Now Hiring: Good Leaders Only
To write your own article, click here
By Kelly Fischer-Grossberg
“Now Hiring” signs everywhere, incessant noise about worker shortages, screenshots of employees quitting via text going viral: “I won’t be in tomorrow or ever again.” “Eat. My. Ass.” “Mail me my check. I quit. And go fuck yourself.”
So. Many. Memes.
How is this our new normal? Why don’t people want to work? What’s making employees say “no” when they used to say “yes?”
Well - 732,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the United States. Much of our workforce has either been traumatized by the loss of a loved one or died themselves. People are suffering.
But there’s another big issue: Hospitality is generally an anti-union industry. For decades, our precious workforce – largely comprised of immigrants and people of color – has been taken advantage of and abused by leadership in pursuit of year-over-year profits and bigger bonuses. At the start of the pandemic, they were tossed aside and told good luck. Right now, people aren’t connecting that many workers, although they have no formal organization back them, are simply on strike.
Employees sell an hour of their life - the use of their body, away from their loved ones - for what? $15 minus taxes and benefits (if they’re lucky), while the corporate executives lounge in their cozy C-suites making secure upper-6+ digit salaries. Did those executives show up when COVID hit - throw trash, scrub drains, take abuse from customers like they expect “the hourlies” to? I’m not aware of m(any). These “leaders” don’t have any understanding of what their job really is.
As a restaurant leader - front or back, any level in the hierarchy - your job is your team. Not food, guests, systems, facilities, or paperwork. Your job is to coach, reward, encourage, support, discipline, and listen to your people.
Your. Job. Is. Your. Team.
The human beings who choose to clock in for you, who depend on you to be able to feed themselves and live indoors, who spend 5-50 hours per week under your care, come first. All of the other responsibilities should come after.
On my best day, I’d consider myself a half-decent boss - the thing I’m best at is screwing up. But I actively give my employees leverage over me, they have my trust – they don’t earn it, and I honor my word – always. When someone compliments me on something they see as extraordinary leadership that I feel should be normal, I reply, honestly, “I’m just doing my job.”
I’m happy I have to work to find talent right now. I’m happy I have to sell my brand and myself to applicants. I am happy workers aren’t showing up for leaders who mistreated them, even though right now my job is harder. There are plenty of people who want to work in restaurants. They’re simply unwilling to do way more than they are paid to do. They won’t tolerate abuse and discrimination, and refuse to clock in for people who wouldn’t do their job just once - even if a pandemic hit. We’re getting a look at what employers would need to change if restaurant workers actually unionized.
Basically, it’s everything.
Kelly Fischer is a passionate restaurant leader with over a decade of experience developing teams and cultivating a healthy restaurant culture. She has led single-unit operations and worked for one of the largest private employers in America. Kelly is currently the Brand Leader for Sol, a new concept she’s helping design, launch, and expand nationwide with Butler Hospitality in Miami, FL. She believes that employees don’t owe their bosses their trust, respect, or “above and beyond,” but that those things are earned through consistent, participatory leadership that recognizes the contributions of each member of the team.
Opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Best Served. To achieve our mission of bringing more voices to the table, we are committed to sharing a variety of viewpoints across the industry.
