Building Restaurant Teams That Stay: How Better Systems Build Retention

It's 2 PM on a Tuesday, and somewhere across the country, another restaurant manager is posting another job listing. The last hire seemed promising during training, but disappeared after two weeks, leaving behind only a crumpled apron and another gap in the schedule.

Restaurant owners know this retention struggle well. While finding workers dominates the conversation, keeping good employees once you've hired them presents an equally critical, and often overlooked, opportunity. 

According to Toast data, over 25% of restaurant employees are unsure how long they'll stay in the industry, creating a relentless cycle of hiring, training, and losing staff. 

The challenges are uniquely complex in food service. Unlike some other industries, restaurants juggle tipping structures, tip pooling, multiple job classifications, varying pay rates, and staff working across different locations. 

But what if the solution isn't about better recruitment strategies? What if it lies in the everyday systems that either frustrate your team or make their lives easier? 

Operators like Julie Nguyen at Crawfish Cafe, Chase LaFerney of Cavalli Pizza, Billy-Joe Hunt at The Gramercy, and Mickey Foster of Mickey's Place found a different approach. The key may not be hiring differently, but removing the daily operational friction that is burning out both staff and management.

The real story behind restaurant employee turnover

Understanding why restaurant workers leave requires looking beyond surface-level assumptions about the industry. 

Recent Toast research reveals that pay, schedules, and co-workers are the biggest determinants of job satisfaction in restaurants. These factors determine whether an employee sees their role as a long-term opportunity or just a pit stop on their way to something else.

The recognition gap presents a particularly striking disconnect. Nearly one in four restaurant employees feel unrecognized for their hard work by management, according to Toast data. Yet, many say connecting with “regulars” is one of their favorite parts about their job. 

This contrast highlights a crucial insight: restaurant workers do find meaning and satisfaction in their roles, but may not be receiving the acknowledgment they need from the people who matter most: their supervisors and managers.

The data also tells an important story about long-term retention, with one in five restaurant employees planning to leave within two years. Many talented workers who could become long-term assets are instead forced to view restaurant work as a temporary stepping stone rather than a viable career path.

The cost of broken systems 

The onboarding experience sets the tone for an employee's entire tenure, yet many restaurants struggle with cumbersome processes that create negative first impressions. New hires often face paperwork complications, delayed access to scheduling systems, and confusion about pay structures before they've even worked their first shift.

And, inefficient systems impact existing staff. Traditional payroll processing that should take minutes consumes hours of management time, pulling attention away from staff development and customer service.

Perhaps most critically, scheduling difficulties directly impact the number one factor in job satisfaction. When employees can't predict their hours, struggle to request time off, or face last-minute schedule changes, it undermines their ability to plan their lives around work. This unpredictability can affect not just individual satisfaction but team dynamics and overall service quality.

Getting every little detail of payday right

The most successful restaurants recognize that employee satisfaction starts long before the first paycheck arrives. Satisfaction begins with systems that make every aspect of work, from onboarding to daily operations, feel professional and organized.

Building happy teams from day one

Streamlined onboarding creates the foundation for long-term employee engagement. 

When new hires can complete paperwork efficiently, access important information through user-friendly mobile apps, and quickly understand how their pay and benefits work, it signals that the restaurant values their time and invests in their success. This efficiency saves time and demonstrates professionalism, creating confidence in new employees that they've made the right choice.

Complex shifts made simple

Employees frequently work multiple roles with different pay rates, earn tips that require complex calculations, and work overtime, which might implicate tip credits. When these calculations are wrong, it erodes trust and creates additional work for managers.

“I had no idea we were calculating tipped overtime incorrectly,” said Julie Nguyen, co-owner of Crawfish Cafe. “It’s a notoriously complex calculation due to the tip credit.” 

When restaurants use payroll systems that streamline these calculations, employees get paid accurately and managers can focus on running the business instead of deciphering complex payroll rules.

Reliable from clock-in to payday

Reliable payroll starts with capturing accurate data from the moment employees clock in. This means systems that properly track hours across different roles, account for breaks and tips, and catch potential issues before they become payroll problems. The technology should work seamlessly in the background, allowing managers to focus on operations rather than administrative troubleshooting.

"Obviously, getting the time back is nice, but what's even more valuable to me is having a stress-free process that I know is providing an accurate payroll to my employees every single time,” says Chase LaFerney, President of Cavalli Pizza. “Payroll is no longer a dreaded part of my week."

Billy-Joe Hunt, Owner of The Gramercy, echoes this sentiment: “Completing payroll is a breeze and does not take much time at all to complete,” he said. “The integration with Toast is the main factor for the ease of completing payroll and giving me back much-needed time to focus on other areas of the business."

The impact extends beyond just management efficiency. "It provides us with happy employees with accurate checks on time,” notes Mickey Foster, owner of Mickey's Place.

The final ingredient  

The connection between operational systems and employee satisfaction is clear: when restaurants invest in tools that handle the administrative complexity of food service operations, they create space to focus on what really matters. This includes building relationships with their team, providing recognition for good work, and creating an environment where employees want to stay.

Better payroll and operational systems improve job satisfaction across all three key areas that matter most to restaurant workers. They ensure fair and accurate pay, support better scheduling practices, and free up management time to invest in team relationships. Most importantly, they signal to employees that the restaurant is professional, stable, and committed to treating them well.

The restaurant industry's retention challenges will be addressed by creating workplaces that make good employees want to stay. That transformation often starts with getting the fundamentals right, one paycheck at a time.