EMPLOYEE RELATIONS — Building Loyalty on the Front Lines

BEYOND THEnumbers

LOYAL EMPLOYEES = THE BEDROCKS OF SUCCESS

Jim Urdiales

| BY KATHLEEN FURORE | Not everyone is abandoning ship. While The Great Resignation has seen employees leaving their jobs in record numbers, creating a much-touted labor shortage, many restaurants are touting the loyal employees who have remained steadfast during these challenging times. el Restaurante reached out to several readers, who shared their thoughts on The Great Resignation and discussed what they’ve done to retain their most loyal employees.

Jim Urdiales, chef/owner, Mestizo Louisiana Mexican Cuisine, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Before Covid we had 27 employees. We were able to pivot quickly to the to-go model, which allowed me to bring some employees back. It became obvious early in 2021 that no one was applying to work, especially in the kitchen. We did add 401k and health insurance benefits to any employee who maintains 30 hours a week for half-pay for insurance and the ability for a 3 percent match on 401k. We also brought all employees’ pay up, even servers. We built a system for servers to go directly to $4 an hour after training and then graduate them up to a max of $7.25 an hour, which allows us to maximize out tip credit allowance at the end of the year. We are back up to 28 employees, but I have had to increase prices twice in the last year due to labor and now food costs. I am fortunate that my customers are willing to pay higher prices, but I also think each restaurant also has to validate those extra costs in the customer’s mind. For example, we were already going through a remodel, so I elevated the look in the restaurant to validate my new price point.

Jose “Pepe” Stepensky, owner of several restaurants including Margarita’s Kitchen & Cantina, San Diego

During the Great Resignation we lost some of the new employees who either had been with us for a very short period of time or lived in Tijuana and worked in San Diego and were restrained at some point to keep crossing or didn’t want to take the risk of traveling and getting infected.

We are very fortunate to have very loyal employees who have been with us for many years — we have some employees who have been with us for as long as 25 years! Even when we had to close two of our restaurants by government mandate for more than three months, they stayed and are still with us. What we did was to pay them in advance sick time, and vacation time. And in some cases, depending on their economic situation, we gave them loans and bonuses that we never asked to be paid back.

We were in contact with them all the time to find out how they were doing, and we gave them updates as to when we were opening again. In our two locations that never closed, we kept paying everyone. Employees took turns working and they were wonderful. We

Jose “Pepe” Stepensky and his wife Deborah We are very fortunate to have very loyal employees who have been with us for many years — we have some employees who have been with us for as long as 25 years!

– JOSE “PEPE”STEPENSKY

WHY THEY STAYED

Three long-time employees of El Toro Mexican Restaurants share what has kept them loyal to the restaurant for so many years.

Martha: “I just love this company’s leadership and ownership so much!”

Nelda: “This company has always been there for me, and I was able to raise a family and enjoy life as they grew and so did I.”

John: “In all my career, I have never worked for a family or restaurant group that is not only a Christian organization, but also lives it out every day in what they do for their employees.”

John Mayes honors server Aaron McKown as MVP didn’t lose any of them. We only had a couple of cases [where people] took advantage of the law and took paid time off.

We were fortunate to get the PPP loans, which gave us the chance to pay our rents and payroll.

I consider all my staff my family by choice. We have been there for each other all of the time. I was suffering for them, thinking ‘What is going to be the end of this situation?’ and I know they were worried about my wife and me, as well.

John Mayes, vice president of operations and pastor, El Toro Mexican Restaurants, Baytown, Texas

It has been kind of odd. I have not seen a generation like this one. Not only do they seem to have a different work ethic than the generation before, but they also had to go into a pandemic in which they were locked down…and the lock down forced them not to work. Then everything opened back up, businesses were hiring, and it seemed like they had an even bigger desire not to work. So, what do you do?

We looked for incentives to keep them motivated. We started paying servers an hourly rate based on their tenure ($3 for one year, $4 for three years, $5 for five years, up to $10 for ten years). If they left and came back, they had to start again. We did flexible scheduling. We also handled situations a lot less aggressively than we would have in the past. We started having fun contests. For example, we purchase scratch offs and give them out as employees reach certain goals throughout their shift — could be something sold, an act of kindness, a guest compliment, or just caught in the act of doing something right. We also have queso contests that last a month. Each location is given a goal. If the restaurant reaches it, the top salespersons receive a reward: first place, $1 for every queso sold; second place, 50 cents; third, 25 cents. The top 10 salespersons also are invited out to a dinner at a nice restaurant.

We also constantly reminded them that our second core value is family. All in all, we only lost about 25 percent of our staff because we took measures to manage them differently. We even looked at more comfortable uniforms — because, let’s face it, many of them found third-party delivery jobs where they made good money, could dress how they wanted, and set their own schedules. I also ministered to their needs inside of work and outside of work as the pastor for EL Toro. I made family hospital visits, delivered food if they were in lock-down, even assisted financially if needed.

We have many employees that have been with us for quite some time for the reasons I’ve mentioned. This company has always been there for employees’ families, either through incentives, rewards, spiritually, prayerfully, or motivationally. Sometimes it just takes sitting down with them and hearing them out and giving them some advice that they are not getting at home or anywhere else. I have Martha in Palestine. She has been waiting tables with us for 35 years. Nelda in La Porte. Waiting tables with us for 37 years. Chon in our commissary. Cooking for us 50 years. I have worked for them for 23 years. A lot of kitchen employees been with us for more than 15 years.

Rachel Gomez, VP, Rio Mirage Café, Glendale, Arizona

Approximately 70% of our staff left. We had to increase pay and offer benefits for those who did stay. However, the bennies do not work, it only helps to cut out the small business employer because we can never pay what the big corporations pay. Employees are being offered $1, $2, or even $5/hour more. It’s so ironic that they don’t even stay with the one they left us for, still

jumping around for the extra $1 to whoever offers it. We certainly have outstanding A-Team members who have gone above and beyond to keep Rio Mirage Cafe thriving. We have three outstanding employees that have weathered the storm.

First is our executive chef, who has stood with us since as far back as 911. [He stayed] during the mortgage crisis, the recession, Covid, and especially, during the hard pay cuts.

Second, is Steven Corella, who has been ‘Manager of the Year’ for your magazine, el Restaurante. As a manager, he has the most positive spirit and worked throughout the whole Covid crisis. However, this shortage of labor is taking its toll on Steven, he does all the jobs that are not filled.

Third is another ‘Manager of the Year’ award recipient, Stephanie Mendoza. There is not enough I can say about Stephanie helping us through this crisis. She is the one they call when Jimmy, John, Jose, Juanita or whoever does not show up for work. She is the one who endures it all so that I can play a round of golf and get a good night’s sleep. How awesome is that!

We are so grateful for these and all the employees that have weathered the storm with us. If it were not for a few dedicated, exceptional Rio Family members like these, we would not be here today.

Stephanie Mendoza

Kathleen Furore is the editor of el Restaurante.

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