PRLA Spring 2019

4  • PENNSYLVANIA RESTAURANT & LODGING matters • Spring 2019 INDUSTRY OUTLOOK AS I TRAVEL across the Commonwealth, hardly a day goes by that I don’t hear about staffing woes. The growth of our industry coupled with the booming economy have creating the perfect storm in finding employees. And while the eternal optimist in me would like to say, “It will get better,” demographics add yet another challenge. Growth of the “working age population” is calculated in 10-year increments. Since 1900 our biggest growth decade was the first one with a 24.8 percent growth rate. The lowest was 1950–1960 with a 9.1 percent growth rate. According to Moody’s Analytics (Q3- 2018) the growth rate of our current decade will be 3.8 percent and from 2020–2030 it will only be 1.7 percent. Consequently, we are devoting this issue of Restaurant & Lodging Matters to finding alternative sources of employees. You’ll discover some new ideas and new resources to assist in bringing folks to your organization. New thinking will be critical for operators to find staff. But, as it always has been, the first step is to keep the team members you currently have. The best investment you can make is to improve employee retention. Since the late 80s, I’ve been addressing groups on creating a Great-Place-To-Work Culture, and I can tell you that by embracing this philosophy, you will improve retention. Here are my top ten ways to create a great place to work culture. 10 Display Ownership—live the “I” plan. 9 Maintain the back of the house like the front. 8 Be driven by values not policy. 7 Treat Team Members like guests. 6 Have open management styles. Practice transparency. 5 Be results (not efforts) oriented. 4 Remember it’s okay to have fun. Set the example. 3 Insist on a balance of life. 2 Exemplify a “no executive” hands on management style. Practice “side-by-side” leadership. 1 Focus on the individual needs not just the company needs. Will creating a great place to work improve retention? You bet it will. And it will improve your guest satisfaction—a nice bonus, as I see it. • Editors note: John is available to speak at your organization on the top ten ways to create a great- place-to-work culture. He may be reached at jlongstreet@prla.org John Longstreet GPTW! “New thinking will be critical for operators to find staff.”