The Goods from The BCRFA

Vancouver, BC | In a study published this month, the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association (BCRFA) spent six months analyzing the employment and skills gap that is impacting employment levels in Metro Vancouver restaurants.

Our research is consultative, and our findings are the result of outreach to industry professionals over a range of platforms. The goal is to review and identify the imbalance between the lack of labour pools and the demand for workers in the Metro Vancouver restaurant industry.

By first identifying the issues, our report to the restaurant industry examines possible solutions and best practices. For operators facing immediate needs, our report goes into detailed tactics for operators and puts forward industry wide changes that must be considered as part of a long-term strategy.

THE CURRENT SITUATION

There is no disputing that there is a worldwide shortage of skilled chefs and cooks. In major markets in Europe, the US, and Australia, the industry is suffering from a poor reputation of long hours, low pay and a challenging culture. In British Columbia, a 2016 report by go2HR reported an average Net Promoter Score of -58 on a scale from -100 to 100. This means that in our own region, we’re suffering from the same symptoms other markets are experiencing – and chefs and cooks are not recommending the profession to their peers, friends or family.

However, in the Metro Vancouver area, we have additional pressures impacting the shortage. The restaurant industry is thriving with an estimated year over year growth of three per cent, but with new businesses opening, operators are struggling to keep up with recruiting needs. Of the provincial workforce, 174,200 people – or 7.3% – are directly working in the restaurant industry. However, over the next ten years, BC is looking at a skilled labour shortage of more than 514,000 workers, particularly as a result of less young workers entering the workforce. As the largest employer of people between 15-24, this is going to significantly impact restaurant hiring in the medium term.

Tourism to Metro Vancouver is at an all-time high with Destination British Columbia reporting $8.455 billion in restaurant receipts between January and September 2017. The strong economy, coupled with high cost of living and record low unemployment rates (4.1% in Metro Vancouver in January 2018) means there are currently more jobs than workers to fill them – and serious competition for both skilled and unskilled people across all industries.

As a world-class culinary destination, the final challenge operators are facing is a result of the changes to the temporary foreign worker program. The changes implemented in 2013, mean that operators have new barriers to entry to this important program. The process is more comprehensive – and requires a significant investment in time and money – without guaranteed results. This limits access to skilled chefs with international expertise and specialty training that is not yet available in BC.

SOLUTIONS FOR TODAY: BEST PRACTICES & RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OPERATORS

Serving great meals is the highest goal of every operator we spoke to – and yet, many of the operators expressed concern about trying to retain their standards and how to do that in a labour shortage situation. In order to help restaurateurs tackle the shortage, we sought out best practices and recommendations for operators that will help make real changes in the short term. We believe that it starts with the people: nurturing an environment where employees are engaged and feel recognized has the strongest potential for real change within any organization. Boosting retention and reducing turnover is simplest solution to reducing the impact of the labour shortage on individual businesses – this is particularly true in the Metro Vancouver area because the area is acutely impacted by demographic shift. Through our research, we identified 8 tactical areas for operators to drive change and improve their staffing results:

Be Strategic about Recruitment

Strategic recruitment is about tackling the needs of the business and the needs of the potential employee. It is an investment in time and people. Instead of picking the people that are available, it’s about finding the best people and creating opportunities for them to see themselves in a business long term and to develop their careers with that business in mind.

Schedule Efficiently and Thoughtfully

Addressing the issue of long hours and scheduling employees is a key piece of the retention puzzle. It’s about thinking differently about shifts, including what skills are needed and when. Scheduling according to availability and asking for extra help in the form of overtime, instead of expecting it, instills professional courtesy, and respect among team members. It also helps with retention and attendance. Averaging Agreements are legal options in BC that offer real opportunities for operators to recognize the need for long hours, but also offer employees time off to manage their lives, schooling, and family priorities. These also allow operators to control costs – and potentially increase wages – thereby increasing retention.

