How To Find Restaurant Staff Who Actually Want to Work

Written by Andrew Scott | Sep 15, 2025 1:47:23 AM

Hiring for restaurants has never been easy, but today’s labor challenges feel like an endless uphill battle - unless you know what’s really going on.

In this episode of Restaurant Growth Accelerator, Andrew Scott (Founder of OwnerShift) and Dave Doyle (Success Director at OwnerShift) share why top restaurant owners never struggle to find employees - while everyone else does. 

Spoiler alert: It’s not about luck.

 

They dive into:

✅ The most common hiring mistakes that repel good candidates (without realizing it)

✅ How job ads are actually marketing tools

✅ Why treating interviews like sales conversations will land you better talent

✅ The two worst times of year to hire… and how to plan ahead

 

Plus hear a breakdown of the shocking cost of hiring the wrong people. 

 

Key moments:

00:01:40 Today's approach needs to change

00:03:00 Most job ads make this mistake

00:05:30 Low pay attracts "leftovers" 

00:08:30 Your job title must sell the click

00:13:00 It costs this much to train one new employee

00:16:20 Avoid vibe-based hiring

00:21:30 What to ask candidates

00:26:40 Rank candidates as A, B, or C players

00:34:00 Reference checks 

00:38:50 Never hire in desperation

00:45:40 Hire before peak seasons 

 

If you’re tired of bad hires, constant turnover, and feeling like “nobody wants to work anymore,” this episode will change the way you think about hiring forever.

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These proven strategies could transform your restaurant's bottom line.

Listen On Apple Podcasts

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✅ About Us ✅

The Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast is hosted by Andrew Scott - founder of OwnerShift Training.

Andrew successfully scaled his restaurant business to 4 locations while working a handful of hours each week. He’s since helped over 1000 restaurant owners increase their sales, profits, and free time - and he’d love to help you too.