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Beer Garden Anecdotes (Few Hiring Candidates, Increased Competition for Wages due to PPP2) - We have seen approximately 1/10th the amount of applicants as comp
by adamsiem 5y ago
Beer Garden Anecdotes (Few Hiring Candidates, Increased Competition for Wages due to PPP2)
- We have seen approximately 1/10th the amount of applicants as compared to our hiring prior to Covid.
- We have reached out to 50+ people via the hiring platforms i.e. Indeed recommended candidates, with a very limited response rate.
- Of the 6 people who a) applied for our job AND b) responded to our requests for interviews, only one has shown up for their scheduled interview. He was immediately hired.
- The single hire we made, for $14/hr as a dishwasher, did not return on day 4 as he was offered a position at a larger restaurant for $18/hr. That is not a sustainable market rate we can offer. I assume they are increasing their hourly rate due to 1) lack of talent seeking jobs or 2) large influx of cash from PPP2.
- I had three scheduled interviews, and all three were no shows, sending messages of cancellation either 10 minutes before, or not at all.
- I reached out to all three of those after their missed interview times, and two have rescheduled their interviews for. Typically, we would not entertain a no-show like that, as dependability is critical on a small team, but we are not in a position to be picky. (I'm curious if it is possible to use these scheduled interviews in fraudulent claims of seeking but not finding work. We literally hired the one person who came in.)
- We have had job postings on Indeed.com, Craigslist.org, and Facebook for the past 3 weeks - as well as leveraging our website and social media posts.
- Our current team of 6 other people are all hires from before Covid.
- offtop5 5y agoWould it make more sense to have hyper flexible hours. Say you pay 25$ an hour, but it's only 8 hours a week during peak ? I think with the gig economy young people are used to only working when they want.
- adamsiem 5y agoThat’s not a market rate. How would you handle the remaining team’s wages? What do you do with that elevated rate if/when the job market returns?
- izend 5y agoIncrease prices? And if you are having a problem hiring how can you be sure you are offering market rate? The market rate has increased due to PPP1/2.
- falcolas 5y agoIf you can't get a worker for the "market rate", perhaps the hard answer is that $14 is no longer the actual market rate, and you need to offer more money to get employees. I live in a 50k poulation town, and $14 is not a living wage.
- chrisseaton 5y ago> That’s not a market rate. What do you think 'market rate' means? If you aren't able to hire for $14 but someone else is for $18... then $14 is clearly not the market rate and $18 is. That's what a market rate is - the rate things are selling for in the market.
- offtop5 5y agoSame reason contracts pay more than salary. If someone can Doordash, etc, and make more( while arguably dealing with less stress) they'll rationally do that. Or since this is HN, can you automate some of these tasks ?
- xwolfi 5y agoBut what if the supply gets tighter ? The market rate must adapt (since it's a market). You may have to raise everyone or hire no one new, or vote for a communist 5-year plan. Imagine if instead everyone wanted to work at your restaurant, EVERYONE, you'd fire your 6 guys and pay $2 their replacement, no ?
- lhorie 5y ago> I assume they are increasing their hourly rate due to Doesn't that maybe suggest that $18/hr is probably the current market rate then? My understanding of market rate is "amount at which the two parties are willing to negotiate", not "amount that the employer wants to lock in at, all other factors be damned" If one can't afford to pay competitive wages, that may suggests they're not actually financially healthy enough to stay in business.
- taylodl 5y agoThat's an interesting idea - an "Uber" for general work. You're vetted for having certain skills. A business needs workers having that skill from say 7pm - 10pm this evening. You can bid in your price. The business owner can then choose the worker they want at the price they want. What I'm wrestling with is whether this is utopian or dystopian? That's why I say it's an "interesting" idea. I can see it appealing to some people and not appealing at all to others. Maybe there's room for both kinds of people in the labor market? Your "base" workers who are always there and reliable and the "peakers" who are taking care of your excess load at peak times?
- offtop5 5y agoThis already exist. https://www.snagajob.com/ https://www.snagajob.com/ I imagine it depends on your situation. If I was 19 I'd love it. I'd hate living like this with a family to support
- ecnahc515 5y agoThis exists, specifically for the industry (food service) OP is talking about: https://www.pared.com/ https://www.pared.com/.
- freedomben 5y agoMost unemployment programs require you to make and report a minimum of "two contacts" per week. You probably got used as one of the two required contacts, though the person was likely not interested in the job.
- DavidButter 5y agoIs that true that most require this? I know people living in two different states on unemployment, and, to my knowledge, they aren't doing this.
- khuey 5y agoIt varies by state. There's currently no work search requirement to receive UI benefits in California, for instance.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- HarryHirsch 5y agoIn other words: the rent is too high. If it was lower you could actually pay wages at a level that people would show up for. A correction of real estate prices is long overdue, there is no need for landowners to skim off money that could be used more productively in others sectors of the economy.
- jchanimal 5y agoIs the solution to this inflation?
- Guest42 5y agoCan you elaborate the types and causes of inflation being mentioned?
- DavidButter 5y agoAsset inflation, I assume?
- HarryHirsch 5y agoInflation benefits people with debts. People with assets are quite untouched, you'd even think that real estate is viewed as a safe investment (the "concrete gold" meme). Better unemployment benefits would help, but under Delaware Biden they are a political impossibility.
- jolux 5y agoUnemployment benefits are currently the best they’ve ever been by a wide margin.
- HarryHirsch 5y agoThe word is "currently", isn't it? They'll be rolled back soon enough, same as in 2008, to get the plebs back to work.
