Workforce staffing: How the right hiring practices drive ROI

Workforce staffing decisions are a strategic business investment—not a short-term cost. 

They not only shape your restaurant’s financial performance but also ensure a strong return on investment by hiring the right people and supporting them with strong managers and technology to create seamless, successful employee experiences. 

The National Restaurant Association’s new “Research Insight: Workforce Hiring and Staffing” report, released April 23, takes an in-depth look at why these decisions—along with new technology advancements—matter and quantify: 

• The ROI that’s tied to them
• Breakeven timelines for new hires; and
• The costs of understaffing and early turnover

It also explores how the stabilization of the current labor market has brought new staffing dynamics to light, how understaffing affects day-to-day operations, how to build flexible, productive teams through technology, and why manager turnover is especially costly to restaurant operations.

Despite the stabilization of the labor market since the “Great Resignation” of 2021, staffing is still a persistent challenge, driven by turnover and competition for skilled roles. And while the improved applicant flow may allow restaurants to prioritize quality over speed, operators must keep hiring to maintain their businesses. As a result, there is a need for smarter staffing strategies that support retention, operational stability, and long-term resilience.

Spearheaded by Chad Moutray, Ph.D., the Association’s chief economist and senior vice president of research, and Bruce Grindy, senior economist and vice president of research, the report, sponsored by Workday, further reinforces that technology delivers its greatest efficiency and value after hire, by supporting onboarding, scheduling, training, and manager effectiveness. Its goal is to help operators understand how technology unleashes breakthrough efficiencies, reduces recruitment obstacles, improves scheduling, and allows managers to lead their teams instead of focusing on administrative tasks.

“This year we examined the ‘why’ and ‘what’s next’ of effective staffing—underscoring the importance of hiring the right people and quantifying the real costs of restaurant understaffing,” Moutray said. “As we did in the first report, we’ve shared the thoughts of restaurant leaders who, through an operator survey and interviews, provided practical insights on staffing strategies that could help empower a future-ready workforce.”

Overall takeaways

The report—the second in a series—offers four key findings:

1. Understaffing is a material drag on growth, service quality and sales
2. Being down one employee could cost hundreds of dollars per shift
3. Hiring only pays off if employees stay long enough to become ‘net positive’
4. Technology increases ROI by freeing up managers to lead

In addition, several of the restaurant leaders interviewed for the report said the high volume of applications are challenging and impose time and cost burdens that can slow staffing without technological support. They further noted that hiring managers, who typically review job candidates, often find that conducting interviews and onboarding new staff members consumes significant amounts of time.

Learn how technology can unleash breakthrough efficiencies by reducing recruitment obstacles, improving scheduling, and allowing managers to lead their teams instead of focusing on administrative tasks.

Download the full report