Staffing Problems Globally Due To Covid-19

The COVID-19 epidemic has sparked one of the most severe employment shortages since the Great Depression. It has had a devastating effect on working-class people's lives. Because of the ongoing epidemic, many people working in the informal economy have lost their jobs and income. As a result, businesses were compelled to undertake devastating layoffs, and individuals were forced to change careers quickly to meet their ends and needs.

According to the International Labor Organization, the COVID-19 epidemic has caused an unprecedented worldwide labor market catastrophe that will last for years. COVID-19 has had a huge influence on people from many walks of life. The pandemic's long-term effects have altered the way businesses are conducted and will significantly impact business models. The evident fact is that the restaurant and hospitality industries have been impacted the hardest, with lockdown measures shuttering numerous establishments and limiting the ability to continue providing services.

COVID-19 has had a comparable immediate impact in Hong Kong as SARS had in 2003. Shops, office buildings, and public spaces were all cleaned multiple times a day. Despite these precautions, many people were avoid going to restaurants, shopping, movies, and other leisure places. Employers in Hong Kong, notably those in the travel, hotel/hospitality, entertainment, and retail industries, had seen significant disruption due to COVID-19. For the time being, this appears to be the case!

The crisis has the potential to worsen poverty and inequity, with long-term effects. Countries must now do everything they can to avoid the job crisis from becoming a social tragedy. Rebuilding a more robust and resilient labor market is a crucial investment for future generations. Employers must be aware of their responsibility to their employees under health and safety regulations, employment and anti-discrimination laws, and the possibly more significant business disruption concerns that may occur if they do not take action to address these issues during these difficult times. Hong Kong has yet to enact any employment-specific legislation concerning COVID-19. The Hong Kong government is frequently leery of intervening with private-sector hiring practices.

Pre-Pandemic Situation

Before the epidemic, the restaurant and foodservice industry was expected to employ 16.6 million people by 2020, accounting for 18% of all payroll positions in the economy. Restaurants faced a severe labor shortage before COVID-19, which was dubbed the "talent crisis" or "battle for talent." Unemployment was at a six-year low, and global minimum wage rates were rising. There were different challenges like simply too many restaurants, massive job growth, a smaller talent pool given the same level of eligible employees, especially among teenagers, triple-digit turnover rates, cyclical or seasonal hiring, and a struggle to find talent capable of representing a brand's ethos.

Post-Pandemic Situation

Millions of employment in the restaurant business were lost as a result of the epidemic. The major goal of all the enterprises across the globe was to provide a single site to direct the ever-growing community of displaced employees. However, the coronavirus's effect reduced employee numbers across all restaurant and foodservice industries, with employment levels in restaurants worldwide falling below pre-pandemic levels.

According to the research, 64 percent of fine dining establishments and 52 percent of family dining and casual dining establishments have personnel levels more than 25% below usual. In addition, restaurants were struck worse than any other business during the epidemic, with roughly 2 million fewer 17-to-35-year-olds in the workforce, the most common age group employed in the industry.

According to Harri COVID-19 Employee Impact Survey, up to 11 million individuals across all sectors would be furloughed or laid off over the next six months, with 46 percent of employees in restaurant and hospitality projected to be furloughed. In addition, a structural displacement of labor has added to the difficulty of staffing. Seventy-five percent of hospitality workers were determined to be permanently displaced, according to the COVID-19 Employee Impact Survey, which gathered the opinions of moreover 8,000 workers. That displacement has resulted in a poor view of work stability, health and safety policies concerns, and difficulty finding permanent employment at firms with high demand. However, the restaurant business has shown some resilience in terms of job growth, with roughly 318,000 new employment generated in September. Due to a better understanding of operating health and safety regulations, evolution in service delivery to better optimize "safe" guest interaction, and some semblance of sales performance benchmarking hospitality, businesses are much better positioned to inform hiring needs than they were two to three months ago.

