Serving Up Talent: Workforce Development and the Future of Hospitality Hiring

Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Well, welcome back, everyone, for another episode of Dine and Dish. ⁓ well, another week, and we're getting into exciting times here in Annapolis with the Naval Academy commissioning next week. And ⁓ super excited because my daughter is commissioning and she's going to be a marine fighter pilot. So ⁓ had to start off the show and just say congratulations to Maury and all her accomplishments.

And ⁓ I have a very special guest on today. And T and I have known each other since our kids were little girls in the pageant world. ⁓ one week I talk about dance. Today I'm gonna talk about pageant world.

Yes, I put my kids into everything. ⁓ but her daughter and my daughter ⁓ did a national American Miss Pageant together, and they were great friends. And T and I became great friends, and we stayed. connected throughout the years and we were talking and I said, wow, I had to have you on the show.

⁓ she has so much cool information and I'm so excited to welcome her on. So with further ado, hello my friend Tia, welcome to Dine and Dish. Hello, Michelle. It is such a pleasure to be here today.

Tia Plunkett-McQueen: Hello, Michelle. It is such a pleasure to be here today to spend time with you talking about an area, an industry that you love, and how I can provide tips and information from a human resources perspective. ⁓ As Michelle mentioned, we've known each other for years and have always stayed connected. So I'm really excited about the platform you've established and really interested in in talking about things that really help to advance the industry.

So thank you for inviting me. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Yeah. Well, I'm so exc first off, now that I have video, I get to look at you. For so long we were only doing voice.

So how cool is it that we actually can do FaceTime and talk and see each other? I feel like now we need to really fly to one each other's city and have lunch and really connect. Or when you come to DC. Tia Plunkett-McQueen: Yes.

Absolut absolutely. ⁓ that's the progression of technology and everything today. And you know I love the DMV area. ⁓ and recently, as you know, relocated back to Atlanta, Georgia.

So it doesn't take me that much time to get on a plane and to be in DC. So happy to catch up that way. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Yeah, yeah. Well, let's jump right into the show because we have so much to talk about.

And I know we're gonna run out of time. Forty minutes goes so fast and you have such a wealth of knowledge that I know the listeners are gonna love to hear about. So before we get into actual questions and topics, would you mind introducing yourself and your background and what you do and how you got into the whole Tia Plunkett-McQueen: Sure. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: workforce and people and what drew you into the space and we can jump off the show with with just some general information.

That'd be great. Tia Plunkett-McQueen: Sure, absolutely. I I will try to keep this as brief as I can so we can jump into the the nitty-gritty of everything, but I'm ⁓ a a lifelong human resources ⁓ professional ⁓ with over 30 years of experien ⁓ experience working across various industries. ⁓ I got into human resources actually through an internship.

⁓ I was completing my junior year at the University of Maryland College Park. Go turns. And I was fortunate enough to gain an internship opportunity with the U.S.

Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. So I completed that internship in my senior year, did another internship with the American Petroleum Institute in D.C.

And after I graduated, I actually came back to Atlanta to work. And within one week of being back home, Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Uh-huh. Tia Plunkett-McQueen: My supervisor, who ⁓ was the personnel manager for the chamber, Paul Osborne, rest his soul, God rest his soul, ⁓ called me and said, We have a personnel assistant job for you, and we would love to offer and extend this opportunity to you. We knew you were graduating, and we would love to offer you ⁓ the opportunity to come work for us.

With a starting salary of $18,000 per year. So I was floored. I took the job. And back then, $18,000 per year was a lot of money.

And so my family was super excited for me. And that began my career path and trajectory in the human resources arena. And since then I've had a pretty progressive tr ⁓ pathway. ⁓ from working as a generalist all the way up to a director of HR, ⁓ doing ⁓ hanging my own shingle and doing consulting for a number of years, then leading my pathway to the executive level where I've served as a national director of human resources for an association in the DC area.

And then most recently, ⁓ over the past four. Years as ⁓ the senior executive of human resources for the National League of Cities in Washington, DC. And now as the vice president of human resources for the national ⁓ national housing compliance, which works within the affordable housing arena. And what I can say in wearing multiple hats, as starting off as a generalist and working in mid-level management to senior executive.

To the senior executive level, I've had an opportunity to work in a number of industries from transportation and infrastructure to higher education to ⁓ defense contracting ⁓ in the Washington, DC area to the association arena. So, and throughout all of those ⁓ experiences, I've had an opportunity to grow, become really familiar. about various industries and what their unique needs are and really work and align with ⁓ other senior executives to help advance the mission of of ⁓ the organizations that I've served.

Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Yeah. So we're gonna talk about a topic that is so important in hospitality. And I think it's so important across all industries, but since this show is so focused on hospitality and restaurants, we're gonna talk about, I think, probably one of the hottest topics right now, and that's staffing and hiring. I mean, obviously we can touch on HR, but I think critical topics right now are in workforce development.

They're in hiring, hospitality hiring. So why do you feel that it is so critical right now, being with your background? Because I mean, it is, it's a hot topic. I mean, since I say it every show, since COVID, the world has changed as it looks at staffing, hiring, development.

So why don't you talk a little bit about why we're seeing that and why we're seeing labor shortages? And then we can talk about, you know, just hiring landscape in general. Tia Plunkett-McQueen: Absolutely. Well, first off, the restaurant and hospitality industry in itself remains one of the nation's largest and most dynamic employers.

Yet, you know, when you think about workforce attraction, retention, and advancement, it continues to be among the greatest challenges. But just like in the restaurant and hospitality industry, other industries are experiencing the same challenges. around workforce planning, being able to hire, ⁓ upskill or reskill their workers, particularly when you're dealing with the hospitality, frontline industries, retail, we're seeing huge labor shortages. And really the the expectations to be able to staff up staff quickly are really putting a lot of pressure on being able to attract and retain the right talent.

And so you have those turnover pressures, which really requires employers today to think differently about how talent pipelines are built, because you have to be innovative in this market. What I say is no long gone are the days where you hope, post, and pray. Meaning you hope you get an applicant, you post the job, and miraculously you think they're gonna come to you. You really have to be proactive.

And engage with the community to support the talent pipeline that's going to help you accomplish what you're trying to accomplish, whether you're a nonprofit organization or a for-profit corporation. You really have to have robust recruitment style strategies to build the type of talent pipeline that will be sustainable. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: So let's talk about the changing workforce because I also feel that there's a lot of changes in expectations. You know, back in the day before COVID, ⁓ it was much easier to staff employees into the restaurant world.

I mean, I'm talking back of the house kitchen as well as front of the house in terms of servers and bartenders and general managers. Now we're seeing the expectation is so different. They're coming in, they're expecting more. I think a lot of people got used to working from home, Zoom just like this.

They had the ability to do to do Uber and DoorDash and a lot of these third party where they make their own schedules. And then as things started to open up, the landscape changed so much for restaurants and hospitality. So it made it very hard to hire because I believe the workforce expectations definitely changed, whereas the restaurant ownership and management expectations stayed the same. So You know, looking at that, I really feel that's where a lot of the struggles came in and why the restaurant world's really having a hard time retaining talent.

So why don't we talk about just the change in the hiring landscape? Because it's changed. I know I'm seeing it across my restaurant. So I'm sure you're probably seeing it across other industries as well.

Would you agree or Tia Plunkett-McQueen: I would agree. I would absolutely agree agree. And I think when you think of frontline ⁓ job roles, whether in in retail or restaurant or hospitality, in many respects, there is the perception that they're temporary type roles, that people are in some respects seasonal, and and that's true, that they're working for, you know, a definite definitive period of time. But there hasn't been, in view, A huge push around promoting frontline jobs in the restaurant and hospitality arena as a place where you can have a long-term career path.

And so I think for human resources professionals like myself, we have to look at the messaging around that. And that involves really engaging differently with the city or community in which you serve. ⁓ and you know, whether through public-private partnerships, working with the school system or the community college, there are ways to promote and build a robust pipeline, but it's going to require building those partnerships and really working with the business community to understand what their needs are and then setting up programs to help address those needs.

You know, economic and social mobility within cities or communities, towns or villages is critically important. And so it's important for business to have that partnership ⁓ with the city, with workforce development agencies and so forth, so that we are always being proactive in addressing the needs of businesses to grow robust communities where ⁓ citizens or residents rather can have that economic and social mobility ⁓ to grow, to be gainfully employed, ⁓ just to live, you know, live great lives.

And so you can't look at it just one singular way. It's really a a coordinated strategy that you have to take into consideration when you're trying to come up with solutions. We're also working in an environment where we have Intergenerations with within the work field. You've got 70 year old residents ⁓ going back to work.

