Formal Report Proposal -Lia Slager

Formal Report Proposal

Lia Slager

Intended Audience

This formal report will be intended for the salaried managers at Earls Ambleside. The salaried managers at Earls Ambleside oversee hiring, firing, scheduling, and overall employee happiness at the restaurant.

Introduction

Earls Kitchen + Bars is known to provide a corporate environment both for customers and employees. Each location of the restaurant chain has an annual sales target of at least $4M. Competing with others in the industry such as Cactus Club Café, Joey’s, etc. Earls has its own reputation for a casual, yet upscale dining experience. Earls offers its customers a “guest-first” experience at a reasonable price. Out of Earls direct competitors, Cactus Club Café and Joey’s, they are comparably the cheapest option for similar service. At every Earls location in Canada and the United States, there are at least 75 employees on the payroll at one time. The closing of Earls Tin Palace and reopening as Earls Ambleside was significant in the fact that it represented a new and distinctly different type of dining experience offered by what was traditionally known as Earls Kitchen + Bar.

While the service industry is known to have one of the highest turnover rates, Earls Ambleside has found themselves hiring waitresses/ waiters significantly more frequently than in the past (when they operated as Earls Tin Palace). Often managers are finding themselves recruiting more than every quarter, with minimal to no retention. While Earls Kitchen + Bar prides itself by having one of the best training programs, a strong employee community, and yet the turnover rate of employees continues to rise at Earls Ambleside.

Statement of Problem

Earls Tin Palace was known for its employee retention and strong employee community. When Earls Tin Palace closed and reopened as Earls Ambleside their turn over rate raised significantly. If Earls wants to lower their turnover rate, and in effect lower training budgets, they are going to need to be more conscious of who they hire and integrate a better system for picking and retaining their new hires.

Proposed Solution

One possible solution for employee retention at Earls locations is incentives for working, such as priority shifts, available sections and positioning at the location. Currently, the restaurant gives priority shifts/ positions and sections based on a combination of availability and sales.

To assess the feasibility of my solution in decreasing the rate of turnover for Earls Restaurants + Bars, I will be asking employees the following:

• How long have you worked at Earls?
• Are you Happy?
• How does Earls scheduling compare to other restaurants you’ve worked for?
• What are your preferred serving sections? Why?
• What are you preferred serving times? Why?
• Would you be more likely to stay at Earls if you were promised priority shifts?
• Do you believe it is possible for the rate of turnover to be lower in this industry? If so, how?

Methods

Primary research will be conducted at Earls Ambleside, which is currently the newest installment of Earls Restaurants + Bars, at different times and days. By access the staff on different days and times, I will be interviewing waitresses/ waiters at random. I will collect and summarize the consensus of feelings about Earls and their scheduling and retention methods.

My Qualifications

I am currently a server at Earls Ambleside, previously Earls Tin Palace (North Vancouver) and began to work there in early 2018. Previously I had also begun as a Hostess at Earls Robson and moved into a waitressing position in the early part of 2017. I believe that I have a good enough understanding of current practices and promotions that are being used, though I have thought of some solutions on my own. I will be comfortable expressing myself in my workplace as well as ask some underlying questions about the state of our current employee turnover rate.

Conclusion

It is evident that if Earls Restaurants + Bars want to continue with their standard of customer service, they must act by setting similar standards for their staff. I believe that immediate action must be made to incent current employees to engage in their workplace and find others who are willing to invest themselves as well. I am confident with my position and relationships with my current employer, I will be able to understand and identify the main issues regarding the turnover rate. I will begin my research once given the “go ahead’.