Problems Faced By Employers

The factors that made staffing difficult before COVID-19, as outlined by the talent war or talent crisis, have not vanished because there are more people to pick from. In reality, it's more difficult than ever before. Better unemployment benefits are also challenging the sector. Nearly every restaurant in the world is suffering from a staffing crisis. Almost every restaurant location is recruiting according to the new situation. Some businesses are just half-staffed and are still having trouble recruiting workers. It's always a strain to get enough individuals for each shift. Bringing in more hands also means they're continuously on the lookout for fresh employees to train. Some of the new workers have worked in restaurants before, while others haven't. Time is required for training. It also needs the assistance of additional people. Many restaurant owners anticipate that their establishments will require fewer service personnel due to the epidemic and more occasional guests. As a result of the epidemic, many individuals have lost their employment and are experiencing financial hardship. There are job losses, as well as pay cuts. Because demand in the tourism and restaurant industries has decreased, this crisis has resulted in a decline in employment in the service industry. Small restaurant owners are fighting for their lives as a result of the Covid19 issue. They're dealing with many problems, including rising prices, reduced company volumes, and mounting debt.

Problems Faced By Employees

Many employments were lost, and businesses were closed as a result of COVID-19. The pay of part-time restaurant workers is now comparable to those of stimulus and unemployment grants. Any employee has access to these monies. Employees who work many hours are paid the same as those who work a small number. Some people prefer to take advantage of the aid rather than risk their safety by working at neighborhood eateries. The inability to work from home increased occupational stress for some restaurant workers. Those who had returned to work said they were overwhelmed by the number of people they had to interact with and that they had no control over their working environment. Staff is also concerned about the difficulty of working as a frontline worker without other industries' safeguards. COVID-19 infection is a concern for workers. The COVID-19 epidemic hastened HR departments' migration to remote recruiting. While employing social media, applicant tracking software, and videoconferencing to cultivate prospects might save time and money, the remote recruitment environment has made it more challenging for businesses to provide a superior candidate experience.

How to Overcome Staffing Problems in Restaurants?

In a study, the International Labor Organization stated that the COVID-19 epidemic had caused an unprecedented worldwide labor market catastrophe that will last for years. "All nations have seen a dramatic decrease in employment and national income," according to the UN agency, "which has exacerbated existing inequities and risks inflicting longer-term scarring consequences on workers and firms." Measuring a company's future growth potential is a traditional component of valuing it. It is critical to have great personnel who will develop with the company to guarantee that it is well-equipped to manage expansion. The COVID-19 epidemic, on the other hand, came along and disrupted this normal process, posing new obstacles for recruiting managers and HR departments. If they evaluate the staffing concerns and potential solutions described above, restaurants may be in a solid position to get the most out of their personnel in 2021.

Getting more done with fewer resources. Every company, particularly in the area of personnel, has to find new ways to increase the scale and efficiency of its operations. In addition, developing trustworthy labor models during an unprecedented selling environment has made informed labor-related decision-making extremely challenging. It's no secret that COVID-19 has accelerated the digitization of the tourist experience through technology. A similar approach is required for the application experience now. Companies must rely on technology to experience equal economic benefits, ensure successful recruiting, and ease the stress on HR personnel. It's critical to develop and implement a clear plan for addressing and resolving employee concerns in the context of health, safety, and job security. Having a mechanism in place to deliver material that is targeted or catered to the individual requirements of returning workers is required. It’s been very beneficial for employers to provide information on personal and professional well-being and updates on corporate activities and announcements. Having a technical backbone that can meet a company's communications demands on an employee-by-employee basis, for example, can aid in the efficient deployment of courses that deliver instructional mental health and well-being information.

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Restaurant Marketing Ideas and Trends 2022

Today, restaurant marketing is more important than ever. Additionally, efficient marketing techniques can incorporate both digital and traditional strategies. For example, consider the fact that supermarket and department store food & beverage retail sales in Hong Kong amounted to around $7.89 billion in 2020.

Effective restaurant marketing necessitates ongoing effort. Without a marketing plan, no small business owner can succeed. It should include photographs of food and other features.

Remember that a strong restaurant marketing strategy should be unique. It should be customized to fit your budget and requirements. And it should all begins with understanding how to write a restaurant business plan so that it may become a part of your ongoing operations.

