Paul Gayson
ENC1101:0475
Dr. Marn
12 September 2013
Restaurants have one of the highest turnover rates than any other organization. On average, fine dining restaurants in the US average a 200% annual employee turnover rate (Halverson, 2013.) Altogether, these staff changes result in billions of dollars of lost revenue for the food service industry alone. There are many factors that lead to a turnover rate being so atrocious in the restaurant industry, including: inadequate pay rate, lack of recognition, too many/not enough hours, conflict with staff or management, little opportunities for advancement, and lack of employee benefits and teamwork. Yet, statistics show that running a restaurant with a low turnover rate is crucial for the restaurants success and is accessible through a pre-hire personality assessment, continued training, and keeping a high morale.
The turnover rate for Outback Steakhouse employees range only 40 to 60 percent annually. Paul Avery, President of Outback, attributes the low rates to a customized pre-employment assessment testing tool used by the hiring managers at all 700 restaurants. “Our people exude fun. They are spirited and gregarious, and they are team players,” Avery says (Williams, Murphy, 2010). In order for Outback to hire the type of people they are looking for, hourly employees are tested with a personality assessment tool from DeCotiis Erhard (Williams, Murphy, 2010). Candidates that fit the profiles are then interviewed by two managers, who ask a series of behavioral questions, such as “What would you do if a customer asked for a side dish we don’t have on the menu?” With this system, it’s not uncommon for hourly employees to be with the company for more than ten years, while 95 percent of Outback’s management were promoted from hourly staff jobs (Williams, Murphy, 2010). “When you hire people that fit your culture, they enjoy working for you and they want to stay“-Alvery (Halverson, 2013).
The success...