And so you have to understand the demographic within the community that you serve. What are the underserved or underemployed populations that could be ⁓ a resource to tap into and looking at the training that supports them and then again promoting from an HR standpoint. Some of the great opportunities that you can gain by working in the hospitality ⁓ arena that will help you develop a career path. I don't think we again, as I've said, tell that story ⁓ or promote that in a way that can attract the talent that we need.

And and again. It's not only an issue within the hospitality and and restaurant in industry, it's in skill trade. There's a a shortage of of labor across all kind of skill role ⁓ job roles ⁓ across the United States. And we have to be more proactive in addressing those gaps in order to fill the number of jobs that exist right now.

Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Yeah. So I want to talk about something you mentioned a few minutes ago. You talked about a talent pipeline. that's the first thing.

I don't want to overlook that because that's a a big topic. Let's talk about what a talent pipeline truly means. ⁓ let's look at long-term versus short term. You know, when you're looking at a pipeline and you you have hourly workers versus true salaried full-time ⁓ employees and then how you fill that pipeline and how you develop that pipeline.

So if you can rewind a little bit and let's go back to the pipeline, I would love to hit that topic because I really think a lot of folks don't really understand that you can have a pipeline in the restaurant industry. You know, a lot of people think of a pipeline, I know I do at least when I worked in the accounting world, we always had a talent pipeline. When I worked in, you know, weight loss and we worked in more of a professional industry, we've always had a talent pipeline.

But a lot of people don't really think that you can do that type of hiring in the in the hospitality world. So if you can touch on that, ⁓ that would be amazing. Absolutely. Tia Plunkett-McQueen: The absolutely, absolutely.

You heard me ⁓ mention about the public-private partnership. And so when you think about sustainable workforce solutions, ⁓ you first have to look at what employers need and then align the public systems to support the workforce needs. When you have public-private partnerships, you create opportunities to align training curriculum with real employer demand. ⁓ many In many communities, that is coordinated with the work various workforce development agencies that have programs that exist that in many respects are no cost to residents to be able to go and be trained on working in a retail setting or a restaurant setting or a hotel setting.

⁓ some agencies ⁓ focus on different areas. I know here in Atlanta. There are apprenticeship type programs that really look to provide a career path ⁓ and trajectory for students that are interested in becoming a chef. And so some of that includes on-the-job training, ⁓ financial resources to help the student along the way, job placement.

So when you're as when you're looking at workforce development solutions, it's important for restaurants to connect. with their local workforce development agencies to help build that pipeline so that you're working with ⁓ individuals that have a dedicated interest in the profession. And so you also get the benefit of additional supports and training. A lot of those pre programs have job coaches.

So they want to ensure the success of the student to graduation through placement because that again Is a benefit to them. So working with again those types of agencies so that they're addressing your demands as an employer. It also ⁓ there's also an education component that employers can focus on through partnerships with the local community colleges, even to the high school level, ensuring that kids who have and students who have an interest in working in retail or hospitality can are are engaged with of you as an employer at an early level when you cultivate those relationships.

Students graduate, they come back to you as a as a potential ⁓ employee. It happened to me through internships. It was like my first hand apprenticeship experience working in the field of HR, which manifested into an employment opportunity. So it's making those connections and realizing that, you know, there are resources within your local, you know, city, town, or village that's there to support you around these issues.

A lot of cities have private industry councils and workforce boards who also have again direct access to the residents in the community and they really work to establish pathways for entry-level traditional and even sometimes advanced opportunities. And again, many of them in various cities across the United States work focus on hospital hospitality workforce needs. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Yeah. Actually you said something very interesting.

You were talking about programs that ⁓ allow these skills, teach these skills. ⁓ we actually did a show, God, I think it was four or five weeks ago. And I had a a friend of mine on Lori from Florida, and she's ⁓ she runs all of the junior achievement ⁓ league out of the Florida area and Fort Lauderdale has a huge program. And we actually talked about the programs they have and the mentorships and and what they do to take take these younger kids, I don't really want to say just kids, but younger, young individuals that wanted to get into hospitality and restaurants, and they actually train them and they train them in actual storefronts.

So they have the ability to to develop these soft skills to then translate into a workforce when they get out of these training programs. So I think, you know, looking at a lot of these other programs, whether it's schools, universities, ⁓ internships, I mean, look at my oldest daughter. I mean, she's with a large ⁓ national I should say international accounting firm. And she got that job from doing her internships through Northeastern University.