To assist you in navigating this new marketing terrain, we've compiled a comprehensive list of the latest restaurant marketing techniques and trends that will ensure to breathe new life into your business. Let's get started:

Design a Stunning Restaurant Website

Restaurants, like any other modern business, demand a website. So your brand's virtual epicenter is your website.

Customers visit your restaurant's website to view the menu, place take-out orders and learn about upcoming specials and events. Besides that, it serves as a focal point for your restaurant's marketing campaigns.

There are numerous elements you can incorporate into your website to make it stand out. Nevertheless, these are among the most effective:

• Customize the website to appeal to the target audience.

• Provide your name, address, and phone number.

• Include a menu.

• Display high-quality images.

• Inform your audience about your brand.

• Highlight your unique selling proposition.

• Let customers make direct reservations.

• How do people join your loyalty program? Give more information about that.

Search Engine Optimisation

By concentrating on website rankings, you can increase website traffic and attract new customers. "The process of enhancing a website's search engine rankings is referred to as search engine optimization or simply SEO."

It is crucial to provide your customers with unique, educational, entertaining, and persuasive content.

Include keyword phrases relevant to your business, such as “Italian Restaurants in Hong Kong”. Ascertain that the key flows naturally within the sentence and does not sound forced. Just be yourself and let the words flow naturally. That's all you need to do.

It is also critical that other websites link to yours. Search online for local directories and websites to connect to your website. Link building and SEO are easiest if you have engaging, interesting, valuable content that others are eager to share.

Google My Business

To maintain their online presence across Google, such as Search and Maps, the Google My Business tool is free and easy to use for both individuals and businesses.

It allows you to control the information that appears when a person searches for your business or your Google Maps location.

Additionally, companies and corporations that verify their details with Google My Business (GMB) are twice as likely to be perceived as trustworthy by consumers.

You simply need to sign up free Google account, log in, and claim your business.

You'll be able to fill in all of your company's details immediately. Additionally, you can create events and blog posts that will show up in search results.

Additionally, you can post your menu, use Google's free online ordering system for pickup or delivery, and even schedule reservations.

This is an important part of any marketing strategy for a restaurant. This approach is also effective in attracting new customers.

Use Social Media

Today, social media is an integral part of the business. Your customers will become more loyal and more likely to spread the word about your business if you become more engaged with them.

A well-executed social media marketing strategy can drive a significant portion of the business to your door. Choose the best social media platform, like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc. Though Facebook is a popular platform as well, Instagram is a favourite choice for many.

Foodie Pictures

The most effective method of capturing people's interest in your restaurant is to post high-quality visual content on social media that makes your food seem tempting.

Consider hiring a professional photographer to capture some outstanding pictures, or do it yourself with your smartphone.

Run Paid Ads

This is a more advanced strategy that will require investment. For the most part, paid advertising is carried out through Google (Google Ads) and Facebook (Facebook Ads).

These can be very effective, as they can be set up with specific targeting features, customized ads, and a detailed dashboard for tracking and analyzing results.

You can even specify the type of person you want the ads to be shown to based on their demographic information or internet browsing history.

Newsletters and Email Marketing

If you aren't compiling a customer list that includes contact information, you may be losing money.

Create a newsletter sign-up form on your website and make it available to customers and potential customers. Then send them a relevant, compelling email newsletter regularly.

To entice customers, some restaurants include coupons or promotional offers in their newsletters. Email newsletters are a powerful tool for promoting your business.

Maintaining consistency is essential. If you decide to send emails on a monthly basis, make sure they arrive on the same day each month.

Make a concerted effort to increase your email marketing subscriber. For example, give new subscribers a free dessert as a welcome gift. Additionally, if possible, prominently display the sign-up form on each website page.

Target Your Audience

Knowing your target audience is essential for any marketing campaign. The audience is at the center of the best campaigns from start to finish.

If you're spending money on paid advertising, you'll undoubtedly be looking for the best return on your investment (ROI). To accomplish this, you will require accurate, credible, and comprehensive data on your actual customers.

