Fast food and fast casual restaurants are always looking for new employees because the turnover rate is so high. Many entry-level employees who work in fast food do so for only a short period before moving on to something else.

As a result, recruiting hourly workers can be a constant challenge for hiring managers in fast food businesses. Many in the restaurant industry recruit through word of mouth and job boards or by posting signs in the store window, but there are other ways to find good employees.

How to Improve Recruiting for Fast Food Restaurants

In this blog post, we will discuss several ways that you can make the fast food recruitment hiring process easier and more efficient. Improving your recruiting process can help you find better employees, leading to a more successful business.

Establish a Presence on Social Media

Restaurant food social media concept. Person taking a picture of their meal with social media icons around the camera screen

Social media has become an increasingly important tool for businesses, and fast food restaurants are no exception. In today’s world, job seekers are more likely to find and learn about companies through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

By creating profiles for your restaurant on all major social media platforms and posting regularly, you can reach a large audience of potential applicants and build up your restaurant’s brand simultaneously. In addition to posting job openings and job descriptions, you can also use social media to share photos and stories from inside your restaurant, highlighting the positive aspects of working there.

With a little effort, you can use social media to improve your restaurant’s recruiting efforts and attract top talent.

Train Your Staff to Be Friendly and Welcoming to Potential Employees

Portrait of a man working behind the counter of a cafe. Symbolizing employee retention

In today’s fast-paced world, it can be challenging to find the time to properly train your staff on how to be friendly and welcoming to potential new employees. However, taking the time to do so can really pay off when it comes to improving your recruiting efforts for fast food restaurants.

By teaching your staff the importance of making an excellent first impression, you can help them to create a more positive and inviting environment for potential candidates.

Training your staff to be friendly and welcoming to potential employees is essential for making a good first impression. The first step is identifying the critical points you want to communicate to your staff. These might include being polite, making eye contact, and offering a warm greeting. 

Once you have identified the key social skills, you can create a training program to teach your staff how to put these into practice. An effective way to do this is to role-play different scenarios with them. This will help them to understand how they should behave in various situations. Additionally, you can provide them with feedback after each session to continue improving their skills.

With a little effort, you can train your staff to be friendly and welcoming to potential employees, making it more likely that they will choose your company over others.

Make It Easy for Applicants to Submit Their Resumes Online or in Person

Man applying for a job on a laptop

A good way to improve the odds of attracting and keeping good workers is to make it easy for applicants to submit their resumes online or in person. By streamlining the fast food recruitment application process and making it more user-friendly, fast food restaurants can encourage more people to apply for jobs. 

In addition, when they make it easier for employees to update their contact information and view open positions, fast food restaurants can keep their talent pipelines full of qualified candidates. By taking these simple steps, fast food restaurants can improve their chances of finding and retaining the best employees.

Let Applicants Know What the Next Step in the Recruitment Process Is

Paper checklist and pencil icon.

In today’s job market, ensuring that your recruitment process is efficient and effective is more important than ever. With so many choices available to applicants, you need to do everything you can to ensure that your restaurant is the one they choose.

One way to improve your fast food recruitment process is to let applicants know the next step after applying. Keeping them informed will reduce the likelihood of them getting frustrated and moving on to another company. There are several ways to let applicants know what the next step is. You can send them an email, post an update on your website, or even give them a call.

Whatever method you choose, make sure that you’re clear and concise. By keeping applicants informed, you’ll improve your chances of attracting the best talent to your restaurant.

Offer Incentives Like Cash Incentives to Employees Who Refer New Hires

Cartoon characters receiving cash incentive gift

Another way to improve recruiting for fast food restaurants is to offer incentives to employees who refer new hires.

For example, a restaurant could offer a cash bonus to any employee who brings in a new hire who stays on for at least two weeks. This would not only help increase the number of applications the restaurant receives but also help ensure those applications are from qualified candidates. Additionally, this strategy would help to build goodwill among the restaurant’s employees, as they would feel that their efforts are being recognized and rewarded.

Ultimately, by offering incentives for new hires, fast food restaurants can improve their recruitment process and attract higher-quality candidates.

Celebrate Employee Birthdays With Special Treats or Gifts

Blue and orange birthday cupcakes spelling happy birthday

A great way to improve recruiting for fast food restaurants is to celebrate employee birthdays with special treats or gifts. This small gesture can go a long way in cultivating a positive work environment and showing employees that they are valued team members. Additionally, it can help build morale and encourage loyalty among employees, making them more likely to recommend the restaurant to friends and family members looking for a new job. Ultimately, by celebratIng employee birthdays, fast food restaurants can take a small step toward improving their recruiting efforts.

Follow Up With New Employees to Reduce Employee Turnover

Bubble icons symbolizing communication between employees and managers

After a new employee is hired, it is essential to follow up with them to ensure that they are settling into their new job and to address any concerns they may have.

This follow-up can help to reduce employee turnover, as it shows that the restaurant cares about its employees and is interested in their well-being. In addition, follow-up can also help identify any training or support that the new employee may need to succeed in their role. For example, if a new employee is struggling with customer service skills, franchisees can provide additional training to help them succeed.

Improve Your Fast Food Recruitment Process With HourWork’s Volume Hiring

HourWork

When it’s time to hire, you need the best candidates fast. With HourWork’s automated recruiting tools, you can reach out to hundreds or thousands of job seekers with the highest potential — former candidates and employees who already know your business.

Our automated text message system also allows franchisees to follow up with new employees at scale. You can send reminders about onboarding paperwork, company culture, or anything else you think will help reduce turnover.

HourWork is a SaaS recruitment and retention platform for quick-serve restaurant (QSR) franchise owners.

HourWork enables employers to dramatically improve applicant flow, eliminate retention challenges, and match demand for labor with workers who have certified skillsets in specific areas and are available to work.

HourWork mitigates the root cause of hiring and retention woes for hourly employers today: Miscommunication.

Currently focused on solving applicant flow and retention challenges for QSR franchisees, HourWork has experienced explosive growth, adding 4,000 franchise locations to the platform in 2021 for a total of over 5,000 locations.

This represents 5.3 million hourly workers on the platform.

HourWork’s franchisee customers represent some of the largest multi-unit operators across iconic QSR brands such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Dominos, Wendy’s, White Castle, and many others.

Get in touch to discuss your hiring and retention needs.