Onward and Upward 2022 The Restaurant of the Future Arrives Ahead of Schedule
by Bob Gershberg, CEO/Managing Partner Wray Executive Search
As we emerge from the exhaustive challenges of the global pandemic, many changes made to stay healthy and viable will shape the future. Digital and delivery are here to stay and will remain a growing factor industry-wide. According to the Boston Consulting Group, digital ordering is up to 28% of all orders compared with 10% pre-pandemic. Virtual restaurant brands run out of existing kitchens with menus designed for off premise dining will continue to flourish. Generally, 2022 will to be a year of continuing transition.
Rethinking the layouts of our restaurants will reflect the off premise trend. The traditional 70/30 split front of the house to back of the house will flip flop over the next few years. Drive-thrus and takeout areas will become more prevalent in better end eateries.
by John A. Gordon, Principal and Founder, Pacific Management Consulting Group
New Year Sales Forecasts….
Being that time of year, all the corporations and research houses are ginning up their 2022 Forecasts. We won’t see the first peek of the public companies 2022 until the ICR Conference coming up in Orlando in January (I’ll be there as usual) but Technomic and Datassential have their forecast just out. I just beat Technomic to print by a few hours, as I had an investor call the same day they published. Here is my US sales growth (not SSS) 2022 forecast, in detail:
2022 US Restaurants Total Sales Forecast vs. 2021 Base
Component Value
New Units +1.5 %
Price +5.5 %
Mix +5.0%
Traffic -2.0%
Industry Capability/Contraction -2.0%
WEIGHTED TOTAL +8.0%
In 2022, I’m very sure 2021 will be the best base. By that point, 2019 will be too dated and 2020 will always be flawed as the Pandemic Year. Note that I have broken out a new factor, industry capability/contraction. This is what we see every day with restaurants losing staff, money left on the table, and demand not being fulfilled. This will be a key variable under our control…if we do something it will be better. FYI, Technomic’s projected 2022 US sales increase is 10.4% on a 2019 base.[1] We both agree that price will be the major mover. It will be very interesting to watch price and traffic. Investors are still confused about what mix is and think it is a bad thing.
3 Solid Strategies to Keep Your People From Jumping Ship
by Joel Garfinkle
“The idea of a work/life balance is much more important to younger workers than it ever was with baby boomers. Companies are looking at retention issues.”
~ Jen Jorgensen, Marketing Strategist
Client Sandy asks: Our company culture is big on a lot of the rah-rah stuff. We have a softball team, monthly pizza feeds, suggestion boxes in every department, and a costume contest on Halloween. It all looks like fun, but lately we’ve lost some of our best people and I’m feeling the need to create some more substantial employee retention programs. As HR manager, I’m committed to hiring and keeping good employees. But there are so many kinds of retention programs out there that I don’t know where to start.
Coach Joel Answers: When you create a workplace culture that fully engages and rewards employees at all levels, you win in three important ways: you build a loyal, committed workforce; you develop a great reputation among clients, customers and the public; and you avoid the financial losses that high employee turnover creates. Here are three hallmarks of a good retention program.
