By Tracy Morin
When it comes to your operation, are plentiful growth opportunities available—and do you make them known to new hires? Are employees able to move up the ladder of your business, ascending to supervisor, manager or even future owner? And, along the way, do you offer them appreciation and work-life balance to fend off the burnout that pervades the restaurant industry?
In the January-February issue of PMQ, we asked successful operators about their best strategies for attracting, hiring, training and retaining young employees. One of the key factors in keeping quality workers—of any age—over the long haul is to create a path to success for them. Here, those operators explain how they accomplish this crucial task, which helps ensure happier employees, guests and owners.
PMQ: How do you attract and select quality employees at the point of hiring?
Ric Gruber: Pay is certainly one way. However, we have learned that pay is not always the No. 1 motivator—scheduling flexibility is generally the No. 1 need for younger team members. Moreover, we showcase growth opportunities and perks such as free meals and swag, as well as team contests. We highlight real-world skill development and an easy online application process. And we offer paid training.
Satchel Raye: We struggle, like everyone, to find and retain great help. Because our pay structure is high, we tend to keep employees once they settle in, but when I need someone new, it’s a crapshoot. We often have a current employee who knows someone; that can work sometimes. But often we just interview by picking from in-house or online applications and hoping for the best. It’s so important to hire the right people, but you just don’t know who they are. We’ve had great interviews where the person turned out not so great. We’ve had people that seemed slow and like they would never learn, but later they turn out to catch on and be great.
“Our hiring materials put together timelines and advancement paths that show clear milestones and mastery that need to come with advances in both title/responsibility as well as pay.”
—Ric Gruber, Billy Bricks Restaurant Group
PMQ: How do you create a career path for employees to help retain these high-quality hires?
Gruber: We highlight growth and mentorship opportunities, along with Billy Bricks success stories, but many are not industry “lifers.” We realize this is a stop on their journey, but we acknowledge that at the outset with them and set clear expectations of what their role and responsibilities will be, as well as how that will benefit them going forward in whatever endeavors they choose along their next stops.
Our hiring materials put together timelines and advancement paths that show clear milestones and mastery that need to come with advances in both title/responsibility as well as pay. However, the best way we can demonstrate the opportunities they have with us is to continue to grow and expand and tell the stories of some of our most successful team members over our 20-year history.
Related: Chef Juan Robles on Building Employee Loyalty Through Empathetic Leadership
Raye: A career path gets easier when you’re making good money. We also do matching funds for a retirement account, pay a week’s vacation every year on their anniversary, give a Christmas bonus and allow employees to get a massage every three months. We have monthly events on a day off. We are closed two days a week, so every employee gets a “weekend.”
Rebecca Richards: We’re always letting our store and company employees know that opportunities are available. When we see employees who are excited, have a good time and get the job done, we want to push them forward and get them more involved. Two partners here worked their way up to ownership. We have supervisors who started as regular employees and now are overseeing a lot of our stores. That’s why we look into opening more stores—not just for ourselves, but to make sure we have those opportunities for people, so we can build something together.
PMQ: Do you have any other recommendations about how to keep employees happy and thriving in the pizzeria environment?
Gruber: These are the steps I take (in no particular order of importance):
- Set clear expectations and structure to reduce anxiety and confusion.
- Implement a reward/bonus program.
- Schedule flexibility to encourage work-life balance.
- Provide feedback and recognition.
- Encourage a fun, team-oriented work environment.
- Give them a voice to share their thoughts and opinions.
- Provide technology and tools (we have a mobile scheduling app).
- Celebrate milestones.
- Connect this job’s training and skill development to their personal future goals.
- Articulate a clear pathway to advancement if that is the route they would like to take.
Raye: I like to hire a diverse team—young and older, all races, men and women and in between. But I don’t know if my methods can help anyone. I’ve had other owners ask me how I keep my staff so long, and when I tell them my labor percentage, you can tell the conversation is over. They aren’t going to do that!
We paid out $1.75 million in wages and did $3.5 million-plus in sales [in 2024], in one location, with only beer and wine—no liquor—and open only five days a week. So, while my ideas are unconventional and very hard to comprehend, they are working for me. My focus on building the restaurant and team as my priority has ended up making me money, but it’s not the way people usually go about it.
“We paid out $1.75 million in wages and did $3.5 million-plus in sales [in 2024]….So, while my ideas are unconventional and very hard to comprehend, they are working for me.”
—Satchel Raye, Satchel’s Pizza
PMQ: How do you get the best out of employees who aren’t considering a career in the restaurant industry?
Gruber: Many of the skills learned in a restaurant apply to all of life and other opportunities. It’s our job to show our younger team members how those skills—such as customer service, communication and teamwork—will help them in their future career path. Our example also teaches them about leadership and makes it clear that their hard work and dedication to this job will allow our leaders to be a reference for them if they stay for a significant period.
Richards: Our team members learn pizza skills, service, and how to deal with customers and stressful situations. They can use those skills in everyday life. In this business, you learn how to control what you can, pay attention to detail and work well with everyone.
PMQ: Why is it important to invest in your team for long-term success?
Raye: Every time I pay people more, my restaurant gets busier—not overnight, but over time. Investing in my team is what makes my business so successful. You can almost hire anyone, pay them well enough so they feel appreciated and respected, and they can learn to perform at a high level. I like to pay them more than they deserve so they have something to prove. It’s weird, right? I like to give them raises before they expect or ask.
My employees aren’t all perfect, and sometimes I can be frustrated to pay them so much and they still mess up things or have bad attitudes. But, overall, my team and culture are better because they have a better paycheck. This has been a long-term vision that has now begun to pay off for me, because I can work less and the food and service do not suffer.
Tracy Morin is PMQ’s associate editor.
