was transferred to a different store, she followed. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do, so she became a shift leader at 17.

"I really loved my job so much I decided to continue my career through Pizza Hut," Haller said. "I initially wanted to go into nursing or physical therapy because I wanted to help people, but what I realized very quickly is (that) I have a passion for helping people. You think working at Pizza Hut you're just making pizzas, which you do, but it's so much more than that. I loved having people who were like me at 16 or 17 come in and they're not confident. They have no leadership skills. They might be shy and they're just so moldable at that age."

Giving young workers responsibility and watching the grow has been Haller's favorite part of her job. She eventually transitioned to a general manager at 25, a career move that lasted nearly 10 years. She extended her a career as the talent acquisition and training manager for Pizza Hut and is still living in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Her daughter is now a third-generation Pizza Hut employee.

From employee to franchisee

Yanti Corniciuc was born in Indonesia but grew up in Malaysia. In her teens, she was adopted and moved to Sacramento in 1992. She began working at a Pizza Guys franchise in 1995 in her early 20s. "I was making pizza, answering the phone and customer service," she said. "It was a good experience, actually."

She eventually worked her way up to a management position and worked there three years before moving around between stores. By 1998, she had been managing several stores, and in 2000 moved to Yuba City, California. In 2004, purchased the Pizza Guys location she had been managing.

"It's the only thing I know," Corniciuc said. It hadn't been for sale, but she fell in love with Yuba City and asked the owner if he would sell the franchise in the time. "I work(ed there) a long time and we make everything fresh. We make dough, we cut our own cheese and we prep our own vegetables in the stores. I like the freshness of the brand."

From store to corporate

Nikki Stead is Donatos' vice president of people services and worked her way up from the store level from the tender age of 15. Her brother was a general manager in Columbus, Ohio, and it was tradition for the family to work in the store as the came of age.

She first started as a counter person taking orders and as she got older received more responsibility. "We created this very nice family environment where they're growing up with their friends," she said.

She went away to college and got a "real job," which never compared to her job at Donatos, where she still worked nights to be with friends. She eventually quit her 9-to-5 job and became a Donatos manager, then an assistant manager and a general manager of that location. "At that point, I thought, 'Maybe this is isn't just a job. It's a career,'" Stead said. "I spent about two years in each of those roles and I worked up a development plan to get to the next level."

She was a unit manager overseeing 10 locations later in her career, and eventually moved into training as the vice president of people services two years ago. There, she is able to help other employees forge their own career paths.

"I've had the opportunity to do that with somebody else and give them the opportunity to develop and grow," Stead said.

Tips for making a job a career

Ramsthel said formalized training programs give workers a great foundation, but American companies have moved away from training as the need to have people start immediately grows.

Twenty-five years ago, it was not uncommon to see companies recruit straight off college campuses and offer training right out of the gate.

"The training program would set them up nicely for their career, whether or not they stayed with that employer. I think those were abandoned because the investment is huge when you're going to do that and somebody is going to leave in three or four years. It doesn't really pay off. Maybe now's the time to ask ourselves as employers if it's time to revisit" training programs, Ramsthel said.

That training program should be branded and offer a clear career path for the employee not just for the company but also for the career path they've chosen. "It's a clear, definitive path," Ramsthel said. "In six months, this is where you'll be. In eight months, this is where you'll be and ultimately if you stick with us, our goal is for you to be a significant part of this company, including being a manager or a franchisee owner."

"Honestly, I don't think it matters what job you have," Pizza Hut's Haller said. "Whenever you can help as a management person, to grow your team, to help guide them to make decisions (and) teach them how to deal with conflict — today, that's something a lot of people are afraid to do — difficult situations and difficult employees, you're teaching them life skills that they're going to need no matter what career they enter."

Finally, benefits are important for retention. While many operators simply can't afford health insurance for part-time employees, there are other benefits that can be offered that aid in retention. Those include contributing to college education, discounts through affiliations with other businesses, a stripped-down dental care and mental health help.

Pizza Guys' Corniciuc said employees have to put in the time to move up in their companies. It's not always fast, and patience often wins.

"I used to work 50 hours," she said. "You have to have patience, and you have to like what you do."

Donatos' Stead suggests employees voice what their next steps are, even if they're not sure what those are.

"What are your passions? What do you like to do? What are you good at?" she asked. "Work with managers to develop a career path or a plan. Not all of our associates want to be managers, and there are career paths that put them in technical roles like (a) forklift driver or machine operator in our bakery".

Stead cited the case of a delivery driver who had a greeting card business on the side and is now a digital designer for Donatos. "My best advice is to be vocal about what you aspire to as a career."

About Mandy Wolf Detwiler

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Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.
 
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living. 

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