Covid NSW: Catering boss offers incentives to address staff shortage

Catering company owner Steve Sidd is offering cash incentives, shorter working weeks and even paying for Ubers in a bid to employ staff following the Covid shutdown.

From cash incentives to paying for Ubers and accommodation, offering employee share plans and even a four day working week – Steve Sidd is doing everything in his power to attract the 130 new staff he needs to get his business through the busy Christmas period.

Mr Sidd has run Catering HQ for 25 years, operating more than 50 dining spaces across 11 NSW venues including Pittwater RSL and Club Parramatta – and says while he’s retained his 300 staff through the Covid shutdown, like so much of the battered industry, his quest for extra hands is dire.

Terri Charlton, a functions co-ordinator, with Steve Sidd, of Catering HQ, who is desperately trying to find new staff. Picture: Justin Lloyd

“I think there’s a combination of reasons we can’t find staff and one of them obviously is they’re still sitting at home, getting paid by the government,” he told The Saturday Telegraph.

“The other is the industry used to be flooded with international visitors, travellers and people on student visas – and they’re just not around anymore.

“Also people’s attitudes are changing – lockdowns and Covid have changed priorities, so they are coming to us and saying they don’t want to work nights or weekends but that’s sometimes 70 per cent of our turnover.”

He said another issue was that potential employees know they are in demand, so are pitting establishments against each other for higher salaries — a station cook which would have once attracted a starting salary of $60,000, he said was now demanding more than $90,000.

“And that’s just not sustainable for those businesses,” Mr Sidd said.

“It’s almost like they’ve got a gun to our head, bartering their wages between different employers – they know employers are desperate, and the industry is desperate.

“My venues aren't that small corner restaurant so we’re okay – but for those small restaurants to open, they need wait staff, they need chefs – and they are paying through the roof for them.

“I’m quite confident that those restaurants will not be able to sustain those wages, and they’ll be closing because that’s the pressure people are under to try to open their restaurants at the moment.”

To fill his 130-person void of full-time and part-time roles for both front and back of house, Mr Sidd is offering $100 Visa card incentives for employees that refer staff to work with Catering HQ, as well as employee share plans for key managers and chefs – something he said had been a popular attraction.

“That’s not heard of in our industry, to give a piece of the pie for our key employees and we offer career progression – there’s longevity and a future with our company, so I’m sharing that profit share with my staff so that we can retain them,” he said.

“We are also offering a four day working week with three days off, free personal financial advice by CommBank for all employees that work exclusively for Catering HQ, free traineeships, on the job training with a registered RTO – and multiple courses such as Cert III, IV, Diploma and Advanced Diploma. He said he’d heard of other employers offering cash bonuses of up to $20,000 to get key staff to commit.

Pittwater RSL functions co-ordinator Terri Charlton who is helping out in the restaurant because of staff shortages. Picture: Justin Lloyd

“We are even paying for Uber to transport staff, short term accommodation for our regional sites, meal allowances and bonuses for those that need to reside away from home short term.

“We are doing everything in our power to get through these tough times, however all of the above is also a significant financial strain just to keep our doors open.

“I am very passionate about our industry and I want to support our amazing hospitality industry which is in current dire straits at the moment.”

Last year Catering HQ spend $16,000 with Seek – this year he got a new 12-month membership and used most of it in just one month.

“We’ve got ads everywhere – I’m using Seek, Indeed, Bar Cats, Gumtree, I’ve got a recruitment agency looking, I’m using an agency staff – we have to – our venues are really busy and we just don’t have the resources to cope with those numbers,” he said.

“People are coming, but it’s a slow burn – I feel I take one step forward and three steps back because we will get people and they’ll get a better offer.

“It’s scary because we’re busy already and we’re only going to get busier.

“This is a tough industry and you’re either made for it or you’re not, and those who are live and breathe it, and it’s important that we all will get through it together.”

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