The most pressing challenge for foodservice operators is labor, even amid rising food and goods costs. Foodservice operators are leaning towards training and development as a way to ease these concerns.
Datassential surveyed 1,000 consumers and 350 operators.
Among the notable findings from the operator survey:
- Compared to two years ago, operators are more likely to point to training as the most important investment to improve speed of service. In 2024, 37% of operators cited training as the most important piece, compared to 23% in 2022. What’s been falling in importance? Recruiting more people, which was the preferred path for 28% of operators in 2024 versus 40% in 2022.
- Interest in investing in automation has held steady, with 21% of respondents in 2024 saying automation would be their preferred way to improve labor costs compared to 22% two years ago.
- The report found that 43% of operators said the perceptions of foodservice jobs as dead-end jobs makes finding hourly workers harder. One solution Datassential offered operators was highlighting advancement opportunities and celebrating employees who work their way up to help change this narrative.
Turning to the consumer survey, when it came to c-stores, 28% rated service as a “huge part of the experience,” and another 41% rated it as moderately important, with 31% of respondents saying it doesn’t matter.
Service at QSRs was perceived as more important by consumers, with 33% saying it was a huge part and 48% saying it was moderately important.
Consumers overall were feeling good about the level of service at QSRs, with only 18% saying it was poor or okay—the same percentage that said it was excellent. Meanwhile, only 14% of respondents said service at QSRs was declining, compared to 24% who said it was improving.