And the what she God, what she was awarded just from that internship was amazing. I mean, they took two students out of graduation and she was one of them and she's now a manager with them. So there's just so much opportunity to tap into, whether it's accounting, whether it's hospitality, whether it's ⁓ restaurants, I mean HR, manufacturing, everything. Tia Plunkett-McQueen: Absolutely.

Right. Right. Manufacturing, right? Right.

Everything. And I'm a the biggest ⁓ promoter of internship and apprenticeship programs because of what it's meant to me personally throughout my career path. That experience at a junior level, then a it ⁓ in college and then my senior year really propelled and advanced me in a way that I don't know I would have had. ⁓ actually four years out of college, I was already a a director of human resources at a very young age.

And I attribute that to the training, mentoring, coaching support that I received as an intern ⁓ during the early ⁓ phases of of my career. And as I said, you mentioned junior achievement, which is an amazing organization. There are those workforce development agencies within cities that really are ⁓ serve the the community. They really are strategic workforce partners.

They're not just employment agencies. ⁓ they ⁓ work at the state and or local level through their workforce boards to focus on ⁓ training through some of them through American job centers. Also, ⁓ they again, as I said, partner with the private sector to identify untapped talent pools. And when you look at the data and statistics, a lot of the underemployed within cities or communities are between the ages of 18 to 26.

And so when you think about that, you know, that's an untapped resource. Those could be individuals who don't know don't may not know what they want to do. or may not have the means and the resources to get to the next, you know, to the next level. And so through those workforce agencies, they're able to support them in a way, connect them with training resources.

Some of them can subsidize workforce programs, which is really big for ⁓ employers. And again, it it varies city to city, town to town, village to village, but That's an opportunity to tap into a resource that is there. We pay for those resources through our tax dollars. So if you're a small business, a mid-sized business, tap into those private industry councils as a resource to help you with your business.

You're not alone and figuring out ⁓ talent solutions for your your your company. And you know, they really want to see. you thrive as a business because that in turn helps to grow ⁓ the economic base for that city. So I really encourage people to take advantage of it.

I know when I was in Washington, DC and I had a short stint with the DC ⁓ with DC government, I worked hand in hand ⁓ with the local workforce development agency. I was the ch one of the the senior executives over administrative services for the Department of Transportation. We did everything from streets, bridges, roads, traffic signals, you name it, everything related to the infrastructure within a city. I had a shortage of talent of skilled laborers and workers, frontline staff.

We worked to establish ⁓ infrastructure academy that would train That targeted age group on basic skills, that we could then also partner with the local community college to give them the classroom curriculum that they needed if it if the skill trade required certification. And then we built the apprenticeship program so that we could train them on the job. And I'm proud to say the apprenticeship program that I stood up while I was there. ⁓ which was recognized by the mayor, ⁓ those employees are still gamefully employed with the agency.

It takes that coordinated, concerted effort ⁓ to build a robust talent pipeline. and it can be done and replicated in any sector, manufacturing. There are tons of public-private partnerships supporting manufacturing jobs. ⁓ hospitality, their tons, which is a big area.

Many cities are interested in and creating training programs to support the hospitality industry. So if you're a small restaurant, small employer, we encourage you to take advantage to connect, to go to your local chambers of commerce, to go to the workforce development agency and find out they have specialists and trained individuals there that are interested in partnering partnering with you. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Yeah. So you talked about shortages.

⁓ that's such an interesting topic because you know, we talk about unemployment. We have so many people out there that are unemployed that do technically want careers and they get I mean, I feel like it's a double-edged sword, right? You have people that really want to work and find careers that have a hard time finding careers that are on unemployment. But then we have the workforce like restaurants, hospitality, where there are roles that can hire, but they have a hard time hiring.

I just feel there's such a huge gap between what the markets really need and what the people really want. You know, so it's like, how do you bridge that gap? Because we keep saying shortages, shortages, but there are people out there that technically could work and could fill these roles. So besides partnering with community agencies and workforce agencies, how do we really Bridge that gap.

You know, it's like it's such a double-edged sword because we keep saying there's a shortage here, but we know there's people out there, right? ⁓ so how do we bridge that gap and try to find the right talent to then talk about, which we're going to get into in just a minute, retaining them and showing them career pathways and helping them want to grow in that industry? You know, it's like they got to try something new sometimes, right? It's like no one would ever think.

