Would Your Executives Fry Chicken?

According to Bloomberg, a fast-food chain is asking corporate staff to fry chicken, sweep floors, operate cash registers, and recruit in its restaurants amid an industrywide labor shortage.

Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, which has more than 500 locations in the USA, recently dispersed half of its corporate staff into restaurants.  Senior vice presidents were among the staff to be deployed.

The company is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and currently has 40,000 workers.  Thanks to its success, it has a massive expansion plan for 2022.

AJ Kumaran, co-CEO, said, “Today’s hiring market is a challenge.  Ahead of our massive growth next year, having the support we need is critical. We are all in this together.”

While some business owners are blaming staffing woes on a lack of the desire to work and ridiculously high unemployment benefits, workers disagree.  They say they don’t need to take low-paying jobs in such a competitive labor market.

Jill, What Can I Do?  Get creative. If your business model allows for this, follow in Raising Cane’s footsteps – deploy Corporate staffers to the field. Also, loosen your recruiting and hiring requirements. Take a chance on someone who failed a drug test, has a criminal record, is an older worker or veteran, or who has never performed the job you are hiring for. And once you get workers in the door, what’s the best way to keep them? Create an amazing workplace culture that meets people’s needs. You’ve got this.