The restaurant industry, including delivery, has experienced significant staffing challenges since 2020. Many restaurants and RDSs have struggled to hire and retain good employees, which leads to other issues running the business. This may include providing consistent service, maintaining your operating hours, and more.

However, many restaurants and RDSs have found creative and effective ways to find and keep great workers. Your RDS can borrow these strategies to create a more stable employee base, even when the hiring market is tough.

Here are four ideas for recruiting and retaining good RDS employees:

Be intentional about pay and benefits.

You simply can’t be competitive in the employment market without offering a competitive wage. Do a little research and see what similar jobs in your area are offering. Make sure you’re matching or beating them. And don’t hesitate to get creative. Can you offer regular bonuses? What about profit sharing?

Of course, you can’t replace a good paycheck with other benefits. But additional benefits can give you a real advantage over your competitors. What else can you offer? Flexible scheduling? A consistent schedule or hours? A healthcare stipend? 

Find more ideas here > 

Get creative about recruiting.

Think beyond the traditional hiring pipelines. Where can you connect with people looking for work? Local colleges and universities are a great place to start, as are community centers. These groups often help people with job training and placement opportunities. You can be part of that. You might even consider offering to speak at one of these programs. It’s a great way to meet people and get your RDS’s name out there.

You might also consider a generous employee referral bonus. Get your employees involved with recruitment by turning it into an opportunity to score a little extra cash.

Talk to your current employees—and don’t take them for granted.

The people who work for you now are an excellent source of intel on the current employment market. They can also offer you pretty valuable insight into what it’s like to work for you. Don’t be afraid to ask! What do they like about the work? What do they not like? What would incentivize them to stick around? Who are the other good employers in town? You might consider collecting this information anonymously via Google Forms or something similar. And be prepared with a thick skin! It’s not always easy to get feedback, but it’s important. If you understand what they don’t like, you can change it. If you understand what they do like, you can leverage that to hire more people.

More importantly, don’t take your current employees for granted. These people are your most valuable assets. Make sure you’re taking care of them. Offer training and advancement opportunities, and ask them what they want. Otherwise, many won’t hesitate to go elsewhere.

Make it easier for your workers to do their jobs.

No one likes a needlessly complex task, especially in a high-speed environment like the restaurant industry. Investing in good technology can make even the most stressful parts of the day easier for your workers.

For restaurant delivery services, this means excellent restaurant delivery software. DataDreamers is packed with features designed to make things easier, safer, and more efficient for your RDS. This includes:

• A fast routing tool that finds the most efficient route between your driver’s different stops.
• Hands-free notifications so drivers can keep their eyes on the road.
• A carefully engineered communications dashboard so you don’t lose track of messages from restaurants, drivers, and customers.

DataDreamers was built by restaurant delivery service industry veterans who know what a good system looks like. And with transparent pricing, you can enjoy these user-friendly tools without the fear of a hefty surprise bill.

Learn more about how DataDreamers supports RDS owners and workers. Schedule a demo >

The post Four Restaurant Industry Hiring Tips you can Borrow appeared first on Datadreamers.

The busy season for restaurant delivery starts in September, but things tend to really ramp up when temperatures drop. People want the luxury and experience of a restaurant meal without venturing into the cold themselves.

This is great news for your restaurant delivery service (RDS), since it means steady business. But this spike in demand can also be a little daunting, given the hiring challenges of recent years. Finding really excellent delivery drivers can be tough.

That’s why we wrote up this brief guide to hiring the best candidates. Here are five non-negotiables to look for when making hiring decisions:

A reliable car.

This may seem obvious. But it can be surprisingly easy to simply forget to ask a candidate about a car! And some people will apply for every single job opening they find, regardless of qualifications. So make sure you verify this right away, or you could end up hiring someone without their own set of wheels by accident.

A decent sense of direction.

You don’t need to be an orienteering expert to follow GPS directions. But you don’t want a driver who totally loses their cool in the event of an unplanned detour or traffic jam. Ideally, you’ll hire someone who knows the area well enough to keep a cool head and adapt if they get turned around. Otherwise, you may find yourself fielding a lot of panicky phone calls from a driver who can’t handle even a minor setback.