⁓ well, I want a career as a restaurant. Actually, I gotta tell you a funny story. I'm gonna digress for a second. I had somebody on the show, and this was probably four months ago.

And now he's written books and he's a big consultant in the restaurant world. And he said to me, God, I thought if I stayed in the restaurant business when I'm 40 and I'm a manager, I really failed because that's a job that you do when you're in high school. And he said, And now I look back and I'm actually consulting people to have careers in the restaurant industry because they're so affluent and There's so much you can do with it. So, you know, talk to me about bridging that gap and, you know, why there are shortages and how we can be more successful with these partnerships.

Tia Plunkett-McQueen: I think again, it starts on the promotion end and in connecting on the education side, both at the secondary level ⁓ through through college. There are college programs that have high hospitality tracks that's great for management, but it doesn't really address the front line. And so there's an opportunity through the high schools, through you know, the middle schools to begin to tell the story. That attracts people to the hospitality industry.

You know, n when when we grew up, Michelle, which wasn't many moons ago, you know, it was always the focus on prepare for college. Prepare to go to college. Not everyone has either the means or the resources to go to college. And now we are in a situation.

Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Don't age us. Tia Plunkett-McQueen: And in and I don't want to discredit the benefits of going to the higher ed institution, a college or university. But now we're faced with students and number of students who've graduated and are suffering with student debt. There is a demand and a need for right frontline, yes, absolutely, skilled workers who Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: True.

Student debt is sh so bad. Tia Plunkett-McQueen: may get a trade, obtain a certification, who are making six figures. We don't tell that story. We do not tell that story well enough that there is a career path.

So it starts with that education and promotion. When you go to job fairs, you're seeing corporations on on the recruitment scene. You don't really see a lot of hospitality. corporations at job fairs promoting the benefits of Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Which is strange because not to cut you off, but it is so strange because in full service, our GM, they make six figures.

Your chefs make six figures. You know, you get into these big cities. I have some GMs that make more money than some professionals. I mean, you know, my son-in-law, who he just got out of I'm gonna pick on the the education field for just a minute, but You know, he has so much in student debt.

I mean, he came out, he's a doctor of pharmacy. He graduated with high honors. You know, he was pushing to do better for himself. He has this great education.

He comes out and he's not even making six figures his first year. I mean, now, of course, as he grows, he is, but he has so much debt that, you know, now I have GMs and I have chefs and I have people in the hospitality world that are six figures plus. that don't have that debt, that don't that haven't gone to school for six years. And it's it's just shows you how kind of upside down that whole perception is.

It's like, go to college, be a doctor to make all this money. But now you have people saying, Well, I can make that money and not have to come out owing seven hundred thousand dollars for school. Tia Plunkett-McQueen: And it and it's very true. ⁓ working in transportation and infrastructure, some of my skilled laborers were making six figures plus union scale.

And so their quality of life was amazing. there was, you know, micro credentials that they could obtain through certification programs. There were resources through the government. ⁓ the Federal Highway Administration, where if they wanted to go back to school, they could go back to school.

So again, when you look at some of the root causes, we have to be able to educate and have employers within the industry really discuss and promote the advantages of going into the industry. That means showing up at the events where they have an opportunity to talk to the students, sharing the benefits that many I know ⁓ hospitality industries ⁓ support in terms of continuing education and training and certification. So it's really again, it goes back to telling those stories and addressing, you know, some of the myths that people have about maybe working in the frontline.

I will share this. They they frontline work is hard work, all work is is hard work in every industry. Whether you're a professional sitting in my seat or you a professional such as your yourself as a CEO, a middle manager, a staff accountant, it is all hard work. So we've got to be able to tell the story, connect on the higher education and secondary level, build curriculum that really supports the pathway, create opportunities for scholarship funding, supporting.

⁓ maybe a a career path from entry to mid-level that it was with that's within a five year program that says, hey, you can start off here entry level and over five years through our training and support of you, you could be a, you know, an an entry level or mid-level manager. So there are things, those strategies have to ⁓ come to the front and Really, people that sit in my seat with employers, with large port employers in particular, have to be focused on those types of creative solutions.

And again, I go back to the public-private partnership connection with the fork force development agencies and looking at the professional networks. Yes, professional networks are well. That could be, yeah, absolutely. That could be a part of the public.

Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Professional networks. What what about professional networks next? Professional networks are well. Tia Plunkett-McQueen: private partnership where you do have those professional networks that can provide additional resources around mentoring and and career support.

