Staffing Challenges Specific to Food

Staffing Challenges Specific to Food and Beverage Operations

In today's dynamic and competitive industry, economic agents place more emphasis on the role of the staff members. The employees are the ones that generate customer satisfaction, they deliver the services, they create the products and they support the company in reaching its overall objectives. In such a context, the practice of human resource management becomes more important for companies, being generally reflected in four specific manners, as follows:

HRM responds to the need of searching new ways of working

HRM promotes the role of managers in promoting change

HRM supports the treatment of the staff members as individual beings, rather than collective forces, and finally

HRM promotes a system of beliefs through which the employees assimilate managers as their peers, rather than a separate group, with separate and even conflicting goals (English for Management).

The role of human resource management within the food and beverage industry is also increasing as the sector is one in which the employees directly interact with the customers, and they as such influence customer satisfaction. While the quality of the food and beverage products is important, the means in which these are served and the value which is created for the customer experience are equally important in creating customer satisfaction. In this order of ideas, more and more emphasis is placed on the functions of human resource management within the food and beverage industry.

The functions of HRM are multiple and complex, to include the management of virtually every stage of the relationship between the firm and the employee, from the identification of the need for the employee, to after the time the contract between the parties is no longer valid. Staffing is one of these functions and it is addressed in various articles available to the public.

One such source of information is represented by the piece HRM in food industry, at the Scorecard Metrics for HR website. In the article, emphasis is placed on the role of the personnel not only to help attain organizational goals, but also to ensure the salvation of the firm from difficult situations, through innovation and beneficial solutions.

"Only people can save business. No computer all machine will come up with innovative decision. That's why, it is imperative to have loyal and well educated personnel" (Scorecard Metrics for HR, 2010).

In the food industry, like in any other industry, it is necessary to approach staffing issues, as well as any other HRM issues, through the lenses of motivation, performance and job characteristics. Through these lenses then, the article proposes three specific issues to be considered, as follows:

The professional qualification of the staff members, the importance of this being pegged to the quality of food and as such the safety and satisfaction of the customers.

The number of positions which require temporary staffs. Unlike most industries, foods and beverages have seasonal characteristics, based on time of the year, holiday season, geographic positioning in specific touristy locations and so on.

The training of the staff members. This is essential in the food and beverage industry as these items, when improperly handled, can result in health problems, which could in turn materialize in legal and financial repercussions for the company (Scorecard Metrics for HR).

Each of these issues can be addressed at a managerial level and it can be administered in such a manner that it is turned into a strength, rather than a weakness. The suggestions in this direction include the following:

The recruitment, selection and hiring of people with highly developed skills. The identification of the skills, knowledge and qualifications required for a specific job and the selection of candidates who possess the skills needed by the firm.

The recruitment of qualified temporary staff and the limitation of the need for temporary staff. Given the sensitivity of the food and beverage industry, the technologies involved and the high demands, temporary staffs might not always be skilled enough to deal with the complexities. It is as such recommended to hire skilled temps, to limit the number of temps hired and to hire temps on positions which require lower levels of skills.

Last, in terms of training, it is recommended to maximize training programs in order to ensure adequate preparation for all employees. At this stage, it is also necessary to continually evaluate the training needs as well as the employee performances in the aftermath of the training programs.

The topic of the HRM issues within the food and beverage industry has also been addressed through the lenses of franchising operations. This particular angle is relevant and important since there are numerous franchise contracts through which restaurants of well-known brands are opened in various global regions, and operated by local individuals. The franchise contract divides the risk as well as the gains, being as such motivating for both parties. But from the standpoint of the staff members, it raises three specific challenges:

Availability of staffs

Turnover issues and the management of the staffs, and Skilled vs. unskilled staffs (Senior Care Franchise, 2009).

Each of these challenges impacts the food and beverage franchisor by causing effects on the means in which the food is made and served, the means in which the customer interaction is completed, the means in which the resources are handled and so on. But the positive turn in this case is also that there are some measures which can be taken to decrease the negative impact of these challenges. They refer to the following:

Analysis of the labor force availability before opening the franchise. This would ensure that the future manager is able to accordingly staff the venture, or at least take the necessary measures in an informed manner.