Is There Any End in Sight? – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
Staff shortages continue to be a headache in the hospitality and retail sectors.
Consumers have likely felt it to some extent during the busy summer season when traveling, shopping or eating out from longer waiting times or the removal of certain products and menu items due to problems in the supply chain.
Some companies are cutting working hours and or even capacity limits – this time not so much because of COVID-19, but simply because they simply don’t have enough people to do the job.
The consequences of the shortage are far-reaching. In California, a chain of restaurants tried to hold a job fair to recruit more workers, but only received three applicants. In Alabama, several Chick-fil-A locations were closed due to staff shortages.
“I’m just curious about what’s next because we’ve had something new every month or so for the past 18 months,” said Chris Dharod, president of the Dallas-based family business SSCP Management, Inc.
They operate hundreds of restaurants, including Applebee’s and Sonic franchises, and are also franchisors of a few hundred Cici’s Pizza and Roy’s Hawaiian fusion brands.
“The really good thing is that we have a lot to do. We have people who want to eat with us and that is really the biggest thing we need every year, ”he said.
After the standstills and capacity limits in 2020, the staff shortage really started to escalate in the first half of 2021.
“Until about the beginning of this year we didn’t have enough stores where staffing was too big an issue. And I speak to the entire industry. But since about the first quarter of this year, every restaurant owner I speak to can use more people and more team members in their restaurants, ”said Dharod.
Since the summer it has become even more difficult, as seasonal workers and pupils have gone back to school.
The delta variant also adds to the situation as more people – and workers – will test positive for the virus.
Many simply left the industry for other careers or medical reasons.
“I think the majority has to do with the fact that there is more money. People have found ways to feed themselves with no work or with different types of jobs, ”said Dharod.
Rounding out the seemingly endless list of pressures this year is supply chain issues that are driving up the cost of products, groceries and ingredients – adding an extra burden to many industries outside of restaurants and retail.
“I’ve heard that there aren’t enough truck drivers to sell, so those truckers are the ones who bring products to restaurants and retailers for sale. And if there isn’t enough distribution, it can lead to supply chain problems, ”said Dharod.
As many industry experts predict, he believes the labor shortage could continue for a while.
“I think we unfortunately still have at least six months of hard staffing ahead of us. And that could take us another 12 to 18 months, ”he said.
There are also concerns that the government’s latest vaccine regulation – which requires companies with 100 or more employees to require vaccines or weekly COVID-19 tests – could lead even more people to leave the workforce.
“I think it’s incredibly unfair that they are forcing companies to make sure everything they want is done,” said Dharod. “But we’re still pretty new to it. This mandate was only released for the last week or so, we are still exploring and still understanding more. It’s definitely another curveball. “
Companies like McDonald’s, Target, and Walmart are offering higher salaries or new perks to help recruit and retain employees. However, according to CNBC, more needs to be done to remain competitive in the labor market, beyond just raising wages.
The federal extended unemployment benefits ended last week, so there is hope for relief if these people enter the labor market soon.
Either way, Dharod said it was important for companies to stand firm as the pandemic continues to deliver the unknown.
“Successful companies are problem solvers. We have different problems every day, every week and every month, ”he said. “This is how we deal with the problems that make the business successful. We are ready for it and I am sure that there will be more changes. “
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