The UK’s restaurant industry is in the midst of a pivotal and uncertain period. The looming reality of Britain’s imminent exit from the European Union may drive and exacerbate issues such as operating costs and consumer confidence – making ingredient prices higher, employing staff more problematic, attracting customers harder, and the raw expense of running a restaurant even more prohibitive.
These problems and others can make it tempting for restaurants to cut down on staff and try to get by with a bare-bones workforce; it’s no surprise that around 10,000 employees in British restaurants lost their jobs in 2018.
So, what does Brexit mean for staffing in the restaurant industry? Let’s take a quick look at the problems – and potential solutions.
Brexit implications for restaurants
It’s important to understand that, even at this late stage, there’s no definitive version of Brexit. In a sense, saying that leaving the EU means anything at all is a pointless exercise until it actually happens: a reasonably soft exit, for example, could preserve freedom of movement and other economic incentives – and more or less represent business as usual for many restaurants.
The problem, essentially, is the other kind of Brexit: variously known as Hard Brexit, No Deal Brexit, or (to supporters) Clean Brexit. If the UK crashes out without a deal, citizens of EU member states could lose their automatic right to move to and work in Britain when the country leaves. Given that roughly a quarter of UK restaurant and hospitality employees are from the EU, this could obviously spell trouble for an establishment’s ability to secure the workers it needs to operate effectively.
Whichever trade deal is eventually negotiated could also have an adverse effect on food tariffs, which – working in tandem with a fall in the value of the pound – could make purchasing what restaurants need highly costly, especially since 70% of the UK’s food is imported from the EU. And, with consumer confidence at historic lows, Brexit could even mean that patrons have less appetite to eat out.
Bridging the skills gap with technology
So, restaurants may have to hire from a smaller pool of workers – if they can afford to hire at all – and at a time when costs are rising. How can they solve these dual problems?
Well, they likely can’t directly influence Brexit policy at this point, but they can find ways to bridge the skills gap. Most obviously, restaurants can strategically deploy technology to improve productivity and compensate for a diminished workforce.
Electronic point-of-sale (EPOS) systems, for example, are a massive upgrade on manual cash registers: they allow more orders to be processed in less time by fewer members of staff, and because they are more intuitive, they typically reduce the need for costly user training. What’s more, the most advanced of these systems can integrate with delivery apps such as Just Eat and Deliveroo – helping to expand a restaurant’s customer base without forcing it to buy an extra table (or even an extra fork). In a similar way, Kitchen Display Systems (KDS), connected directly with the EPOS systems, help a kitchen run more efficiently with fewer staff.
Meanwhile, self-service tools make it possible to take the process of ordering a meal out of staff hands completely, supporting much lower labour costs. Through a kiosk or a tableside ordering tablet (or even a mobile app), customers can order whatever they want with maximum control – and without judgment or shame. Studies have even indicated that putting ordering technology into the hands of customers can lead to a higher average spend per head.
These technologies cover a wider range of operational and commercial requirements than ever before, and can go some way towards mitigating the effects of Brexit and a depleted workforce. Critically, they can also allow senior management teams to collect relevant data (and therefore relevant insights) on customer behaviour and preferences – allowing them to make better decisions and turn higher profits.
By strategically using technology, restaurant chains can allow their staff to focus on improving the customer experience and fostering customer loyalty. They can deliver more meals to more patrons without sacrificing quality. They can create a restaurant that’s built to survive Brexit – and beyond.
By Jurgen Ketel, Managing Director EMEA, Givex