Build a Customer App

A well-designed restaurant app can also be an essential part of a restaurant marketing plan. Businesses can use apps to display their menus, process orders, and offer coupons and discounts.

Loyalty Programs

Partnership with online food apps should be part of your restaurant's marketing strategy. Partnering with online apps encourages viewers to check out your restaurant through gamification and customer loyalty programs, which benefit visitors with an offer or discount after a specified number of visits.

Use Online Customer Ratings and Reviews websites

According to the payment platform Square, personal and online reviews are the two primary ways people usually decide which restaurants to visit. In addition, 35% of survey respondents identified online reviews as the most likely source of endorsement.

Of the review platforms, 28% of respondents indicated that Google reviews were their preferred source of information. Then came Facebook and Yelp reviews.

According to this report, it is critical for restaurants to receive positive reviews. Organic reviews are easier to come by for well-established businesses with a large following, but for startups with a small following, it might be more difficult.

One of the most effective ways to obtain reviews is to properly set up your Google business, Facebook, and Yelp profiles so that customers can easily locate you and leave a review. You can also ask your customers for feedback to get things started.

Invite Food Critics & Bloggers to Your Door

It's no longer simply about the food. People want a memorable dining experience that they can share with their friends and brag about on social media. Following various food critics, and foodie influencers, or reading food reviews in local magazines is one of the best ways to locate fantastic food and experiences.

Start by determining where people in your city go for food suggestions, and then extend offers for a free dining experience to various influencer types.

Give Away Free Meals for Special Occasions

We all have a go-to site for anniversaries, birthdays, and graduations. Restaurants, where people celebrate life events, form specialties with their patrons. You want a piece of the action, don't you?

Every restaurant should offer free meals on birthdays. At the very least, a free dessert. People rarely dine alone on their birthdays, so you'll make up for lost money and possibly gain new customers. You can even target people with upcoming birthdays if you advertise on Facebook.

Offer Business Packages

Catering events is an excellent way to boost sales and build brand identity. This is since the events will almost always require a large quantity of food, which means you will sell and earn more than you usually would.

Business events and meetings, in particular, frequently require food. To appeal to this target audience, create special packages that include both the food and drink you'll sell as well as the equipment you'll provide.

Catered services should be clearly advertised in your restaurant. You can also promote the service on your website and through social media.

Another possibility is to place paid advertisements in areas with a high concentration of businesses.

Partner with Other Businesses in the Local Area

Partnering with a local business can be beneficial for both parties. Through partnership marketing strategies, it is possible for two local businesses with similar audiences to promote each other's products to targeted customers.

Here are some ideas on how restaurants can collaborate with other local businesses:

• Partnership with local farms for restaurant ingredients

• A gym and restaurant might partner up to offer discounts on each other's products.

• A restaurant may serve the beer of a certain brewery, and the brewery may brew a beer to complement the restaurant's signature cuisine.

To sum up, this post covered a wide range of restaurant marketing strategies that you can use. Hopefully, some of them would appeal to you and motivate you to give them a try.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Food And Beverage Industry

The abrupt coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) spread quickly worldwide, affecting every country from 2019-20. Within months of the start of COVID19, two major Asian superpowers imposed social isolation and lockdown practices in their societies. The pandemic's indiscriminate nature had a negative influence on people's health and well-being and the global economy, countries, and supply chain. The unanticipated disruption has dramatically hampered the worldwide food supply chain as well as the service sector in the food and beverage industries.

According to Culinary Tides' Shifting Sands: Trends Shaping the Food Industry in 2021/22, COVID-19 and the ensuing recession have intensified and escalated pre-pandemic political and economic unrest.

We will examine the impact of the COVID-19 on the food and beverage industry through this article.

What’s going on in the Food and Beverage Industry?

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, food and beverage businesses faced huge hurdles, predominantly in terms of the production process, supply chain, delivery, and logistics. Shopping became frustrating and unsafe due to the shelter-in-place orders, which were worsened by social distancing. Dining restrictions compelled people to cook more of their meals at home, typically with cheap and readily available basic ingredients. As a result, forward-thinking grocery retailers chose e-commerce for online ordering. As the outbreak expanded, food and beverage companies re-evaluated their business strategy and supply chain operations, as well as invested in emerging technology, in order to become more nimble and adaptable in the future.

