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With spring approaching, restaurants are preparing for the annual surge in business that accompanies longer days and warmer weather. But capitalizing on the potentially lucrative opportunities requires more than just a creative menu and welcoming ambiance — it calls for a team motivated to deliver memorable service.
During peak season, competition for the best employees can be fierce, with many businesses vying for a limited pool of candidates. In fact, while the National Restaurant Association’s 2025 State of the Restaurant Industry report predicts the sector’s workforce will grow by 200,000 jobs by the end of 2025, respondents cited the ongoing struggle to recruit and retain employees among their top concerns. The Square Future of Restaurants report also found that 73% of restaurant operators are spending more time hiring in 2025 than the previous year.
Whether you run a restaurant, coffee shop or food truck, you have to be prepared to serve the foot traffic from an out-and-about community. Here are the top strategies for attracting and retaining top talent as you gear up for the busy season.
Finding your dream team
1. Determine staffing needs based on projected sales and customer volume
Accurate hiring can be tricky — ending up with too many workers can be costly, while too few leaves you short-staffed and can negatively impact the customer experience. To gauge your staff needs, review historical data, considering factors like seasonal trends, local events, and tourism patterns that could impact foot traffic.
A great place to start is exploring analytics provided by Square, which can identify when your restaurant experienced previous surges. These insights can help you anticipate demand and adjust your staffing levels accordingly. Beyond past data, consider any changes this year that might affect hiring needs, such as new menu offerings, expanded outdoor seating, or extended hours.
2. Write compelling job descriptions that underscore your competitive advantages
With so many places vying for talent, you’ll want your ads to stand out. Instead of just listing responsibilities and requirements, emphasize what makes you unique — whether it’s higher-than-average pay, flexible schedules, career growth opportunities, employee meals, training programs. All of them can elevate your opportunity. The goal is to let job seekers in today’s market know why they should choose your position over others. These templates can give you a head start.
3. Recruit effectively
Posting job ads on multiple online job boards is a logical starting point, but you may need to dig deeper to move the needle. Here are five creative methods to try:
Leverage employee referrals and word-of-mouth
Referrals can put you in touch with employees who may already be interested in working at your restaurant — and it saves you precious time that would otherwise be spent sifting through stacks of resumes or online applications that tend to look similar. To encourage your current staff to spread the word, consider offering a referral bonus for contacts that lead to a hire.
Partner with local schools, colleges and job training programs to find quality candidates
Many of these institutions have career centers or job boards where you can post openings and reach job seekers quickly. Some schools even have hospitality or culinary programs that align perfectly with restaurant roles, connecting you with talent eager to learn more about the business.
Blast your hiring needs across your socials
The customers who follow you are already fans, and there’s a good chance they or someone they know may want to work for you. Encourage your staff to post, too, so that their followers can get a glimpse of your fun vibe and positive team culture.
Consider “boomerangs”
These former employees are already familiar with your products and customers, which means they can hit the “floor” running with less training.
Of course, hiring can be time-consuming, which is why restaurant operators are increasingly leaning on technology to simplify the process. Square Payroll, for example, is highly flexible, allowing you to make modifications to factors such as your choice of payday. Most importantly, it makes it easy to hire W-2 employees by helping you manage taxes, which can get complex for short-term employees. The less time you have to spend on back-office processes, the more you can focus on running your business — while avoiding expensive audits or penalties.
Square Payroll files all the necessary paperwork we need and gets everything ready so when it comes time that time of year everything is right there.”
Francie Skoflanc → Owner, CatsEye Wine Bar
Setting your team up for success
Once you’ve assembled your team, the first few days are crucial for making a strong impression. You want to reinforce their decision to join your squad, while equipping them for success.
1. Create an onboarding and training program
A well-structured and engaging onboarding program ensures seasonal staff feel confident and prepared from day one. Prioritizing safety — through clear guidelines and hands-on training — protects employees and guests and creates a workplace culture that emphasizes caring for the community.
Square Staff also includes new hire onboarding, a streamlined and integrated way to manage the onboarding process for your team members. With this, you can empower your team members to self-onboard, collect key onboarding documents from new hires, and store documents digitally and privately.
To get started, you must first configure your new hire onboarding workflow in the Square Dashboard. Click Staff & payroll → Team → Onboarding. You can also visit our Support Center to learn more about how new hire onboarding works.
2. Align employees around your mission
Your restaurant’s core values likely include attention to customer service and a collaborative effort. Make it easy for seasonal staff to understand the “why” behind these values and how to put them into practice. When employees feel connected to a shared purpose, they’ll be more committed to delivering an elevated guest experience.
3. Introduce them to your key technologies
Today’s employee expects a suite of user-friendly tools that make their jobs — and lives — easier. That’s been the case for Vernon Lindholm, co-founder of Offset Coffee in Los Angeles, who says Square tools have made it easy to adapt to the needs of his team, most of whom are under 25. For example, through the Square Team App, they can make timecard adjustments if they forget to clock in or out, which allows payroll to stay on track. Then he uses Square Payroll to pay his workers in the way they prefer. “For some, it’s their first job, and they don’t even have bank accounts, but they have Cash App,” he says.
