Why Restaurant Employees Stay - and Why They Leave: With Rushi Patel

Rushi Patel, co-founder of Homebase joins Running Restaurants founder & show host, Jaime Oikle, to talk about managing restaurant staff effectively. Drawing from a workplace survey of over 3.5 million hourly workers, Rushi reveals that while pay attracts employees, community, culture, and strong management drive retention. He highlights how AI is increasingly helping operators streamline scheduling and payroll, freeing managers to focus on human connection. Rushi also debunks the myth that employees only care about wages and emphasizes investing in relationships, especially during an employee's first 30 days, as key to reducing costly turnover.Highlights include...- Challenges in managing restaurant staff- Insights from Homebase's workplace report on employee retention and turnover- Importance of pay, community, culture, and management in employee satisfaction- The role of AI technology in restaurant operations- Differences in AI adoption between restaurant operators and hourly employees- The impact of managerial relationships on employee retention- Metrics for effective labor management in restaurants- The significance of scheduling practices for employee satisfaction- Recommendations for books related to hospitality and local business management- Encouragement for restaurant operators to utilize technology tools for business improvementLinks:- https://www.joinhomebase.com/- https://www.joinhomebase.com/blog/local-workplace-pulse- https://www.runningrestaurants.com/- https://www.linkedin.com/in/rushipatel-gsd/- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaimeoikle/Sponsor Link: https://www.theleasecoach.comSponsor Link: https://servicewithstyle.com/runningrestaurants