Staffing in the bar, nightlife and F&B industry has reached a saturation point; the difficulties go far beyond sourcing dedicated and skilled personnel, with independent operators poaching trained staff a major concern.
At the Caterer Bar and Nightlife Forum, several industry experts discussed the trends they are witnessing with staffing in the nightlife industry. Chaired by Duncan Fraser Smith, founder, The Cutting Edge Agency, the panel discussed ‘Overcoming Staffing Difficulties’ and was joined by Anish Kuttan, director of F&B, Kempinski Hotel Ajman; Nick Fielding, director of operations, Asia de Cuba Worldwide; Nikolas V. Pazvadis, guest relations manager, Coya Restaurant & Lounge; Theo Braund, general manager, Claw BBQ; and Motorga Heathcliff, nightlife operation manager, Media One Hotel.
"It’s not always a loyalty issue though, it’s a cultural problem as well, Asians not only work hard but will pledge their loyalty to you. However, non-Asians are sworn into high positions, work for a few months and leave the organisation,” said Heathcliff.
Asia De Cuba has been in operation for seven months, but Fielding said he was shocked with the high amount of turnover witnessed in every department. “Asia De Cuba Abu Dhabi has had three different bar managers in just seven months of operation. Everyone want to be a manager and a superstar today,” said Fielding, resonating Heathcliff’s sentiments.
Staff in the nightlife industry are mostly hired from abroad, and outlets either work with agencies or conduct telephonic interviews themselves. “We hired 80% of our opening team from abroad, but it’s sad to see what has transpired in the past 18 months. The rise of new independent operators in the market offering high salaries, many of which are not going to be around for too long, draws our colleagues away,” said Pazvadis.
“Other companies coming into the market, mainly independents, are offering better salaries and lesser working hours not necessarily better futures. Then the nicer people in the market offer more realistic dreams, with a structured training and development module in place,” added Braund.
| Advertisement |
“Sadly, when these places close down, spare a though for the staff. They will leave with a bitter taste in their mouth,” added Pazvadis.
“Owners need to align with a common principle that their concepts and outlets will not be successful unless they make serious investments in manpower. Media One suffers just like every else, we struggle to match up to those offering high salaries. As a hotel, we work on a set budget,” added Heathcliff.
The F&B sector faces a slightly different scenario in Ajman, and Kempinski has found a way to tackle staffing issues. Kuttan explained: “We have a gentleman’s agreement with our competitors not to poach each other’s staff, but the challenge lies with the lower level staff that consider a move away for an AED 200-300 increase.”
“Alternately we also offer staff a transfer within the Kempinski, if we feel they are getting saturated with the surroundings” added Kuttan.
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
