Staffing Shortages Affect Sacramento Businesses, Particularly In Service Professions
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Staffing shortages are impacting businesses in the Sacramento area and it isn't an overnight fix for restaurants and hotels that are actively hiring to get back to being fully staffed. The service and hospitality industries in Sacramento are faced with an employee shortage and compete for new hires in the pool of talent available. However, it's not enough and teams have learned to be flexible and take on new roles.
"Staffing is definitely been a challenge, getting employees to come and actually stick around with us has been kind of hard," said Tyler Dewittie, Director of Sales and Marketing at The Exchange.
The Exchange opened the last week of September, right before the city calendar started to pick up and crowds came to town. They are set to be sold out by the weekend – an unusual milestone for a hotel in its first two weeks of business.
"I don't think anything's been typical so far, but this is very not typical we're going back to back to back with the events that we have," said Dewittie. Hiring and keeping employees has become a challenge for The Exchange – this is not a unique experience.
Thaddeus Johnson, owner at Streets Pub and Grub, couldn't speak on camera because of staffing shortages – it's his job to stay open, and so, he's doing the work. In a statement to CBS13, he detailed the 3-month search for cooks that continues today. He explained that interviewees often say they'll come to meet, but end up not showing up for their interviews.
Johnson said he closed during the peak of the pandemic four times and wants to avoid having to do it again.
Ultimately, businesses are having to get creative to recruit within the same talent pool – and that includes using social media. Instead of traditional job websites, some businesses, like The Exchange, are taking open positions and posting them where potential new employees are more likely to see and engage.