4 positions restaurants might be adding to their payrolls

A changing restaurant landscape calls for new positions to make sense of the uncharted terrain. An air-tight labor market, greater emphasis on off-premise and consumer desires for clean ingredients has operators dreaming up brand new job descriptions. Some operations are even making drastic changes to help get these star recruits in the door. Check out these restaurants’ hopeful hires.

Chicago’s DineAmic Group is considering adding a corporate training role that would oversee onboarding and development across the hospitality group’s eight concepts. The role would benchmark team members’ career progression and help create a culture of mentorship. “We’re looking at a lot of people that are thrown into the mix that can be lost,” said Ken McGarrie, director of operations for the group, at a recent industry event. “Developing that mentor aspect helps us to be competitive and build our next generation of leaders.”

Jersey Mike’s, a fast-casual sub chain with more than 1,000 U.S. units, is looking to build out its tech capabilities. The chain will likely hire some IT superstars to advance the chain’s POS technology, mobile and digital platforms, and social media and search engine presence. After all, it takes some serious resources to keep up with chains like BJ’s Restaurants and Cava, which are leveraging data from sensors and technology to increase speed and convenience. 

John Dell, a franchisee of more than 98 Subway restaurants, hopes to attract frontline employees with a passion for hospitality. “The old adage that you hire for attitude and train for skills has never been more true,” Dell says. “Finding those traits in the foodservice area is becoming more difficult and challenging. With the right person, we often see an upsell rate of up to 25% of all their orders. At the same time, with a person that is not engaged, the upsell rate might only be 5% to 7%, or less.”

With the right hire making such a big impact on Dell’s bottom line, the franchisee is investing in more flexible scheduling processes, cross training and an updated store design. 

Another position DineAmic Group thinks will be important for it moving forward is a corporate purchaser. The position would speak the language of both vendors and operators and find efficiencies for the entire group. “You can’t put just anyone there,” McGarrie said. “You need someone who has a passion for food and understands case counts.”