FEATURE NEWS
Staff wanted
Cafés and hospitality venues the world over are facing the next challenge made worse by COVID-19: skilled staff shortages. BeanScene asks how the industry can adapt and attract new workers.
T
he past two years haven’t been easy for hospitality, with recurring lockdowns and restrictions making it difficult to plan for the future or simply stay afloat. Even as the world opens back up and customers come flooding back to their favourite cafés, it’s not getting easier for many businesses as new challenges present themselves. A shortage of skilled hospitality staff is being felt across Australia, and Restaurant & Catering Australia CEO Wes Lambert tells BeanScene cafés are one of the hardest hit segments of foodservice. “Cafés often employ holiday makers and international students, who aren’t currently allowed into Australia, in multiple positions including servers and baristas,” Wes says. “They are also often smaller, independent businesses, where without enough staff, the business owners are becoming extremely overworked.” International and state border closures have limited the number of temporary workers flowing into Australia, a situation that isn’t likely to change until at least mid-2022. However, this is not the only reason recruiting skilled staff has become difficult. Many chefs and baristas holding work visas had to return home after losing work due to lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. According to a survey of more than 500 foodservice business owners from Menulog and the National Indigenous Culinary Institute, 91 per cent of respondents identified an overdependence on international chefs to run Australian kitchens. Many local hospitality workers who lost their jobs during COVID-19 lockdowns turned to other industries for work, and Wes says they are disincentivised from coming back. “There are many cafés reporting they’re having to pay $40 to $50 per hour for baristas and even more for kitchen staff during this critical workforce shortage, and they’re still having a difficult time finding staff,” Wes says. “Hospitality has built a bad
Hospitality is experiencing widespread skilled staff shortages due to border closures and workers moving into other industries.
reputation as a workplace and career choice. A big part of that is because of a few bad actors, paying cash in hand or similar practices, and there’s been a concerted effort to improve that reputation. The industry needs to continue improving its reputation to attract and retain Australian staff.” Business owners aren’t the only ones feeling the sting of the worker shortage. Staff shortfalls impact the employees required to do the work of more than one person. Seth Spurge, a barista for Giocando Coffee Roasters in Devonport, Tasmania, says not all customers appreciate the challenges cafés are facing. “I think what’s worse is the people who don’t understand or care that we have a shortage and come in acting entitled,” Seth tells BeanScene. Staff shortages aren’t just being felt in the inner cities. Boxracer café in Warrnambool, regional Victoria, opened its doors in August 2021, just as the state entered its sixth COVID-19 lockdown. Café Manager Cameron Mackenzie tells
BeanScene that Boxracer had advertised job openings since April and only received about 10 applicants, most of whom joined the team. However, since the lockdown, he says it has been difficult to keep everyone onboard and replace those who leave. “We made commitments to people that we could offer them 15 to 20 hours, but then the lockdown hit and we could only secure them about five hours. Many had to get second jobs or leave our industry altogether for warehouse, sales, or retail roles,” Cameron says. “A lot of those people won’t be coming back to hospitality. Why work in a kitchen for $28 an hour when you could drive a forklift for $40? There’s an element of fear as well. COVID is still around, and working in a warehouse, office, or at home, you’re less likely to catch it and more likely to have a job in three months’ time.” Cameron says despite offering salaries well above the award rate, he is still struggling to attract new staff. “We’re even working on offering
beanscenemag.com.au
35
