Hourly Employee Retention Factors in the United Kingdom Quick Service Restaurant Industry

DiPietro, Robin B.; Thozhur, Sumeetra M.; Milman, Ady

doi:10.1300/j369v10n04_04

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Furthermore, organizations investing in their employees tend to receive a good return with better customer service (Myers et al, 2004;Solnet et al, 2010). Other factors relating to restaurant employee tenure include wages, benefits, work hours, job security, employee empowerment and opportunity for advancement (DiPietro and Bufquin, 2018;DiPietro et al, 2007).…”

Section: Employee Turnover and Retentionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding employee longevity in independent fine dining restaurants

DiPietro

Martin

Pratt

2019

IJCHM

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Purpose This paper aims to investigate talent management (TM) practices of independent fine dining restaurant (FDR) organizations and explores why employee retention rates in FDRs are higher than other restaurants. This research adds to the TM literature by surfacing attitudes and influences that lead to employee retention. Design/methodology/approach The present study collects data using McCracken’s (1988) long interview method to provide insights into value similarities and differences between employees and independent restaurant managers. Fourteen interviews at two independent FDRs inform the results. This study employs a grounded theory approach. Findings Study results show that people take pride in working for the restaurants and the culture within the restaurant inspires a higher level of self-esteem. This independent, family-owned environment helps employees and managers achieve higher work performance and satisfy overall lifestyle needs. Respondents report their employment helps them to do things that bring out the best in them and allows them to accomplish other things that they want in life. The study also suggests that a shared value system between employees and managers creates a more stable workforce and longer tenure. Research limitations/implications The current study examines only two independent family-owned FDRs, so generalization is limited. The current study uses grounded theory to expand on research in the TM literature. Practical implications If owners and managers of FDR focus on addressing employees’ higher-order motivational needs, they have a better chance of retaining employees. Losing productive employees has high direct and indirect costs, and the restaurant industry is plagued with high turnover. Independent restaurants also need to evaluate their new employee orientations because unstructured training contributes to an environment of uncertainty. Developing a positive culture in an FDR is possible with a focused, family-oriented business. This work culture takes time to develop. Recruiting and selection methods to ensure a fit with the culture and values are a cost-effective method to ensure the continuation of this culture. The consistent values between employees and managers in this study demonstrate that hiring for personal values and not necessarily for skills already developed helps with positive TM in FDR. Originality/value The current study extends the knowledge in TM, ecological systems theory and motivational needs-based theory through detailed interviews and value analyses. Long interviews and triangulation of the data surface conscious and nonconscious memories from both employees and managers specifically relating to employee retention factors in FDR.

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Section: Employee Turnover and Retentionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding employee longevity in independent fine dining restaurants

DiPietro

Martin

Pratt

2019

IJCHM

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“…Management can use uniforms as visual symbols to continuously transfer firm values to and among their employees [26,27] and uniforms have communicative power in both, the external and internal spheres of a corporation. Furthermore, for many hotel organizations, uniforms have been part of an employee benefit package for some time now and therefore can contribute to staff satisfaction and commitment [11,12]. In summary, uniform features in the service industries include attributes such as functionality, comfort, materials, appropriateness to job task, style, colour and overall fit [13].…”

Section: Uniform Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, for many hotel organizations, uniforms are part of employee benefit packages and therefore can contribute to work commitment, organizational identification, and higher staff satisfaction [11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Employee Uniforms on Job Satisfaction in the Hospitality Industry

Karch¹,

Peters²

2017

J Hotel Bus Manage

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Uniforms play a major role during any service encounter and can impact stakeholder experience. The authors review current literature in the field of uniform provision in the hotel industry and present a comparative study from two different cultural settings: Hong Kong SAR, China and Tyrol, Austria. The research gathered quantitative data from those that wear business attire or uniforms and are engaged in the provision of services and or products alike. The data presents six factors, which describe uniform wear influences on customer contact employees. The overall result shows, that in the three highest scores, contact staff considered their job pleasant; uniforms communicate to others that one belongs to the organization, and they were very satisfied with their current job. On the other spectrum, the lowest scores were collected for wearing a uniform towards improving the job satisfaction, and the lack of involved in uniform design process.

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“…While the field of hospitality human resource management, turnover, and retention has been discussed extensively in the literature (Barron, 2008;Hughes and Rog, 2008), several studies looked exclusively at specific segments of the industry like international hotels (Davidson et al, 2011), food services and quick service restaurants (AbuKhalifeh et al, 2013;DiPietro et al, 2007;DiPietro and Milman, 2004), or golf clubs (Fjelstul and Tesone, 2008). Other studies addressed in hospitality human resource challenges specific geographical or cultural settings like the Caribbean (Crick, 2008) or Asia (Chand, 2010;Ferreira and Alon, 2008;Doherty et al, 2007).…”

Section: Theme Park Empirical Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Employment characteristics and retention predictors among hourly employees in large US theme parks and attractions

Milman

Dickson²

2014

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

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Purpose – The aim of this paper is to evaluate and analyze hourly line-level employees' characteristics and their perceptions of their employment experience in large US theme parks and attractions, as well as to explore predictors for their retention. Design/methodology/approach – The research instrument adopted a theoretical framework based on previous retention studies of hourly employees in various industries. Following a qualitative phase with theme park employees, the survey was tailored to the uniqueness of the industry. Since major theme park companies are protective of their employee database, a “snowball” sampling technique was adopted using a variety of Social Networking Sites (SNS). A total of 307 usable responses were attained. Findings – The results indicated that of the 27 employment characteristics studied, the most important were perceived to be advancement opportunities, humane approach to employees, and a fun and challenging job. Importance-Performance analysis revealed that the largest gaps were recorded in the areas of pay, advancement opportunities, and a humane approach to employees. The results also confirmed that hourly employees' retention was predicted by employees' level of satisfaction, better experience with pay, and better experience with employee development training classes. However, hourly employee retention was also predicted by the employees' negative experience with flexible working hours and performance reviews. Research limitations/implications – Data collection through Social Networking Sites (SNS) may not necessarily be as reliable a source for data collection as other methodologies, though some contemporary research justifies its reliability. Utilizing the “snowball” technique and the absence of random sampling may have slanted the responses. Although demographic data on the typical theme park employee is unavailable, the data was skewed towards younger employees who may not necessarily represent other age groups. Due to the US theme park industry's leading presence in Central Florida, the sample primarily represented hourly employees working for the Central Florida theme park industry. Practical implications – As the labor pool continues to decline, employers must adopt new creative strategies to keep their employees and attract new ones at the same time. This may be attained by developing and revising mission statements, values, and corporate visions that may be applicable to hourly employees: the largest labor segment in the theme park and attraction industry. Originality/value – While recent hospitality turnover research focused on its antecedents, this study explores the predictors of why employees stay. Previous retention studies have focused on hotels or restaurants and not on the unique group of theme park hourly employees that work in different settings and employment conditions. Knowing why people stay can help reduce turnover and thus lower the cost of staffing.

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Hourly Employee Retention Factors in the United Kingdom Quick Service Restaurant Industry

Cited by 10 publications

References 15 publications

Understanding employee longevity in independent fine dining restaurants

Understanding employee longevity in independent fine dining restaurants

The Impact of Employee Uniforms on Job Satisfaction in the Hospitality Industry

Employment characteristics and retention predictors among hourly employees in large US theme parks and attractions

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