- question000 5y agoSounds like you should probably pay people a livable wage if you want them to work for you.
- doomroot 5y agoOh is it that easy? /s
- falcolas 5y agoIt is. In the scope of "how do I hire people" it is as simple as "pay them what they want". How you work that into your business plan is harder, but you need employees for the business plan to work as all, so it still boils down to "pay them more".
- hellisothers 5y agoWhile 100% on its face this seems a bit reductivist, it sounds like the argument I make about “just deal with the 30% App Store take or don’t make a business” which I guess I should revisit. Sure this small bar could literally pay more but if that means their business model doesn’t work then that probably means many small bars/restaurants business model won’t work in the area (unless they have old/low rent). So does that mean you’re ok with all small places being replaced with TGI Fridays?
- falcolas 5y agoIt's a harsh truth that businesses are not guaranteed that their business model will work. It's part of the reason that in my hometown (50k population, $600k townhomes) some 90% of restaurants (and small batch brewers/distillers) fold within a year. But the 10% that succeed, are succeeding in the same environment as everyone else. They do so by offering food and an atmosphere that people want, and that you don't find in another restaurant in the area, even though the price is higher (significantly higher than TGI Fridays). Sure, there's also a good bit of luck involved, but that's hardly unique to starting and maintaining a business. And what else would you suggest? Forcing people to work for $14? Prevent them from being sniped by other businesses for more money? They're already getting loans from the government to hire more people...
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- aphextron 5y agoIf you can't pay a living wage, you don't get to exist. The labor market goes both ways.
- slumpt_ 5y agoThis business needs some bootstraps!
- BitwiseFool 5y agoThe tradeoff with this way of thinking is higher unemployment and taller barriers to entry for new businesses.
- aphextron 5y agoOr someone more adaptive and innovative fills your economic niche in a way that you couldn't by dealing with the market realities and investing in their employees. Capitalism is amazingly resilient to rising wages.
- BitwiseFool 5y agoI think that works well in Tech, but I don't see how the OP's Beer Garden could possibly innovate and adapt their way into having the money to pay superior wages.
- aphextron 5y agoWell that's capitalism. Adapt and grow, or die. OP's business going under is not going to make the demand for beer gardens go away. Someone more efficient will fill it. Labor has been forced to operate under the same rules for decades now. Don't like the minimum wage? Then starve. Or figure out a way to provide more value. A dozen other people will be desperate enough to take it. I've zero sympathy for business owners being held to the same forces.
- anthonygd 5y agoYou're not wrong but higher unemployment helps push prices down. The economy is a huge collection of competing forces so answers are rarely so straight forward.
- marakv2 5y agoAs mentioned by others (and I'm a very experienced chef and restaurant manager). You need to pay higher. It's not sustainable? Pfft you think anyone else is magically getting cheaper? Raise your prices and cut your overhead, welcome to the game.
- fallingknife 5y ago> a dishwasher, did not return on day 4 as he was offered a position at a larger restaurant for $18/hr. That is not a sustainable market rate we can offer I don't think these guys understand what "market rate" means.
- chrisseaton 5y agoWould you wash dishes for $14? No? Neither would I. So why do you think anyone else would?
- DavidButter 5y agoA little over a decade ago, I washed dishes for $7.25/hr. I applaud the wage hike, heh.
- slumpt_ 5y agoIt appears you need to offer more money. Your wages have been deemed undesirable / unlivable and are thus uncompetitive. Whether that is “sustainable” for your own cash flow was never the point.
- rekabis 5y agoAnything will “sell” if it is at the right “price”. If it isn’t selling, it isn’t at the right price! Simply put, the market is what determines the wage employees will stick around for. The free market doesn’t give two shits about what any employer thinks is an “appropriate wage”. If you are offering $14/hr and employees are jumping ship after their fourth day for $18/hr, no amount of complaining and bellyaching about that not being “sustainable” will change things. Tighten that belt and make cuts elsewhere - like your own take-home, which if it’s an industry standard, is likely several multiples of that employee’s wage in order to finance a McMansion on the hilltop and a Mercedes in the garage. Remember - if you cannot afford to pay a living wage, you cannot afford to be in business. Asking people to work below poverty wages so you can own a business is entitlement at it’s finest: you are asking human beings to use their lives to subsidize your desire to own a business. If a job is worth being done, it’s worth being paid enough to live.
- slowhand09 5y agoMany businesses exist that can't pay "living wages". That doesn't make them bad, or unworthy of existing. My wife owns a business. There were many years when she wrote herself paychecks but never cashed them. She pays better than most of her local competitors, especially for her more experienced workers. But its mostly unskilled labor that she hires. COVID cut her business demand by 90%. She has managed to hold onto 50% of her workforce.
- blaser-waffle 5y ago> That doesn't make them bad, or unworthy of existing. Yes, it does. Someone is making easy money on the backs of people who can't afford to live.
- akvadrako 5y agoThat's the beautiful part of the market economy. It supports ideas if the benefits outweigh the costs and let's ideas die if they aren't worth it.
- 5y ago
- rbinv 5y agoSounds like you need to raise your prices so you can pay competitive wages. So... inflation?
- meowfly 5y agoI see all the negative comments but I'm asking this with genuine curiosity. Do high school students not really work any more? Maybe they legally can't at a Beer Garden, even if it's washing dishes? When I was in high school I worked as a busser/dishwasher for a diner. I'm assuming you're in a high CoL state but what you are offering is above what I was paid after adjusting for inflation.