Providing Benefits to Restaurant Employees

​According to the National Restaurant Association, there are 15.3 million restaurant employees in the United States. The majority of these employees are paid hourly, and often times don’t work full time. Beyond that, the restaurant industry has a historically high turnover rate. In fact, in 2018, the restaurant industry turnover rate hit a high of 75%.
 
Unfortunately, these factors create a vicious cycle. Employees often don’t stay long at jobs without benefits, and restaurant owners don’t provide benefits because employee turnover is so high. This poses a unique problem for restaurant owners who want to supply their hard-working employees with benefits, and is the main reason why our team started working with restaurant groups. We knew that there was a solution that would benefit both the employees who needed benefits, and the owners who wanted their staff to be well taken care of and to stick around.
 
Employee Benefits in an Atypical Industry
 
A unique problem requires a custom solution, which is why our team dug deep to develop custom benefits plans for restaurant groups.  Ultimately, many of our restaurant clients choose to provide benefit options for two separate employee groups within their business.
 
The full time, salaried employees receive a typical benefits package. Hourly employees receive a reimbursement every month for their healthcare coverage. This is paid for by adding a surcharge of 1% to every customer bill. The reimbursement is available to all employees who work over 20 hours a week, and allows them to purchase a health insurance plan that makes the most sense for their lifestyle.  
 
Why Employee Benefits are Important for Restaurant Owners
 
It takes time to train restaurant employees, and they are valued members of a team. Providing an option for employee benefits doesn’t just help them lead healthier lives, it shows them that you care – which ultimately leads to better retention and stronger employee loyalty long-term. Our unique strategy is also cost-effective – it is designed to prevent additional budgeting problems for restaurant owners.
 
Implementing Employee Benefits within a Restaurant Business
 
As with all of our clients, we’ve simplified the enrollment process and plan administration for smoother plan management. In this case, our client’s employees simply need to fill out the necessary paperwork in order to receive the reimbursement.
 
To answer employee questions, we send a representative to each restaurant location for educational employee meetings, helping them to take advantage of their benefits package. Lack of knowledge should never be the reason someone isn’t accessing their benefits.
 
Our team also works with the owners on a 1 on 1 basis, providing consistency, simplicity, and clarity throughout the planning phase, during enrollment, and with follow-up administrative needs. It is our job to handle the complexities, so that your company can reap the benefits of happy, healthy employees.
 
Take the next step
If you’re in the restaurant industry and want to learn more about how our unique approach to employee benefits in the industry can help you improve employee relations, decrease turnover, and retain the best talent, let’s chat! Reach out to Joel Starke today to set up a complimentary consultation.