by Bob Gershberg, CEO/Managing Partner Wray Executive Search
Quiet quitting, a loosely defined term or workplace trend that rose to prominence via a TikTok video, is not a new concept. According to a recent Gallup poll, 50 percent of U.S. workers admit to being quiet quitters. Didn’t we used to call them slackers? Fact is, call it what you may, employee engagement is in deep decline. The workforce is checking out mentally, not willing to go beyond what they believe they were hired to do. Promoters feel it is a solid attempt at attaining work-life balance boundaries. Those of us who came of age during the “hustle culture”, may too, be rethinking work. Clearly, the pandemic has affected the workforce substantively. Heck, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 47 million people quit their jobs last year in The Great Resignation.
As leaders and managers, what can we do to improve employee engagement, morale and productivity? How can we best drive involvement and enthusiasm? First and foremost, create a connection between the mission and what folks actually do. Integrate engagement discussions with performance and development communication. Communicate the mission succinctly during the recruitment process to ensure alignment with purpose. Make creating and promoting an engaging culture a team responsibility. People want to be successful and feel good about what they accomplish. They want purpose and meaning from their work. Employees need to know what is expected of them and it is incumbent upon managers to define and discuss these expectations regularly.
by John A. Gordon, Principal and Founder, Pacific Management Consulting Group
The longer one spends in the restaurant space, veterans should be less shocked when adverse actions happen. After all, the restaurant industry is a versatile industry, surviving, World War II, desegregation, multiple gas shocks limitations and lines, 9-11, overbuilding, 23% interest rates, the Great Recession, and other periodic turns, and the effect of them, the Pandemic, which is still biting us years later. But this last week governmental actions took center stage.
The California AB257 Mess… Will cause confusion and trouble and likely will raise wages. Let's face it, politics in government regulatory matters a lot in the 50/50 Blue/ Red state America we are set in. While CA Governor Newsom greatly improved an awful original bill written solely by an SEIU lobbyist, he signed a recast bill called the FAST Act. New is a Committee composed of 10 unelected restaurant, union, franchisee, and franchisor reps, to review and recommend wages, wage theft, and needed work conditions improvements. This process subverts the will of franchisor companies and contract/budget requirements. Yes, the legislature can strike the Committee work later, and the Committee needs to be authorized by voter signatures.
Featuring Abby Taylor, Founder & CMO of Playa Bowls
by Rebecca Patt, SVP Development, Wray Executive Search
Tell us about the Playa Bowls concept: where is it and what is the concept like?
Whether you are at a beach location at the Jersey Shore or in the mountains of Colorado, we bring you a superior product and a feeling of summer. I started Playa Bowls with Rob Giuliani in 2014 in Belmar, New Jersey. We now have over 150 locations in 17 states across the US with no plans of stopping. While a large portion of our locations are based out of beach towns on the East Coast, we have expanded inland to colleges and some rad towns across the United States.
Our menu is made up of acai bowls, pitaya bowls, green bowls, banana bowls, coconut bowls and chia pudding bowls topped with a wide variety of fresh fruits and our delicious granola. We also serve an insane line up of smoothies, cold pressed juices, and oatmeal with all the toppings.
Restaurant Inflation: You Can’t Save Your Way to Success
by Aaron Allen & Associates
Restaurant inflation certainly been a challenge on margins over the last few years — even more so than usual. The pressure on profitability is certainly not new. Already in 2019, restaurants were not able to pass inflationary costs on to consumers (back then, the average restaurant price increase was 3.1% while labor cost was growing at 3.8% and food at 5.0%).
As of May 2022, the YOY growth in restaurant prices reached a record 7.4%, but labor costs grew by 10.1% and food costs by 10.6% (measured by a producer food wholesaling index). Supply chain challenges and the growth in global commodities prices do not seem to forecast a slowdown in the short term, either.
Check out the National Restaurant Association's latest report on the business conditions impacting the restaurant industry
New National Restaurant Association survey finds the economy is disrupting service across the industry
Running a restaurant right now is a daily turn at Jenga®, with operators carefully pulling from the foundation of their operating plans to prop up new supports in a changing economy.