Basic common sense.

Any delivery driver worth their salt will know better than to put a smoothie next to piping-hot pho in the car. Unfortunately, not everyone will be that logical. Some folks will set a ten-piece coffee order on the floor of the car and take off without securing them first! Common sense and basic problem-solving skills aren’t always easy to screen for. But it’s worth doing what you can to make sure you’re hiring people with enough horse sense to make good decisions on the job.

Reliability.

Thankfully, this one’s pretty easy to screen for. Did they show up to their interviews on time and prepared for the conversation? Do they answer emails and texts in a timely manner? If yes, you’ve probably got a pretty reliable person on your hands, and you can count on them to show up for work.

A good attitude.

Remember, when someone orders delivery, the only human being they’re going to interact with is the delivery driver. The driver is representing both the restaurant and your RDS, so a good impression is critical. You don’t need to hire a whole team of Pollyannas or Leslie Knopes, of course! But a friendly, polite, and generally pleasant person makes for a great delivery driver.

Other tips for hiring restaurant delivery service drivers

A while back, we partnered with a successful RDS owner to write an article on his go-to hiring strategies for drivers. He talked about where to look for candidates, how to handle the interview process, and more. Read the article here > 

As you head into the hustle and bustle of the busy season, a team of excellent drivers isn’t the only key to success. Great restaurant delivery software gives you access to streamlined tools to manage every step of the delivery process. DataDreamers makes it easy for:

• Your restaurant clients to edit their menus.
• Your drivers to receive messages and orders safely while on the road.
• Your customers to place large orders and track when their food will arrive.
• You to oversee the entire process without having to toggle between a dozen different screens.

DataDreamers was built by experienced food delivery pros who understand what it takes to run a successful RDS. To see the tool in action, schedule a demo >

The post How to Hire Good Restaurant Delivery Service Drivers for the Winter? appeared first on Datadreamers.

In the restaurant delivery business, busy season runs from September to May. In other words, if you’ve been lamenting a slow summer, get ready: Things are about to ramp up!

Many businesses with seasonal fluctuations adjust their staffing accordingly, and you might be preparing to do the same. Hiring a few extra delivery drivers around early September is a great way to prepare for the restaurant delivery busy season.

Of course, it’s no secret that hiring can be tough these days. Competition is fierce, and workers have a lot of options. So how do you go about hiring delivery drivers for the restaurant delivery busy season? Here are a few strategies to consider.

Be strategic about pay rate.

This may seem obvious, but the first step to good hiring is offering a competitive rate of pay. Do a little research to see what other employers in your area are offering. If you can’t at least match your competition, it’s going to be harder to find delivery drivers.

Don’t be afraid to get creative with how you pay. Restaurant delivery pay can be unpredictable, and some of the big players are changing their payment strategy to account for that. You might run the numbers on whether it makes sense for you to offer hourly pay as well. You might also consider offering your drivers a “guaranteed minimum.” For example, you might promise $1200 of pay if they do 100 deliveries in a single week.

Offer a retention incentive.

Sometimes, hiring a good driver is just the first step. You also have to keep them.

We’ve written before about a restaurant chain that offered a $1000 retention bonus to anyone who stayed on for at least six months. You could offer something similar. If you hire drivers on a seasonal basis, you might reach out to former drivers and offer a returning bonus. This can save you a lot of time, since they won’t need much training.

Explore affordable benefits.

There are lots of creative benefits you can offer that don’t have to cost much. That restaurant we mentioned gives all their staff a $50 monthly stipend for health-related expenses. Workers can use that money for gym memberships, running shoes, massages—the possibilities are endless.

Since you’re hiring drivers, you can also offer benefits related to car maintenance. You might consider:

• Giving out gas gift cards every month.
• Reimbursing your drivers for oil changes.
• Paying for new wipers every year.

Consider more serious benefits for your restaurant food delivery drivers.

Of course, you can always investigate the possibility of more serious benefits, such as:

• Health benefits or insurance.
• A 401k matching plan.
• Paid time off.