“The foods and beverages industry in Hong Kong was also badly affected when the worldwide coronavirus epidemic hit. Uncertainty and unemployment increased as a result of the obligatory closures of dine-in restaurants. As a result, restaurants and other foodservice establishments were compelled to shut down mostly overnight, while food delivery and grocery services boomed in the aftermath.”

Although the food & beverage industries experienced the most significant changes during the start of the epidemic, things are still changing. Which of these effects are irreversible? Which trends will become obsolete in the coming years? Keep reading!

Changes in Food Purchasing Pattern during Covid-19

COVID-19 accelerated the development of online grocery delivery. In the early stages of the pandemic, there was panic buying in response to the closures of restaurants, which resulted in bare shelves at grocery stores. The following are some of the dramatic changes in purchasing behavior:

• Bulk purchasing

• Purchases of frozen foods have increased.

• Purchases of non-perishable food have increased.

• Purchasing versatile food staples

According to the prevailing situation, consumers sought any available, easy, and varied ingredient as people switched to largely at-home meal prep.

However, people still needed the food, so with the new normal of isolation, they switched to online grocery stores in droves.

Changes in Dining Out Practice

F&B open rates dropped by 80% in some markets during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, restaurants, pubs, cafes, and eateries were forced to turn away customers. But now, the situation is starting to change, with the release of vaccines and the onset of spring weather, with the likelihood of easing lockdown restrictions. Food processors and delivery companies initially moved in to fill the gaps.

To keep customers tied to restaurants and bars, new and existing food delivery firms have grown up all over the world.

Accelerated Digital Adoption in the Food and Beverage Industry

As with every other category, the pandemic has spurred digital adoption throughout this time period, assisted by shifts in consumer preferences. Consumers downloaded and signed on to apps for meal delivery, online grocery delivery, and BOPIS (purchase online, pick up in-store). While many people rushed to the stores, others avoided them altogether and instead used delivery service apps for anything from groceries to food to prescriptions.

“But, innovations are underway, and COVID-19's act as a catalyst for digitalization is already opening up unprecedented prospects for the Food and Beverage industries to develop new business models.”

What Is The Future Of The Food And Beverage Industry After Covid-19?

Although, due to the instructions for social distancing and "staying at home," restaurants closed their doors to dine-in customers. Most noncommercial foodservice also ceased operations due to the closure of numerous hotels, stadiums, airports, cruise ships, offices, and other sites. As a result, many people were having trouble “keeping the lights on.” However, healthcare, corrections, and certain educational institutions remained active.

Meanwhile, supermarket stores found it difficult to keep up. So food service providers are trying to help, forming new agreements with grocery stores at breakneck speed. To help with the shortages, distilleries are becoming mini "hand sanitizer factories."

Labor will be the source of the next great wave of assistance and resource transfer across channels. As per The Wall Street Journal, COVID-19 is causing "the fastest relocation of labor since World War II." Hundreds of thousands of people are being hired by grocery retailers and delivery services (such as Instacart). Many of them come from the enormous pool of newly unemployed employees from the food service industry.

The virus has left us with a lot of unanswered questions about our future. F & B industries will close their doors in the days ahead, which will be devastating. However, one thing is certain: this industry's innovation and resiliency. Through this multi-part series, we'll do our part to discuss significant advancements and creative solutions we've noticed in the industry. This will cover a wide range of subjects, including the size of the short term shift from retail to food service and its long-term impact, stories of greater efforts toward takeaway (including first-time options for many elevated restaurants), drive-thru activities to promote sales, innovative new revenue sources for foodservice operators or suppliers (– for example, direct to consumer, meal kits, etc.), efforts to simplify and focus operations, and other significant developments. The industry will recover, and we will do everything we can to assist in the process!

If you are going to start a new food and beverage business or face any issue in your ongoing business, especially after the pandemic COVID-19, contact us to know how Ermannolelli can assist you