Staff shortages in hospitality: how to build a strong catering team and keep it long term

Why do temporary staff leave after two events when the pay was fine?

They leave when time, place, and task become clear only in the car park.

A briefing that arrives in the kitchen costs the night. In Cater.Work the instruction sits on the role and is readable before the shift. After a yes, the person sees colleagues, place, and files.

The office rates each role. The crew does not see that score. Internal notes stay on the profile and do not enter the app.

Someone who works for several companies sees one list once each company has invited them. They do not see jobs from a company that never invited them. A company’s pool stays that company’s pool.

How does a new person join the pool without an open signup?

Only an invite link or an email from the company creates the profile. There is no public registration.

The link lasts until the company renews it. The old link then dies. Addresses can be typed or taken from a CSV or Excel file. People already on the team are skipped.

The person picks roles in the application. The company approves or rejects it. That approval sits between registration and profile edits.

Starter holds up to twelve team members. Pro and Enterprise have no team cap. The cap is people, not events.

What keeps the roster stable when several events fall on the same night?

Availability, absence, and the block on double booking keep a person on one shift.

The weekly plan lists regular hours per weekday, including past midnight. Leave or illness blocks assignment in that window. An accepted shift blocks a second overlapping one.

Open slots go only to people with the matching role and free time. The event shows missing seats and open applications. The office can invite or assign directly.

Statuses are applied, invited, accepted, and declined. A cancellation opens the seat at once. The next free match sees it without a mail to the whole pool.

Which report exists today, and which does not yet?

Check-in and check-out exist on Enterprise. The hours list built from them is still in progress.

The person records the real start and end in the app. The office sees those stamps on the shift. A finished list per person and month does not exist yet.

For accounting, today’s roster is enough: who was planned and who worked. Cater.Work does not file social-security registrations.

The printable report lists times, place, customer, special needs, files, and names. It is not payroll. It is the record the office can send to the accountant.

Why good employees really leave

Pay is often named as the main reason for resignations. In practice, employees rarely leave only because of a few euros more per hour.

They mainly leave chaos, constant stress, and unclear communication. When a service team member arrives at an event without knowing the schedule or who is leading the team, frustration builds quickly.

Nobody enjoys working in an environment where everything has to be improvised. Companies that fix this gain a major advantage over competitors.

Strategy 1: transparent communication from day one

Clarity is the foundation of a motivated team. Temporary staff and permanent employees need to know early when and where they are scheduled.

Constant changes in chaotic WhatsApp groups or paper rosters inevitably create misunderstandings.

Digital and central solutions create reliability. When staff can see shifts, briefings, and updates directly on their phones, you show professionalism and remove uncertainty before the next assignment.

Strategy 2: smooth onboarding for new team members

Catering often relies on temporary staff and students. People who start their first shift without a clear role rarely come back for a second one.

Meeting point, dress code, staff entrance, and menu belong in a fixed briefing, not in a spoken instruction at the counter.

People who do not have to guess on the first evening remember the company. That is how follow-up shifts happen.

Strategy 3: appreciation through excellent organization

Appreciation is not only expressed through praise at the end of the evening. It is especially visible in preparation.

When logistics are well planned, service staff do not have to improvise under pressure. When the kitchen knows exactly how many special meals are needed, stress at the pass is reduced.

When preparation holds, the team measures the evening by the guests, not by the mishaps. That is the kind of appreciation people still talk about after the shift.

The path to a loyal talent pool

When you implement these points, people will enjoy working with you. Even more, they will recommend you to friends and colleagues.

Over time, you build a reliable pool of skilled professionals and helpers that you can draw from more calmly for larger jobs.

Sources

• Staff shortages, German Hotel and Restaurant Association

  The German hotel and restaurant association describes the staff shortage in hospitality.

• Hospitality and tourism, German Federal Statistical Office

  The German federal statistics office publishes the figures for hospitality.