It takes a holistic approach. You can't, as I said, you know, post hope and and pray that you're going to get the talent pool that you want. You have to be proactive and develop creative solutions to meet the niche and unique needs of your per particular industry. You know, when you think about some of the root causes, you know, but during COVID, we saw a whole workforce migration out of the hospitality industry industry, ⁓ which was, as you know, severely impacted.

So we have to get back to what's going to support, you know, communities and build that pipeline. Because here's the reality. The reality is without That workforce, you're gonna lose economic base within communities. What's driving people to cities, to restaurants?

You've got to have the workforce to serve the community. And without that, you see communities lose that economic base and they suffer. And so it's really a broader issue and involving. your local again agencies, ⁓ chambers of commerce will help ⁓ really support thriving ⁓ communities and most importantly a thriving workforce.

So it's it's really looking at that holistically. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: So yeah. Before we run out of time, I I really want to touch just a couple minutes on retention and culture and growth because we're talking so much about hiring and strategy and solutions to get folks and candidates into the pipeline. But once we hire them, let's talk about retention because that's a big one.

you know, we talk to companies and they're like, ⁓ now we have turnover. Tia Plunkett-McQueen: Mm-hmm. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: So, you know, they're coming in the front, but they can't close that back door. You know, they're coming in the front and out the back.

So let's talk about retention, why employees decide to stay or leave, because I'm going to tap on your little HR hat now. and what role culture does play in retention. So now we we're training, we hired, we're talking about career growth. So let's talk about retention and culture.

Tia Plunkett-McQueen: Mm-hmm. Absolutely. I think part of the culture ⁓ within ⁓ the hospitality industry or in in the corporate industry has to be intentional. You have to be able to communicate what the norms and expectations are for employee employees.

And then you gotta walk the walk. You can't be performative. You really have to if you say you care about employees, you've got to show it. You've got to be able to show it in fair and and equitable and transparent pay.

You have to be able to show it through your compensation ⁓ strategy in terms of how you ⁓ reward and and recognize your talent. You really have to be intentional. And I and I and I will share, you know, through tons of exit interviews that I that I've reviewed and so forth. People leave organizations, yes, for money, but also for because of the culture.

⁓ bad management, bad supervision. And so if you invest in those key elements, the rewards are are are great. When people love working in an environment where they feel motivated, where they feel inspired, And that recognizes them for the good work that they do. So whether that's through earn, you know, as you learn ⁓ initiatives that help support the development and the career director trajectory of a worker, you've got to you've got to be really creative in this environment because it's number one, it's competitive.

Number two, because of the shortage. You have to be creative. You have to make those investments. And sometimes it's it's hard ⁓ because of the cost of labor, because of the cost of turnover.

But making those investments are a huge benefit for employers. And there are other incentives through the work opportunity tax credit. So if you're hiring people that fall within the work opportunity. ⁓ WOTC tax credit ⁓ guidelines, there's some employer incentives for you.

But that means if you get a work opportunity ⁓ candidate, you've got to train them. You've got there's an investment that you have to put into that individual. So the onboarding is critically important ⁓ in the process. You know that.

Taking the time to onboard somebody correctly helping them to understand the the norms, the expectations, the policies. Good training is so critical to success in a frontline ⁓ industry that that services the public. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Yeah, it's funny you brought up training. ⁓ I was actually gonna talk about training in just a couple minutes, but one of the things that I'm doing this week, and I don't even know if you know this, I'm actually speaking at a Toastmasters workshop convention.

And my segment is on education and talking about helping professionals find their voice and public speaking and leadership and communication. And one of the pieces and one of the slides that I have is all about Clarity and communication, because you know you have to have the vision and you have to be able to communicate because communication is so key as a leader. And I really feel especially in the restaurant business, that we have a lot of general managers that are not great communicators, they're not good delegators.

⁓ and you know, it's very hard for them to do their jobs if the ownership doesn't communicate very well to the general manager level, and the general manager level doesn't communicate very well. To the servers and the bartenders and the front line because who ultimately touches your guest? The front line. You know, so an owner doesn't really touch the guest.

The owner relies on the steps below them in order to touch the guest to have the best experience and have the overall wow, you know, experience they want them to leave with that emotional connection. So communication is all about influence and teaching your people and training your people to be able to do that in your industry, whether it's the front line, whether it's hospitality, whatever it is, is so key to the success of retaining, ⁓ keeping the culture where it is, and then of course, developing your work staff in in any industry.

