Business Story- Foodservice Study

Here's my story on the food service study written for a business owner.

Study relates high manager turnover to job satisfaction

By Becki Francis

High turnover in the food service industry may not a big surprise to restaurant owners, but managers’ job and life satisfaction can affect their intentions to stay, according to a recent study.

“Satisfaction levels of food service managers affect food service,” said Richard Ghiselli, associate professor who conducted the study.

The survey showed that the number of hours worked was one of the most important reasons for leaving, with the average manager working close to 60 hours per week. Also, many managers felt that their work schedule created discord in their personal lives.

“Among the things that leave a manger unsatisfied are amount of pay, number of hours and quality of life,” said Ghiselli.

Compensation was rated the lowest component of job satisfaction. When the survey asked managers why they might leave their current position, low wages were listed most frequently. Restaurant and food service managers earned a measly $460 per week, or $23,920 annually, back in 1996.

While you may think making changes to your business to keep managers would be too costly, management turnover can negatively impact your bottom line. Turnover reduces overall organizational effectiveness, lower sales and hamper productivity. Even worse, it could be taking as much as $20,000 out of your pocket to replace one manager.

“Corporations have to make long-term, concentrated efforts to come to terms with the management turnover,” said Ghiselli.

Enhancing overall job satisfaction may help reduce manager turnover. During the survey, respondents rated achievement, creativity, independence and advancement very low. Intrinsic satisfaction seems to motivate managers at first, while external recognition is more important later on. Close to one-fifth of the managers considered their lives more boring than interesting, and expressed feelings of loneliness and disappointment. These factors should be considered when evaluating your management training and retention program.

(Service Journalism box/ POE)

How to keep your managers:

• Schedule them around 50 hrs/wk to prevent burnout
• Offer competitive salaries
• Research competitors
• Recognize significant accomplishments
• Build camaraderie, family atmosphere
• Encourage personal creativity, independence, diversity
• Offer bonuses for implementing new ways to improve productivity