The Staffing Playbook: James Beard’s 2025 Insights on Hiring and Retention
Each year, the prestigious James Beard Foundation releases what it calls the Independent Restaurant Industry Report. This report is a compilation of data gathered by the Foundation and self-reported by over 350 restaurant leaders. The report provides insight into trends and makes recommendations for how restaurant leaders can best adapt. It’s absolutely essential reading for anyone serious about taking their restaurant to the next level.
This year’s theme is “Resilience and Reinvention”
They’ve broken the report into four sections. This week we’ll be diving into the third: New Ways to Attract and Retain a Winning Team.
I have to admit, I had a bit of a smug smile as I read through this part. Here it was, an organization as important as James Beard Foundation basically mirroring every. single. point. from my free guide: Cutting Your Call-Outs in Half. It feels good to be seen.
It won’t surprise you to learn that most survey respondents classified “staffing shortage” as a top 3 concern for 2025. According to Toast, restaurant turnover is averaging around 75%. An all time high. It’s gotten so bad that many have just rolled over and accepted it as normal. But I said in my guide there’s a way to learn the new game and win it, and now James Beard Foundation is saying the same.
The first method for retention mentioned (and probably the most obvious) is wage increases. You give people more money, they’re more likely to stay. You give people more money, they’re more likely to perform at a high level. People who have stayed at your restaurant a long time and are consistently performing well make for a better restaurant. A better restaurant makes more money. A restaurant that makes more money can pay its people better. It’s a cycle. The math isn’t hard. Everyone knows this.
Let’s look into some trends that might not be so obvious.
Buy-in is reciprocal. I’ve heard restaurant leaders complain over and over that people only come in for a paycheck, that they don’t actually care about the restaurant. Yet, invariably, when I ask them what they’re offering other than a paycheck, I’m met with silence.
“Work-life balance” and fun perks took the corporate world by storm 10 years ago. Candidates demanded flexible working hours, paid wellness programs, career advancement plans, profit sharing, equity, even ancillary services like meals, dry cleaning, and vehicle detailing. The tech industry especially was desperate for people, so they gave in to all of these demands and more, and it became the norm. Now, you can see people touting their “digital nomad lifestyles” and home office setups on Instagram every day and it’s no longer just corporate people who want a taste.
The James Beard report goes on to back this up: “…today, employees are generally looking to express their passion while also receiving fair monetary compensation, career advancement opportunities, and non-monetary benefits.” Some will say this is entitlement. I say different. You want people to want more than a paycheck from your restaurant? Well here they are asking for it. This is a gift, an opportunity. And what do you get in return? Let’s start with retention. It costs around $2,000 to hire a new employee. So how much could you save if you increased your retention by 3.5x? That’s what the James Beard report says. Restaurants who fulfilled these wants were 3.5 times more likely to retain employees.
3.5 times.
350%.
Let’s dive deeper. In Unreasonable Hospitality, Will Guidara spends a significant amount of time talking about a system that brought exponential improvements to his restaurants: ownership. When people were given ownership over small areas such as silverware or tea, not only did the restaurant itself see marked improvements in these areas, but the employees themselves were much more fulfilled and much more engaged. Do you have the time and headspace to spend on optimizing your silverware? Could you give that project to someone who finds it even a little bit interesting? I think you could.
At the core of all of this is buy-in. You show your team you’re bought into them by giving them strong wages, by seeing to their overall wellbeing, by trusting them with small pieces of ownership in the business, by being transparent with them. All of these things, in turn, makes them feel more bought into the business.
Are you more likely to quit somewhere that listens to you and speaks the truth, or somewhere that keeps you in the dark like a child?
Are you more likely to quit somewhere that works with you to build a plan to advance your career and your pay, or somewhere that waves you off with vague promises?
Are you more likely to quit somewhere that’s put you in charge of something, no matter how small, or somewhere that sees you as interchangeable cattle?
I know my answers.
Next week we’re going to dive into the final part of the James Beard report. What did you learn from the third part, and what are you going to change because of it? Shoot me an email at Kris@GetAFreshPerspective.com and let me know, I read every one.
If you want to read ahead, you can download the James Beard Report for yourself free here: https://www.jamesbeard.org/2025-independent-restaurant-industry-report