So such a key piece. Tia Plunkett-McQueen: Absolutely, at the management ⁓ level, I would concur with that. And then making sure you have a robust performance accountability system that's tied to compensation and rewards so they understand measurably what's expected of them as leaders around those important elements that keep a thriving and engaged workforce retained. And so it all has to marry together and align in a way that keeps the the workforce again engaged, enthusiastic about coming to work, that they have clarity in terms of their career path and trajectory, ⁓ and that they feel good about their job and the contribution that they're making.

There are people who are service-minded, who love what they do, they love serving others. Those individuals exist. And so once you have someone like this, like that who does it well, exceptionally well, you have to create an environment where they feel rewarded and recognized for what they do and that they're respected for what they do. And sometimes that does not happen in service frontline areas.

It pays when you build the infrastructure within your company. And that you have the management who is effective at leading the frontline staff that, you know, really benefits ⁓ both the employee and the employer. You taking time to build that infrastructure is important. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: So I would love to know a little bit about what you think the future of hospitality hiring looks like.

Because I mean, that's like the million-dollar question, right? If you looked in a magic ball and you said, okay, what do you think hospitality hiring is going to look like? What do you think operators should start to pay attention to? Is there a trend that you're seeing?

And what do you think the workforce is going to look like in the next three to five years? I mean, I'm nervous about it. I mean, look now at AI and what Technology is doing to every industry. It's phasing people out.

But the restaurant business is all about people. It's about experience. I don't think the human touch will change. What I am so concerned about is finding the employees that are going to be able to still stay in the restaurant industry to be able to serve our guests and to be able to continue those amazing experiences and the emotional connection.

An emotional connection doesn't happen with a robot. I mean, you know, you see so many restaurants now hiring robots, whether they're cooking or they're serving food or they're delivering food, there's no emotional connection. So, you know, that's my fear that one day what everybody loves about the restaurant industry and loves about hospitality hopefully isn't gonna go away because you now have a robot, you know, or somebody that doesn't have that emotional connection. So what do you think, you know, what's the world gonna look like in three to five years from hiring?

Tia Plunkett-McQueen: I think technology is going to have a huge impact in terms of the hospitality industry. So we have to think about what that looks like and how our workforce is going to be impacted. So I think, you know, focusing on upskilling as a retention and competitive edge strategy it is is going to become a a very critical training ⁓ issue for for employers. I think also, you know, addressing, as I said earlier, re f re really reframing hospitality careers and again, demonstrating narratively, you know, what the career progression and leadership pathways are.

If somebody wants to get into the the hospitality industry, what are the transferable skills that would result in someone being successful? You heard me mention the training investment. You gotta make that investment. Have to make that training investment.

And, you know, again, ⁓ I think connecting through the public-private partnerships, the shortage is there, it's going to continue to exist. You know, closing the skill gap is it will continue to be challenging. You know, the demand is where it is. in in the frontline workforce industries, it's been that way for the past 20, you know, 20 years.

That's why we have a shortage of air traffic controllers, which is a frontline role. And so again, we've got to step back, build the partnerships. I think the outlook will continue to be shortages because of technology, AI, and so forth. So we got to step back for that.

There will still be a need and demand for frontline service workers. It's really attracting, ⁓ And working with ⁓ the h school systems and so forth to build that timeline. I don't think the shortage challenges will will will change. I think they will continue to persist over the next couple of years, but we have to be adapta Yeah.

Right, right. So we have to be adaptable ⁓ and understand with the onset of tech technology, AI, robots or whatever. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: I think they could I really think they could get worse too. Right, right.

Tia Plunkett-McQueen: you know, what will be the roads or roles that will exist because AI can't do everything. I mean, or robots can't do everything, and really begin to think about what is the upskill strategy for for for workers and so forth. ⁓ people like the human connection, the human touch. And as long as you know, people, you know, want to continue to have that type of personalized experience.

I think, you know, the need for, you know, workers will always be there. It's just what the role is. I think it's yet to be defined. ⁓ in the interim, while we are are are moving ahead and and AI is it and technology is advancing, we still should be reaching out to establish and reframe the importance of the hospitality industry.

and what careers you can have. Telling that story I think is critically important. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Yeah. So you're never gonna believe this, but our show is coming to the end.

