Partech Blog

It’s almost become table stakes to have a back-office system in your restaurant. As they become more prominent in the restaurant industry, chances are if you don’t have one, you’re losing money and possibly missing out on several operational efficiencies. 

During a recent interview with Hospitality Technology, Jean Chick, a principal in strategy consulting and restaurant and food service for Deloitte, said, “The restaurant of the future—really, the restaurant of today—requires a more comprehensive back-office technology suite, with a tight integration of systems.” 

The days of relying on manual tracking and report pulling are behind us. Today, the best brands in the industry are making use of vast amounts of data to operate their restaurants more effectively and make more informed decisions.

Companies across the United States are having trouble hiring employees. What started in 2019 with millions of Americans leaving their jobs for other opportunities has blossomed into a full-on game of musical chairs. As the pandemic subsides, an estimated 1 in 4 workers has plans to look for new opportunities, according to a recent Prudential Financial Pulse of the American Worker survey. Those jobs are stretching across every industry but have hit restaurants especially hard. 

People leave jobs for myriad reasons. Lack of promotions, lack of fulfillment, and lack of pay all play a critical role in why people migrate to new gigs. For its part, the restaurant industry has not always been the friendliest environment for employees. When the pandemic began, millions of restaurant workers found themselves out of a job as concepts were forced to shut their doors due to lockdowns. Now, as the economy slowly recovers and people return to work, companies are making every effort to promote themselves as excellent workplaces. 

From signing bonuses and higher wages to better work/life balance, free phones, and even payouts for simply applying, employees have their pick of places to work. Unfortunately, for restaurants that were already feeling the squeeze from a lack of workers, the pandemic and subsequent recovery have left them reeling. Job seekers wield an incredible amount of power right now, and restaurants need to prove they have what it takes to keep people happy.