HoReCa employees forced to work harder due to personnel shortage

“Employers are asking for increasingly higher productivity from each employee” to cover the personnel deficit, Bosneag told Business Standard.

She indicated that the hotel and restaurant industry was among the first to face a shortage of skilled workers. However, “we are nearing the end of this crisis,” she said. Personnel turnover amounts to 10 percent this year, compared to 35 percent three years ago, she explained.

At City Grill, costs per employee amount to an average €8,000 annually. The company has 620 employees working in 14 restaurants. It plans to employ a further 100 people for two new locations it intends to open this year.
To cope with the personnel shortage, the company is employing both skilled and unskilled workers, providing training for the latter.

City Grill estimates €15 million worth of business in 2008, 25 percent higher year-on-year. Its main competitors are La Mama, Trattoria Il Calcio and Ruby Tuesday.