6 Strategies to Address the Restaurant Labor Shortage
While the food industry is booming and represents the second largest private sector employer in the U.S., workers at the core of its success are walking away. Here are a few tips on how to navigate the labor shortage in 2025.
The U.S. restaurant industry is booming, projected toreach $1.5 trillion in sales by the end of 2025. This growth is set to add 200,000 new jobs to the market, which already represents 10% of the workforce.
Yet restaurants are facing an alarming labor shortage that was further worsened by the pandemic and influenced by broader socio-political and economic factors. With a turnover rate of 65% in 2024, many hospitality businesses are struggling to find and retain staff. James Beard Foundation’s 2025 Independent Restaurant Industry Report found that hiring and retaining talent was a top priority concern for a majority of independent restaurant owners.
Here’s how you can address the labor shortage and ensure your restaurant thrives in 2025.
What’s at stake with the Restaurant Workers Shortage Crisis?
The restaurant labor market has been tense for years, but the COVID-19 pandemic led many workers out of the profession altogether. — and economic pressure has only worsened the trend.
Restaurant workers are at the core of the hospitality business, where much of the customer experience relies on unmediated interaction with staff. The current labor shortage poses a direct threat to restaurants, impacting customer satisfaction and profitability. Many restaurants have to operate under fewer hours. Employee turnover not only incurs substantial costs due to lost expertise and the expenses of hiring and training new staff, but also leads to delays and inconsistencies in food and service quality.
What do Restaurant Employees Want? 6 Tips to Attract and Retain Restaurant Talent
The worker shortage is a human-centered problem. First, you need to understand why your employees are leaving your company to best address the issue.
Here are some of the restaurant workers’ key considerations when leaving a job and looking for a new one. For each, we provide some questions for you to assess how your business is doing and what can be improved.
Better Management
Difficult managers are often the primary reason why an employee quits their restaurant job for one at a different company. Almost one in two restaurant workers reports quitting due to issues with their manager. A good manager for your business is someone who attracts, empowers and retains your dream team. They support your staff’s professional growth and career advancement and reward high-performing staff.
Ask yourself:
How are your managers trained?
What’s your management feedback system?
How are complaints regarding management dealt with at your restaurant?
Do your employees feel comfortable sharing feedback about management during their exit procedure?
How do you help your staff advance in their careers and grow as professionals? What are your professional development offerings?
High Tipping Rates
While increasing salary may be tricky for some restaurants, high tipping rates is key to attract and retain staff. How much your employees receive in tips on average can really set you apart compared to the restaurant next door.
How much your employees receive in tips on average can truly set you apart from the restaurant next door. In a labor market where staff have options, higher tips mean higher retention.
With sunday, restaurants in the US have seen tips increase by an average of +10%. Why? Because sunday makes tipping effortless:
✅ Guests pay quickly from their phone, with a tipping prompt built directly into checkout
✅ No wait for the card machine or splitting bills at the table
✅ Guests tip more generously when the experience feels smooth and positive
Ask yourself:
👉 How much do your employees make in tips today?
👉 What would +10% mean for their weekly take-home pay—and your ability to retain them?
In a time when finding and keeping great staff is harder than ever, more tips isn’t just about gratitude – it’s a competitive advantage.
Better Work Conditions
In today’s labor market, restaurants that offer better work conditions don’t just attract more candidates—they keep them longer. When staff feel respected, supported, and free from unnecessary stress, they’re more motivated to deliver great service and stay with you over the long term.
One of the pain points for servers is the payment process. Waiting for card machines, printing bills, splitting checks, reprinting when guests change their mind – it’s repetitive, time-consuming, and often frustrating during peak service.
That’s where sunday changes the game.
✅ With sunday, staff are freed from payment admin. Guests scan a QR code, pay in seconds, and leave happy. ✅ Servers no longer spend their time running after terminals or reprinting receipts. ✅ Instead, they can focus on what truly matters: taking care of the guests, building rapport, and creating memorable dining experiences.
As Preston, a server at Little Goat Diner in Chicago, puts it:
It allows me to get a few more tables in than I normally would. In a way, sunday makes me more money.
In short, better work conditions are about removing friction and letting staff do what they love. Tools like sunday don’t just make operations smoother – they make jobs more enjoyable.
Ask yourself:
Are your staff spending more time on guests or on admin?
What small operational frictions are pushing your team towards burnout?
How could freeing them from payment tasks improve their day-to-day happiness, guest interactions, and loyalty to your restaurant?
Attractive Benefits
Perks outside of wage can be a game-changer for your employees and demark you from your competitors. It can be useful here to see what your employees are wishing for and get inspiration from other successful restaurants. Perks can especially alleviate the burden of working long hours on weekends and nights.
Ask yourself:
What benefits do you currently offer?
How do your benefits compare with those of your competitors?
How can you make it better?
Fluid Operations
There’s nothing worse than operational issues in a fast-paced and stressful environment. Everything needs to go fast while maintaining the utmost service quality, making every single second count. Restaurant workers often are passionate about serving a great food and beverage experience to guests, much less spreading hours cashing up at the end of the shift. Use the power of digitalization to streamline and optimize your operations so that your employees can focus on what matters and save work hours.
Ask yourself:
How can your restaurant operations run smoother?
What takes the most time for you and your team?
What does your team complain about wasting time on?
How can digitalization support your operations and save time for your employees?
Alleviate Labor Shortage with Technology
The restaurant labor shortage is here to stay. Restaurant owners need to adapt to this crisis through focusing on hiring and retaining talent and using technology to support their operations and management. With a 360 digital payment solution like sunday, you can save hours of work and empower anyone to complete tasks that used to take specialists hours.
Ready to do please your staff?
sunday is the simplest way to give guests more control, free up your staff, and earn more five-star reviews—every single day.
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