Last updated on June 15th, 2023
While the world is getting closer to “normal” post-COVID, food service employee shortages remain. While the team at Culinary Services Group (CSG) always makes an effort to put employees first and create the best possible environment for them to want to work in, we’ve really focused more on this initiative over the past two years.
Our employees impact the lives of people in healthcare communities every day, and we recognize that our success as a company depends on the growth of our employees. Here are some of the ways we have improved the workplace for CSG employees all over the country in order to recruit and retain our top-performing staff members.
Create Connections Between Other Employees
A recent Gallup poll found that 51% of workers are not engaged in the workplace, meaning they are psychologically unattached to their jobs and company. Improving an employee’s connection to other employees and high-level staff members at the workplace may help your team feel more engaged at work.
At CSG, we make an effort to ensure that employees at every healthcare community we work with feel like they are part of the larger CSG community. This starts with making it clear that they can speak to anyone in the corporate office about anything big or small. To make this easy, it’s essential to break down barriers to get face time with corporate.
We use a company app to connect all of our employees (including hourly workers) so they share photos of what they’re doing and what special menu items they’re creating in their own community. We also use this app to post important company announcements, employee birthdays, employee anniversaries, and other special dates. Plus, we have a community section in our payroll app that allows us to share employee kudos and celebrate milestones. These community forums allow every CSG employee to stay connected and engaged no matter where they are.
It’s important to have some way to connect with employees through their mobile phones because many of your food service staff don’t have access to a computer during the day. They’re cooking food, serving, cleaning up, and talking to residents. About 54% of frontline employees receive company communications via email, but 76% percent would feel more connected to their companies if they could access communications on a mobile device.
Create Connections Between Employees and Residents
In this video, a few of our employees talk about how they’re motivated to go above and beyond for residents because they feel like CSG and their healthcare community goes above and beyond for them as employees.
To help employees feel more connected to residents so they can focus on making the residents’ lives better, we recommend regular “team meetings” where residents can give kitchen staff feedback on menus and let them know which foods they would like to see in the future. This also helps residents feel more connected because their voices are heard, and they see that the community cares about them when their suggestions appear on the menu.
Develop a Sense of Purpose
A McKinsey study found that for 70% of employees, their sense of purpose is defined by their work. Showing employees that their purpose goes beyond just serving food or cleaning up might make them happier, more engaged, and less likely to seek new employment. People are rethinking the place work has in their lives and are yearning to make bigger contributions to society.
A healthcare community like yours has a mission that employees can get behind and feel good about. Take a page from restaurants like Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Habit Grill and share information with employees about how you’re investing in a social purpose across your community.
Allow Flexibility
One study of restaurant workers found that 64% of restaurant staff say schedule flexibility can be one of the best parts of their job, and 16% say that a lack of schedule flexibility is one of the worst parts of their jobs.
Consider offering more flexibility when it comes to hours. Have a chat with each of your employees to figure out how you can work around their commitments, hobbies, and other aspects of their personal lives. Do this with new hires during the interview process too. Showing that you’re flexible early on might attract more employees to your community.
Flexibility also matters when it comes to getting paid. With all of the new workplace technologies, the days of waiting for a paper check you have to pick up from the office are over. CSG recently launched an on-demand payment plan through our employee app. This is a “work today, get paid tomorrow” benefit. We’re also piloting a shift-swap component on our payroll app that allows employees flexibility to switch shifts when they need to to create a more balanced lifestyle. We hope to have this open to all communities soon.
Going Above and Beyond for Your Team
We take pride in the food we serve and care deeply about those who depend on our services. CSG is more than just a job. It’s an opportunity for our employees to give back to their local communities. Every role adds value and contributes to our success as an organization, which is why we are constantly working to make CSG one of the best places to work. In fact, CSG is recognized as one of Food Management Magazine’s Top 50 Contract Management Companies. This wouldn’t have been possible without each and every one of our dedicated staff.
If you’re interested in working with CSG or learning more about how to make your community a better place for employees, view our careers page or contact us here.
