Businesses are facing an unprecedented challenge when it comes to finding new employees.
Restaurants and others in the hospitality industry are among those struggling to hire.
Melanie Robinson is looking for two full-time servers at her Eclectic Café. Only one person has applied, and it didn’t work out.
She has brought someone on board to work two days per week, but “it doesn’t fill the need,” she said.
With wedding catering gigs coming up and two employees set to leave in August, “we’re begging our friends to come help us,” she said.
“The service industry has just been slaughtered with staff not returning to work,” Robinson said. “We need to get back what we’ve lost. Even though we’re open and booming, we’re still trying to catch up.”
Apple Annie’s Café and Shop is in the same boat. Co-owner Susan Willsey received “very little response” to a job posting that called for someone with some food-service experience.
“We’re usually flooded (with responses), but, the odd day, we’re not getting any at all,” she said. “It’s been puzzling.”
The reason for the lack of interest has business owners stumped. All they can do is speculate, wondering if the COVID-19 pandemic has provided people with the time to reassess their careers or what jobs they want to take on, or if financial assistance from the government is playing a part.
Regardless, owners and staff at small businesses are feeling the effects. Willsey didn’t keep her downtown shop open late last Friday for the first of this year’s See You On the Patio nights.
“I was exhausted,” she said, adding she has been putting in extra hours and helping to fill in at the front service desk because of the lack of staff. “You’re worried about burning out the staff you have.”
It’s a concern shared by Stephanie Stanton, guest services manager at Muskoka Bay Resort in Gravenhurst, where “the hiring pool is very dry.”
A job posting for housekeeping staff would typically yield 20 applications per day, she said, but the resort has received about seven in the past month.
“I know $16 or $17 an hour is not glamorous, but it’s better than minimum wage and we treat our employees very well,” Stanton said.
Housekeeping positions aren’t the only ones the resort is looking to fill.
“It’s across the board,” she said. “We desperately need maintenance workers.”
Like Willsey, Stanton finds the lack of interest “very perplexing.”
“Is it fear? People not wanting to be out in the world? Is it the government assistance that’s still available? I can only speculate,” she said. “I’ve never seen it so bad in all my years in hospitality.”
The situation is dire enough that the resort is offering incentives to existing employees — $250 for those who refer a qualified applicant to join the staff.
Stanton, Robinson and Willsey encourage people to take advantage of the current availability in the job market.
“Why not get out of the COVID lethargy?” Willsey asked.
“Maybe that’s it,” she added, noting some people have become accustomed to not working in an industry that has faced many shutdowns and modifications during the pandemic.
The hospitality industry isn’t the only one seeking new employees. A search for Orillia jobs on indeed.com shows openings for receptionists, general labourers, cashiers and more, with many of them indicating they are “urgently hiring.”
