Improving the workplace

Ikea’s new store in London’s Oxford Street has just received the highest number of applications for jobs ever for the global retailer, as it was flooded with 3,730 applications for just 150 roles. This incredible number was received within only five days of posting, and such was the influx of CVs that the application process had to be shut down?

Retail and hospitality continue to be the perennial laggards in being recognised as attractive places to work, and they certainly don’t come anywhere near the top of the pile for sectors people would choose to carve out a career.

It is therefore mightily impressive that Ikea was able to pull in so many applications at levels that would undoubtedly be welcomed by any company within any sector. Ikea has achieved this by standing out from the crowd with a proposition that makes it an attractive employer – especially at the entry-level.?

Among the characteristics that have contributed to its appeal is the obvious one of competitive rates of pay. But beyond the money, there is the promise of providing multi-skilled roles, whereby people work across different departments, flexible work arrangements, perks such as subsidised food (that goes beyond just meatballs), and its strong commitment to sustainability that particularly chimes with Generation Z.

Not only do such aspects clearly prove successful at pulling in the applications for new roles – and help Ikea take its pick from a great mix of candidates – but it also helps with retention that in turn reduces turnover, which is so costly to businesses. These are factors that the hospitality sector is keenly focused on as labour costs continue to increase. Maintaining a stable, engaged and well-trained workforce is now more important than ever. It ultimately drives better customer satisfaction.

Much is made of the influx of automation and technology along with redesigns of restaurants to accommodate the likes of delivery and kiosks – particularly at the quick service restaurant (QSR) end – as a route to boosting efficiency. Significantly less is made of the fact that these actions can also massively improve the work environment for employees.

Increasingly, restaurant operators in the US are investing in technology that directly influences the way their employees work and prosper. The changes to working practices are not merely fortunate side effects of introducing the technology.?

Chick-fil-A in Atlanta garnered much media attention for its elevated drive-thru prototype that is full of the latest state-of-the-art kit and specially designed layout for maximum efficiency, but Jonathan Reed, executive director of design, says the restaurant is just as much about improving the lives of the team.

“We want to keep employees excited and engaged,” he said. “We know team member engagement is a predictor of customer satisfaction. You can do the math; you can see it. So, we’re intentional with our design and had team member input with the design.”

This manifested itself in some simple aspects such as having windows near the pot-washing station and a lounge area for employees. At Just Salad, the brand’s first drive-thru does not yet have voice artificial intelligence, but instead uses a simple audible alert for the team when a car enters the drive-thru lane. This is hardly hi-tech stuff, but it makes employees’ lives easier.

At Itsu, the interaction between front of house and kitchen was improved by simply replacing wording on the screens with images of the dishes that needed to be prepared. Using pictures in a busy kitchen at lunchtime is much better than a frazzled team reading a small font on digital screens.

There are many other similar examples of processes and solutions being introduced into the QSR sector that improve the lives of employees, but this is not the only part of hospitality where changes are taking place. In Michelin star kitchens, it is more about an ongoing mind-set and culture change. They were once a stronghold of aggressive sink-or-swim cultures, but over the years, the macho behaviour has been exorcised and the welfare of team members has become much more of a consideration.

Another brick was taken out of the old wall with the recent publication of a “manifesto” of sorts by Jun Tanaka, co-owner of Michelin-starred restaurant The Ninth, who recalled his years of unhappy experiences working in elite kitchens that were fuelled by intimidation and where empathy was in short supply. Having grown up in that environment, he sought to create a very different workplace with The Ninth, and having achieved success with this more caring model, he is keen to share his practices and put another nail in the coffin of the old ways.

Whether it is through the adoption of new mind-sets or embracing new operational practices through cutting-edge technology, these are all contributing to improving workplaces that are helping put the hospitable into hospitality.?

Glynn Davis, editor of Retail Insider?

This piece was originally published on Propel Info where Glynn Davis writes a regular Friday opinion piece. Retail Insider would like to thank Propel for allowing the reproduction of this column.