These benefits can be more expensive, but they’re also very unusual for this type of job. If you can find a way to make it work, it can give you a major competitive advantage.

Keep in mind, if your restaurant food delivery drivers are independent contractors, you may not be able to offer these benefits. Do your research!

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Don’t forget, an important part of hiring is offering a good, safe work environment. DataDreamers is a restaurant delivery software built with driver safety in mind. The driver app uses audio notifications to keep drivers informed without distracting them from the task at hand. And if they need to call the customer or the restaurant, they can do so with just one tap.

From a good work environment to an excellent delivery experience, DataDreamers was designed to help your RDS succeed. Schedule a demo to see it in action >

The post How to Hire Restaurant Food Delivery Drivers for the Busy Season? appeared first on Datadreamers.

These days, the headlines seem to be packed with stories about restaurant delivery drivers being underpaid. Many report being unable to earn a living. Some have started only accepting deliveries to wealthy neighborhoods, where generous tipping is more likely.

The Big 3 have found themselves in hot water before for not paying their drivers enough. However, the problem these days appears to be low tipping, which is out of any restaurant delivery service’s (RDS) control.

The employment crisis that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed workers’ expectations regarding compensation. Many people are simply unwilling to work for what they deem to be inadequate pay. An RDS that can’t meet those expectations may really struggle to recruit and retain drivers.

Thankfully, there are several ways to approach this issue and remain competitive as an employer, regardless of tipping trends. Here are five different strategies to consider:

Pay your delivery drivers by the hour.

Many RDSs pay per delivery. But if business is slow and tips are low, this can lead to a pretty disappointing payday. If you pay by the hour, they have guaranteed income every shift, which makes budgeting much easier. This makes big tip days very exciting and bad tip days manageable, if disappointing. 

Offer a guaranteed tip.

You might consider guaranteeing your drivers a certain size of tip for every order, even if that means paying it yourself. For example, you might guarantee an 18% tip. If the customer tips the full 18%, then you’re off the hook. However, if the customer only tips 10%, you pay the driver the extra 8% yourself. (Needless to say, if the customer tips over the guaranteed amount, the driver keeps every penny!)

If this idea makes you nervous, consider adjusting your prices or delivery fees to make sure you can cover it.

Train your drivers on best practices that earn higher tips.

You can’t control the individual tipping habits of any single customer. But there are certain extra touches that often prompt food delivery customers to tip a little more generously. This includes:

• Bringing extras of things like condiments and sauces—and mentioning it to the customer. “I threw some extra ketchups in there for you!” is all it takes to show extra effort.
• Keeping customers updated. Many customers appreciate regular status updates, such as “Leaving the restaurant now!” or “Slight traffic delay, sorry!” Of course, teach your drivers only to send these messages when it’s safe to do so!
• Using designated insulated bags to keep hot food hot and cold food cold—and hot and cold foods separated. No one wants a melted smoothie or lukewarm pizza. Good delivery hygiene means good tips. Drivers might even carry orders to the door still in the bag, to show their extra effort.
• Smiling! Friendliness goes a long way. A cheerful delivery driver could very easily find themselves with a few extra bucks at the end of the night.

Of course, none of these tips guarantee anything. But they can add up in the form of extra dollars in your drivers’ pocket.

Consider mileage reimbursement for delivery drivers.

Not all of the Big 3 reimburse their drivers for mileage and vehicle use. Offering mileage reimbursement can give you a competitive edge and soothe your drivers’ anxieties about that particular expense. Another option is to give regular gas gift cards.

Offer additional creative perks.

There are many, many creative ways to attract new employees, even when hiring is tough. Check out this article about exactly how one small restaurant group hired 64 people in just four weeks, during a labor shortage.

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DataDreamers is proud to offer cutting-edge restaurant delivery software designed with the customer in mind. With DataDreamers, you can create a top-quality delivery experience that’ll leave even the stingiest customers feeling generous. Between easy communication with drivers, split pay options, and other great features, DataDreamers never disappoints.

To see DataDreamers in action, schedule a demo >

The post Creative Ideas for Compensating Restaurant Delivery Service Drivers appeared first on Datadreamers.