For tools like Square POS, make sure they understand all the ins and outs, such as how to quickly navigate your menu, easily add customizations so orders are just right.
“When you’re all over the place, like myself, you need one thing that is a set system,” says Chef Alisa Reynolds, founder of My 2 Cents. “And if I can say anything, Square has become clarity for me. It has created clarity and longevity. And that’s big.” With daily operations consolidated in an intuitive platform, new employees can focus their energy on perfecting their roles and providing exceptional service.
Focusing on retention
Now that you have a well-trained team, the next challenge is keeping them engaged. High turnover can be costly and disruptive, but the right retention strategies can encourage employees to stick around. Here are some ways to show them they matter.
1. Provide predictability and flexibility
Believe it or not, those two can co-exist. First, make sure you give employees their schedule as far in advance as possible so they can make their own plans. Then consider how your scheduling patterns can minimize burnout: For example, eliminate those exhausting close-to-opening (“clopen”) shifts, where the same worker closes late at night, only to return in the morning; and prioritize giving consecutive days off.
You also have to remember that life happens, so flexibility is important. Your workers will appreciate the ease with which they can request time off or swap hours through Square Shifts — and you’ll appreciate saying goodbye to the time-consuming hassle of paper schedules.
2. Support their professional growth
Employees crave feedback and opportunities for development. Consider this 7shifts report, where 64% of restaurant employees rated “more recognition from management” as a key factor in increasing their engagement at work. Despite that desire, a full quarter of respondents said they rarely receive positive or constructive feedback.
Additionally, 60% indicated they would stay longer at a job if there were clear opportunities for career advancement, and 25% of respondents ages 24 to 35 see themselves as industry “lifers.” Validate your top talent by offering a clear path for raises and promotions, and you’ll create an atmosphere where employees know they are valued, encouraging them to stick around long term.
3. Don’t overlook benefits
Young people want more than just a paycheck; even those in what traditionally have been considered transitory roles want their employers to provide benefits, such as health insurance, retirement and education stipends. In fact, 68% of workers say that a 401(k) benefit is critical when deciding to accept a job, according to Accenture.
Offering these plans can instill loyalty and help your business stand out — or even better, become the talk of industry workers who are looking for a sweet gig. Fifty-six percent of employees say that health benefits are a key factor when deciding to stay at their job, so it can be an investment that pays ongoing dividends through engaged employees who are more committed to their job and your customers.
Your employees can also get their medical, dental, and vision plans through integrations with SimplyInsured, as well as easy, affordable 401(k) plans to help them save for retirement with Guideline, all within your existing Square ecosystem.
4. Pay your team fast and on time
Your employees rely on their paycheck arriving when they expect it to and for it to be accurate. An incorrect paycheck can quickly lead to employees losing trust and reliability in your business. Square Payroll allows you to avoid mistakes with automatic payroll and tax calculations.
You can also leverage faster pay speeds like “Instant Payments” which allow you to run payroll one day before the payout date if you use your Square Balance or Square Checking account1. This means your team can receive their pay on the next business day with direct deposit or instantly when they use Cash App, even on weekends.
Since mistakes do happen,, Square Payroll allows you to send unlimited pay runs and off-cycle payments at no extra cost in order to pay out any extra funds, anytime.
5. Embrace a mentor mentality
For less experienced employees, a supportive and guiding approach can make all the difference. Pairing new hires with seasoned team members builds skills, while creating a sense of belonging. Encouraging a culture where you and other leaders invest in the team’s success strengthens individual performance and contributes to overall team morale — and ideally a long-term commitment.
6. Celebrate often
From lunch rushes to huge groups coming in right before you close, everyone who works in food and beverage knows that stress and a certain amount of tension are par for the course in the industry. It’s important to provide your employees with a release valve, especially one that brings them closer and reminds everybody that they’re on the same team.
Summer success starts with good people and seamless systems
Finding talent and retaining staff has always been a huge challenge for restaurant businesses, especially over the past few years. Fortunately, this roadblock may be easing: according to Square’s Future of Restaurants report, 60% of restaurant operators reported a smoother hiring experience this year.
As restaurant leaders aim to run their businesses more efficiently in ways that work for both staff and customers, they’ll need to turn to intuitive technology that can streamline the everyday tasks of running a business. Square Shifts helps organize all aspects of your team and your operations, including time management, payroll and wages, scheduling, reporting, labor costs, and more. Square Shifts works with you Square POS and Square Dashboard, so you can manage your team and grow your business in one place.
Instant Payouts services require a Square Checking account. Funds provided through Instant Payouts services are generally available in the Square Checking account balance immediately after an order is processed. Fund availability times may vary due to technical issues. If an order is not paid out instantly, it will be available according to your regular deposit schedule. Payout limits, including limits on payout amounts, may apply.
Block, Inc. is a financial services platform and not an FDIC-insured bank. FDIC deposit insurance coverage only protects against the failure of an FDIC-insured deposit institution. If you have a Square Checking account, up to $250,000 of your balance may be covered by FDIC insurance on a pass-through basis through Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, subject to aggregation of the account holder’s funds held at Sutton Bank and if certain conditions have been met. See Terms and Conditions.
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