Flexibility, benefits among industry's job enticements

Local restaurant owners and managers have had to step up wages and benefits to keep up in the tight labor market, but finding and keeping good help is not any harder in the food service business than any other industry, according to Bill Greene, co-owner of the local Village Inn Family Restaurants.

All industries are forced to be creative to keep pace in today's market, Greene said.

It is expensive to hire and train people, and employers certainly need to keep key employees they can rely on to get things done, he added.

Wages are typically low in the industry, Greene said, and restaurant owners have to be competitive to keep good people. His stores offer benefits, including insurance and vacation time, to employees who work 30 hours per week or more. He and his brother, Bob, are working on a 401(k) package to add to the mix.

Village Inn offers orientation and training to help new employees feel secure as they begin new jobs, and it cross-trains key employees who want to learn more than one position. This is a benefit to both employee and employer.

It helps the employee advance his or her career, and it provides the restaurant with multifunctional people to help in a pinch, he said.

Bill and Bob Greene took over management of the Village Inn Restaurants from their father, who opened his first location in 1965.

One of the greatest benefits to the food service business is flexible hours. This is what draws many people, particularly students, into the business, according to Billy Gilbert, general manager for the local Arby's stores.

"We work with an employee on scheduling as much as we can," Gilbert said.

Arby's also provides an extensive training program to orient people to the way the stores are operated, but it also helps if they have some previous experience, he said.

Gilbert estimated the average age among employees at the local stores is about 20, but Arby's has people ages 15 to 80 working at its various locations.

George Mikkelson, general manager for Nearly Famous Deli and Pasta House, has been with the company for 16 years. Mikkelson said labor is the biggest problem for most restaurants, but Nearly Famous has not experienced any major difficulty keeping people, even in the tight labor market.

"As an independent, we care more about employees and we go the extra mile," he said.

At Nearly Famous tips are pooled and split with the kitchen help so everyone has an equal stake in the service provided. Although the industry average for servers is at $2.13, where it has stayed for many years, Nearly Famous chooses to pay more to its serving staff.

Ed Almeida, general manager for the south-side Applebee's Restaurant, said the fact that Springfield is a college town creates a large labor pool for the restaurant business. Other restaurant owners and managers agreed.

But hiring students also contributes to the turnover rate as people graduate and move on. However, Almeida said, it is surprising how many stay throughout their four years of college and some even after graduation.

Restaurant managers agreed that possibly the worst job in the house, and the hardest to keep filled, is dishwasher. Gilbert said at Arby's, everyone is cross-trained for every job and rotated so that no one gets stuck with the dirty work all the time.

Mikkelson said, "When you get a good dishwasher, you do what you can to hang onto him."

Both Mikkelson and Greene said they try to emphasize to their employees that every job is important. Mikkelson said that he has hired several people through referrals from other satisfied employees. The Greenes plan group activities, such as employee picnics, to allow employees to get better acquainted with fellow workers and feel they are part of the company as a whole.

Although the restaurant business is perceived to have high turnover in general, a number of people go into it as an interim job and end up staying. Mikkelson said he believes some people are born to it.

Almeida and Gilbert started in the food service industry in their college days. They were drawn into the challenges of the business and decided to make it their career.

With no two days alike, the challenges of the restaurant business make it worth the effort, Gilbert said.