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How to drive success for your restaurant

Learn the top innovations that restaurant leaders are using to drive greater success.

November 1, 2022

4 Min Read

Sponsored by Paychex

The COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the hospitality industry created far-reaching changes for businesses. Restaurants had to adapt in order to stay afloat; whether it was finding ways to keep employees safe or implementing new technology to support business operations. What has emerged is an industry spurred by innovation that is driving recovery in new and different ways.

Paychex studied input from restaurant managers to understand how the last few years prompted change in the restaurant industry.*

We learned:

  • The most significant business challenges

  • Innovations that spurred business growth

  • Technologies used to improve operations

  • The value of working with a professional employer organization (PEO)

Top Challenges

The restaurant industry began to see a return to normal in late 2021, and indicators show that recovery may continue over the next several years. However, the increasing cost of doing business is introducing new challenges, including an 8.9% increase in hospitality wages over the same period last year and an 8.5 percent increase on consumer prices before the seasonal adjustment over the past 12 months.

Some of the top issues reported* by the leaders in our survey include:

  • 96% of restaurant operators report supply chain delays and shortages.

  • 9 in 10 restaurant operators report higher foods costs.

  • 7 in 10 restaurant operators say they are understaffed.

How Leaders Use HR Technology for Innovation

We also found that HR technology and tools helped leaders improve everyday operations, streamline tasks, and manage new and ongoing responsibilities more efficiently.

Technology adopted to improve operations included:

  • Online ordering or reservations

  • A mobile app for customers

  • Online, contactless payment

  • Marketing promotion such as email marketing

  • Accounting and financial management

Businesses are leaning on HR tools and technology in larger numbers than ever before to effectively manage their ever-growing day-to-day tactical responsibilities. They’re also using it to help ensure that employees are empowered and engaged, so they can focus on their HR and business goals.

The Benefits of Working with a PEO

For businesses working with a PEO, 86% said it was important for their ability to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Forty-six percent said it was "extremely important" because they found new technology solutions to improve business operations and create a safe work environment.*

Restaurant managers reported that PEOs helped their business:

  • Make it easier to adjust staff benefits (35%)

  • Freed up time to focus on managing the business (33%)

  • Make it easier to adjust staff hours and work status (32%)

  • Make it easier for employees to take advantage of the benefits offered (32%)

  • Reduce the overall cost of employee benefits (32%)

What is a professional employer organization? It’s an HR outsourcing solution that can help you manage certain administrative HR functions. Working with a PEO grants you access to Fortune 500-level employee benefits and HR expertise that your business might not otherwise be able to afford.

How Paychex Can Help

Paychex HR PEO was built to help you navigate your HR challenges. We provide businesses with integrated HR, payroll, and retirement solutions, paired with guidance from a dedicated HR professional to help you find qualified workers, keep your people safe, and stay up-to-date with laws and regulations.

Did you know we serve nearly 20,000 restaurants? We excel at resolving HR issues for restaurants such as yours. We can help you:

  • Attract and retain talent. Receive guidance from a dedicated HR professional to recruit, hire, onboard, motivate, and retain a qualified workforce.

  • Protect your business from risk. Get help staying compliant and keeping employees safe at work with tailored action and safety plans.

  • Maximize tax credits. Discover tax credits you may not know exist and potentially save thousands of dollars. 

  • Contain costs. Find support from an HR professional for your HR challenges from rising costs and inflation to supply chain shortages and delays.

  • Simplify processes with HR technology. Manage HR, payroll, and benefits with tools and insights for you and your employees with our best-in-class platforms.

Find out more today at paychex.com/peo.

Paychex Small Business Wage Data from February 1, 2022. The hiring rate is the number of monthly hires as a percentage of total employment. Change reported as compared to the monthly hiring rate 12 months earlier.

Consumer Price Index Summary, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022.

*This national survey was conducted with 300 business leaders and managers from the hospitality sector who employed between 11 and 250 employees. The online interviews were conducted by Bredin, an independent market research company located in Boston, MA, from April 21 to May 16, 2021. Of the 300 survey participants, 81% were from Accommodation and Food Services (AFS), and 19% were from Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services (TA).

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