4 Holiday Staffing Tips for Restaurants

The holidays are a stressful time for everyone—especially restaurants. With an influx of customers, takeout orders and reservations, it can seem never-ending for you and your employees. This is a time when staffing is vital for your business, and employee retention needs to be at an all-time high; after all, your employees are the most important aspect of your restaurant. If you want to avoid staffing issues or need to overcome them for the holiday season, we’ve got some useful tips for you to consider so your restaurant can succeed.

Create a Flexible Schedule

With the holidays being so busy, it’s important to get a work schedule up and ready for your staff. This way both you and your team can have ample time to prepare. If you’re unsure of how to create a holiday schedule for your employees, here are some pointers to keep in mind:

• Get time off requests early—Begin by having your employees submit their time off requests early so that you have time to review and approve or deny. This also allows you the opportunity to find coverage for staff members who are taking time off.


• Mark the days that you will be closed—If you’re choosing to close certain days during the winter months, make sure they’re clearly marked or blocked out. This way your staff can accurately request off time and you’ll be able to easily schedule other shifts.


• Prepare a back-up plan—From sick days to no-shows, preparing a backup plan can deter staffing headaches. Whether you have someone on-call for the shift or you follow advice from Open Table and make sure your staff is well-trained to pick up the slack, your contingency plan will be a saving grace during the holidays.

Hire Seasonal Employees

Many people are looking for extra cash for the holiday season and are willing to take a temporary job. Take advantage of this increased pool of prospective hires by opening up seasonal positions in your restaurant. Depending on your specific needs, you can offer part-time and full-time positions. Also, consider re-hiring trusted seasonal workers from previous years. This will make training for them easy since they already know the ropes.

Additionally, hiring seasonal staff is a great opportunity to expand your staff for the long-term if they’re available to do so. You could find your next sous chef or host this way.

Consider Closing on Certain Days

As recommended by Restaurant Hospitality, closing on certain days like Thanksgiving and Christmas Day will give your staff something to look forward to. This will also lessen the pressure of not being able to spend time with their family and friends, boosting their mood and morale. Additionally, by having certain holidays off, you won’t have to worry about having shifts covered.

Automate for the Holidays

If you’re short on time and staff members for the holidays, automating certain tasks will allow your employees to focus more on great service and your customers. Yelp for Restaurants recommends automating a couple of areas in your restaurant such as: 

• Your reservation and waitlist management systems


• An automated order display for kitchen staff that’s tied to POS system


• Inventory management that updates in real-time


• Assign and update seating charts

This keeps you and your staff informed efficiently and quickly so everyone can stay informed to best deliver excellent service.