Know your Staff

Investing in staff teams by knowing something about them personally goes a long way and helps achieve business growth goals. Understanding their other obligations, personal ambitions, and education goals and being able to work with them to continue to build loyalty is essential. In the Metro Vancouver area, operators need to be aware of employees’ housing and transportation needs. If someone travels two hours to work, eight hours between shifts is not enough to make sure they are performing at their best.

Be Part of Building a New Culture

Nurturing culture is as much about sharing what you believe in as an operator as understanding what motivates and inspires your workers. Tackling the public face of the culture in kitchens is essential. Vancouver operators may not be doing what TV chefs are doing, but the image that TV portrays is strong and it spreads a message that is hard to overcome. The issues of intimidating, aggressive, and sometimes sexist cultures come up time and again and are consistently listed as reasons why chefs and cooks leave a business. These must be addressed and a culture that all team members invest in must be fostered from the ground up.

Appeal to Today’s Employees

Generation Y and Z employees are considerable influencers on food trends, dining out, AND what is expected in the restaurant workplace today. Research shows that these workers are demanding more from their employers. They want mentorship, they want to learn at work, and to have the opportunity to grow in their positions. They want to share the values of their employers, but they also value their family and time off.

These are things that all employees should want for themselves. As a combined 50% of our current workforce, restaurateurs have to take on the challenge of meeting the needs of these passionate, creative, and entrepreneurial workers because they are the present and the future of our workforce.

Be An Influencer

Outreach with chefs and cooks is clear – the visibility of careers in kitchens is at an all-time low. Showcasing
the everyday heroes, role models, and opinion leaders is essential to building up new engagement in restaurant careers. Bartenders, sommeliers, chefs, and restaurant managers enjoy exciting careers that can be profiled. Help put Metro Vancouver restaurants on the career map so that we can invest in our teams and their development. Increasing visibility isn’t just altruistic. It can help recruit workers for individual kitchens.

Restaurateurs and chefs who partner with culinary programs at high school and college levels gain workers by creating personal connections in industry and education.

Change Systems

Creating the mental shift to analyze the flow of the work and the roles that each staff member plays allows operators to improve outputs by putting in place technology and work flows that improve efficiency. Some chefs taking part in this research have successfully de-skilled, changing their staffing needs to work with available talent pools. Increasing the prep versus service ratio offers a solution, as does simplifying the serving and plating without compromising taste. Technologies exist that reduce the ambient heat in kitchens (think induction) or help teams with training through, “Smart Kitchens.” This on-screen technology tool can help ensure that team members create dishes more consistently and efficiently.

LONG TERM SOLUTIONS: ADVOCACY THAT MATTERS

While best practices can help shift the perception and appeal of our industry newcomers – and help increase our retention rates, we’re realistic that broader changes must come through implementing innovative strategy. We believe that there are opportunities for advocacy that will lead to long-term industry-wide change.

1. BCRFA believe in increased access to innovation and specialty skills through changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Programs.

2. If the BC government’s international recruitment targets are to be met over the next ten years, BCRFA want to be proactively promoting BC as a destination for skilled workers looking for a new challenge.

3. As Metro Vancouver grows, and affordability pushes people to live further away from their workplaces, the hours of public transportation may need to increase and ride sharing could be considered to ease the commute of workers around the region.

4. With an aging demographic, we need to consider ways to bring people back into our workforce – even on a contingent basis. Job carving represents an opportunity to bring in targeted people to do specific projects or tasks, making our workforces more inclusive.

5. Encourage young people to test their culinary skills so they are exposed to the passion and creativity kitchen careers offer.

6. BCRFA want to add to the conversation surrounding the Employment Standards Act, to ensure our workers needs are considered within any new framework.

7. BCRFA want to ensure that engaged and talented international students training in our marketplace are able to start their kitchen careers in Metro Vancouver with two-year work visas. Student work visa requirements will need to be changed to encourage this.

CONNECT WITH US – Share your feedback at 604.669.2239 or [email protected]/