I told you it was gonna happen. Every week I do this show, but every week I always say, How did 40 minutes go by already? But before we end the show, I always end with lightning round questions. Quick one-word answers of what you think as an expert in this field.

So I'm gonna I'm gonna shoot off some questions for you and I wanna see what you think. All right. One thing, one thing you think every employer should fix today. Tia Plunkett-McQueen: So quick.

Let's go. Absolutely. Culture. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Agreed.

⁓ biggest hiring mistake. Tia Plunkett-McQueen: Hiring fast. I always say hire slow, fire fast. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Hiring thing.

I knew you were gonna say that. Hire fan. Yeah. ⁓ one benefit employees actually care about.

Tia Plunkett-McQueen: Benefit. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Culture or pay? What do you think matters most to an employee? Pay.

Tia Plunkett-McQueen: Pay people want to be pay an equitable wage, a sustainable wage, where if they work at a restaurant that's in the inner c that's in the city, that they could perhaps live in the city and walk to work. But what happens is service workers can't afford to live in the city and they have to live in the outskirts. So they have to they have huge commutes, they have to pay for transportation. services so a living wage where people can sustain in a community that they can live, eat, work and play.

And that's not always the case. That wasn't a one word response, but I had to get that out there. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Okay. So for everybody listening, of course, you know where to reach me.

DMs are always open on Instagram. You can reach me through LinkedIn, restaurantdeva.com. ⁓ we're always looking for amazing guests and great topics.

I mean, as you can see, I've been doing this a year and I'm bringing on so many incredible people with so much knowledge ⁓ that can just add to to everybody listening to the show, no matter what field you work in, it's not just hospitality and restaurants. And Tia, it's been So amazing catching up with you and seeing your beautiful face again. It's been way too long and you need to give Blair a hug and we got we have to get the girls together. It's been so long.

I know. And for everybody listening, if they have questions for you, where can they find you if they want to send an email or reach out for some additional support? Tia Plunkett-McQueen: Way too long. Absolutely.

They can connect me ⁓ via LinkedIn and via email. I'm happy to share my email. It's McQueenTK8 at gmail.com.

I'm happy to answer any questions from today's session. And when it's posted, ⁓ you can put my contact information if people have additional questions, particularly on on connecting with their local workforce development agencies. I feel like it's an untapped resource in in in many cities. So Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: And is there one thing that you want to leave everybody with today as a closing that the listeners can take away to build stronger teams or to help with their hiring shortages?

I mean, what would you like everybody to take away from today's show? Tia Plunkett-McQueen: I would really, you know, I really would encourage, particularly people who sit in similar seats as myself, you gotta lean in. There, you've got to lean in. If you care about the industry you're in, the workforce that you're supporting, you really have to think outside of the box in this environment, in this ⁓ you know, state of shortages across industries and be creative.

You know, connect in a different way. All solutions don't won't exist or live within the confines of your organization or company. You've really have to stretch yourself. And when you are able to connect people with job opportunities who may not have had opportunities to have a career path or trajectory.

⁓ within a within a community. It's really rewarding. I've seen it happen firsthand, as I mentioned, through the apprenticeship program. You can you have the ability to change lives.

⁓ so I would just encourage people to stretch themselves and really think about the possibilities of what you can do by connecting with your local community through those partnerships. Michele DiMeo Restaurant Diva: Well, amazing information. Once again, ⁓ that's another episode of Dine and Dish. And Tia, thank you so much for coming on and being my guest.

And as you heard, Tia, and I'll say it again, great hospitality starts with great people. And you need to hire slow and hire strong, build your culture, make sure you're training, rewarding. It's so important that you work through your people and with your people and support your people. And it's nice, especially in the restaurant business, to say we've been here.

My God, I've been working with Janara almost 20 years now. And some of our employees have been with us 20 plus years. I mean, Steve, who helps me produce the show, he's been with us since he's been 18 years old. And I'm not going to tell you how old Steve is anymore.

And he's probably listening going, But you know what? It starts with great people, and great people don't happen by accident. So ⁓ support your people, reach out to your local communities. And as Tia said, Talk to schools.

There's so many people out there that are looking low-hanging fruit that you can bring on, develop, and support your business. So Tia, thank you as always. Big hugs. Give Blair a big hug from us.

And ⁓ I'll talk to you soon. And that's another episode of Dine and Dish. Good night, everybody. Bye.

Tia Plunkett-McQueen: Thank thank you, Michelle. Good night.