There are thousands of job openings for blue collar workers, but are they enticing enough to actually attract this talent pool?
A new survey from restaurant and hospitality recruitment platform LANDED found that 67% of blue collar workers have
“The average industry turnover for restaurants and hospitality is about 130% — COVID has brought that up to over 200%,” says Vivian Wang, founder and CEO of the platform. “With that comes more friction in the hiring process. We hear about higher no-show rates, people ghosting, employees looking for more steady hours and more benefits that these restaurant and hospitality groups haven’t really considered much before.”
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The survey found that employees have high expectations for industries that typically have not offered robust employee benefits — for example, 69% of workers would like paid vacation and sick time, 65% want flexible scheduling, and 63% would like competitive pay and health insurance.
However, 2021 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that just 59% of workers in service industry roles have
“Employers should think about how they've made these packages before, because a lot of general managers do have access to a 401(k) and health benefits. Where it’s changing is at the entry level role,” she says. “It’s up to the employer to figure out, what is the ROI on reducing turnover? What is the ROI on having a happier employee?”
LANDED works with employers to analyze data and help an employer determine where to best invest in benefits. This is a long game, Wang says — employees who are satisfied with their benefits and pay will be more likely to stay employed, and save hospitality leaders the cost of retraining and onboarding.
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“This is only data, but what about the people? Do they want the 401(k), or would they rather have medical benefits or a flexible schedule?” Wang says. “We work with companies to determine the ROI on those benefits so we can drive a more sustainable workforce and help them hire more quickly.”
“Speed is the name of the game,” Wang says. “It's important to have all these benefits, but if you're not responding to candidates in a timely manner, people aren't even going to learn about those things that you've put so much hard work into developing because they’re taking the first job they come by.”
Employers need to respond to applicants within 1-2 hours of receiving an application, and then bring them in for an interview within 24-48 after that. This speed is critical and needs to be worked into a manager’s day-to-day as they look to hire.
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“One of the things that I hear all the time is, ‘we're going to do a hiring event or open house.’ And nowadays you need to have hiring events like every single day,” Wang says. “Instead, managers need to be blocking off an hour or two every day to interview candidates. You have to be building this into your general manager's schedules and as part of their performance evaluation.”
A survey by the Harris Poll found that two-thirds of blue collar workers believe that COVID changed how people view their jobs, and as such, they’re demanding more from their employers. Employees want a future at their organizations, as long as their employer is willing to put in the time and effort that they expect from their workers.
“The power has turned to the hands of the candidate, which is great in many ways, but that means that employers have to really be on their game,” Wang says. “COVID kicked forward years of innovation that’s here to stay. The most successful are going to be those who are proactive and delight not just their guests but also their employees.”
