2. Technology’s other labor impact
Technology has sparked debate about machines replacing restaurant crewmembers and eliminating gads of jobs. At FSTEC, the discussion shifted to the impact on headquarters hiring. Are chains making a mistake if they don’t add data analysts to the support team ASAP?
“Before, you couldn’t afford an analyst,” said Jim Balis, CEO of the Norms Restaurants chain. “Now you can’t afford not to have an analyst.”
Not every speaker agreed. Gala Capital Partners, a company that operates franchised and proprietary restaurant brands, hired a college intern to boil data into insights for 20 hours per week, revealed managing partner Anand Gala.
He contended that the right dashboard and analytical component of data-generating software should provide easy-to-absorb intelligence if it’s done right.
“Not everyone has an analyst, not everyone can afford an analyst, not everyone needs an analyst,” Gala said. “If you can have a solution that pulls in the data and analyzes it in a KPI dashboard, that’s it.”
The need to manage legacy systems while adopting new technology may require companies to expand their teams initially, said Maureen Cushing, VP of technology and processes for Union Square Hospitality Group. But “if we do technology right and move forward, you probably will end up with less people to support it,” she said.