Week 8

Assignment1:

Employee Turnover in Fast Food and Restaurant Industry

October 28, 2018

Introduction

Employee turnover refers to a situation when employees gets out of a given industry or organization based on either personal reasons or group decision resulting from poor treatment in the current organizations or having better work environment elsewhere. The hospitality industry in particular records an average of 400% employee turnover every year implying that all staff in restaurants, hotels, airlines, and cruise ships among other organizations in the industry get replaced four times annually. There has been extensive research on employee turnover and job satisfaction which over decades. This research seeks to explore employee turnover in fast food restaurants in the US, and further identifying the key challenges associated with the hospitality industry and employee turnover.

Description of the hospitality industry (Fast Food Restaurants) and its main categories of employees

The Fast Food Restaurant in the US consists of approximately 3.8 million employees in 2018 (Lockyer, 2013). Research shows that this number had had a small range since 2004 when the number of employees was 3.3 million (Lockyer, 2013). There are numerous types of restaurant employees required to run the industry. Also, the general types of employees including management, chefs, servers, and miscellaneous remain consistent in this industry despite having the number varying from restaurant to restaurant.

A manager in the Fast Food Restaurant oversees the operations and ensure that the quality of food and services is maintained in the respective restaurants. There can be a general manager with other branch managers or merely a manager depending on the size of the restaurant that they serve. Other management positions in this industry include the assistant managers who undertake the employee schedules and ensure that the employees attend to the daily duties. Financial managers ensure that the restaurant has a good flow regarding financial matters.

The chef in Fast Food restaurant is in charge of food preparation depending on the size of the restaurant. In fine restaurants, this person assumes the role of the head chef while they act as the head cook in a fast-food-chain restaurant (Lockyer, 2013). This position is significant in a fast food restaurant industry since chefs undertake numerous course involving the manner in which food is prepared, preserved, and served to maintain their quality. On the other hand, servers act in Fast Food Restaurants as the suppliers of food from the kitchen to the customers (Lockyer, 2013). This position is relevant in restaurants regardless of their sizes. The servers can undertake a similar duty to waitress depending on the restaurant’s management even though the later usually take orders from clients and directs them to the kitchen.

Miscellaneous include cashiers and the delivery people. Some Fast Food Restaurants deliver food to the doors of the customers upon ordering, and this is where delivery persons act. The cashier's act on behalf of the accountants in taking cash and giving back change before the day’s transactions are handed to the finance manager who will record and do other financial duties.

The primary reasons for high employee turnover in fast food restaurants

Employee turnover is a constant concern for any upcoming business. However, Fast Food Restaurant is a business under a well-established industry which ought not to experience employee turnover. In this industry, high employee turnover establishes an unwelcome deviation for various parties including owners, managers, and other stakeholders since it is a disturbing aspect for the success of the industry. However, the reason why employees keep leaving in the industry is still debatable. Lockyer (2013) noted that employee turnover is an uncontrollable practice in many sectors since employees will always look for more opportunities, and would not hesitate to leave when they find one which is more than their current one.

According to Jafari Momtaz, Alizadeh, & Sharif Vaghefi (2013), there are three fundamental causes of high employee turnover in fast food restaurants. Firstly, the pay plus hours issue is a concern since the minimum wage for the restaurant is lower compared to those of other industries. Hence, when an industry has a low pay rate or lacks an opportunity for making adequate money to cater to the employees’ needs, then the employees are likely to quit. Secondly, there is much internal conflict associated with Fast Food Restaurant since the management positions in the industry are more challenging than others. The employees are always close since one action depends on the action of another to be accomplished. Hence, if in any case, one employee does not undertake their roles, then there is a likelihood that that internal conflicts will arise. Jafari Momtaz, Alizadeh, & Sharif Vaghefi (2013) provides that the closeness of the staffs leads to a regular disagreement which the management should focus on to ensure that all employees incorporate to attain the organizational objectives

Also, lack of opportunity makes the employees quit the industry. Lockyer (2013) states that restaurant management positions are more challenging to accomplish compared to lower ranks. However, in most cases, the employees do not see an opportunity to progress the way they do in other industries. For example, if an employee does not see an opportunity to advance in professional scope, then they are likely to leave and look for different positions where they can further improve. Hence, lack of an opportunity or a clear opportunity increases the rate of employee turnover.

Possible means of addressing the reasons for employee turnover

The fast food restaurants have a history of high employee turnover rates. Hence, there is a need to address the issue to limit further turnover Alam (2015) provides that the need for losing an employee affects the entire industry since the entirety relies on the power of employees as they are the closest parties to employees and the most proximate parties that management relies on giving them appropriate feedback concerning the ongoing operations. Due to the huge rate in which employee turnover takes place, Alam (2015) provides numerous means in which the issue could be resolved.

Firstly, Alam (2015) provides that fair pay practices hold employees regardless of the pressures that they go through. Low pay is among the causes of employee turnover in the Fast Food Industry. The workers in this industry usually do not require much experience in the field expect the managerial posts since the other staff just require experience in hospitality and they would be considered suitable to offer quality services for the customers.

Khan, Hussain, & Yaqoob (2013) provides that unreasonable work schedules in the Fast Food Industry are among the primary causes of employee turnover. The employees in this industry like to be flexible as a result of much pressure that they undergo while serving clients. Creating a reasonable schedule for workers implies that they should have necessary hours in which they take freedom and undertake personal duties which may be on no significance to the organization (Khan, Hussain, & Yaqoob, 2013). Hence, the management should ensure that the employees get reasonable schedules for them to undertake their activities which may be seemingly insignificant to the organization.

The possible method of improving job satisfaction in Fast Food Restaurants

The employees’ efforts concerning various activities ought to be recognized for the benefit of the organization. Khan, Hussain, & Yaqoob (2013) provides that employee recognition involves celebrating the accomplishments that the team members achieve as long as they contribute to the overall success of the restaurant. One example of ways in which an employee can be recognized is establishing a one-month award which will ensure that the best employee of the month is rewarded in a free and fair way. Also, the Fast Food workers should have a means that provide them with the advancement in the opportunity which can be sure that they are progressing in matters professionalism and the scope of sociology (Khan, Hussain, & Yaqoob, 2013). This aspect can be done by providing proper training for the employees and assuring them of continuous growth in their career development.

Conclusion

The first rate of employee turnover in Fast Food Restaurant industry is caused by the immense need of employees in the industry and lack of opportunities in the same industry. However, there are some strategies that can be used to limit employee turnover in the industry. For example, employee recognition involving celebrating the accomplishments that the team members achieve as long as they contribute to the overall success of the restaurant motivates the rest of the employees, and make them feel that there are more opportunities for growth in the industry.

References

Alam, S. M. (2015). Employee Turnover in MFIs: Reasons & Remedies. SSRN Electronic Journal.

Jafari Momtaz, N., Alizadeh, S., & Sharif Vaghefi, M. (2013). A new model for assessment fast food customer behavior case study. British Food Journal, 115(4), 601-613.

Khan, S., Hussain, S. M., & Yaqoob, F. (2013). Determinants of Customer Satisfaction in Fast Food Industry A Study of Fast Food Restaurants Peshawar Pakistan. Studia commercialia Bratislavensia, 6(21), 56-65.

Lockyer, T. (2013). The International Hotel Industry