The People Who Stay

Sound familiar?

• Refills the same kitchen role three or four times a year and treats it as normal.
• Only hires once short-staffed, so every hire is made out of fear.
• Can't price one departure, so keeping people never looks worth investing in.
• Explains everything verbally; the way this kitchen works has never been written down.

Each chapter answers one question

1. Chapter 1: What does one cook quitting really cost me?

   What does it really cost my restaurant when one cook quits?

   The cost of replacing someone is not in the job ad; it is in six weeks of the kitchen running below capacity.

2. Chapter 2: Hire fast, or hire right?

   Am I hiring because there is a gap, or because I know who I need?

   Hiring while short-staffed is hiring out of fear, and the kitchen pays for it over the next six months.

3. Chapter 3: Do new hires quit the job, or the first week?

   In their first seven days, who trains my new hire, and what do they teach?

   New hires decide whether to stay or go in the first week, before they get good at the job.

4. Chapter 4: Will a raise really keep my best people?

   Do people in my kitchen know what progress they will make in the next three months?

   Good people leave because they see no path forward, rarely because of a few hundred thousand.

5. Chapter 5: Low pay or bad rosters: which drives people out?

   Who is my schedule wearing down?

   A badly built schedule makes people quit more slowly but more surely than low pay.