The restaurant industry has long accepted a brutal truth: high turnover is just part of the game.
With the national average hovering around 130%, many operators have resigned themselves to a constant revolving door of hiring, training, and replacing staff.
But what if I told you that the most successful multi-unit restaurant groups are keeping their turnover below 75%—and some are doing even better?
The difference isn't luck. It's intentional systems and leadership.
After two decades in the restaurant industry—from line cook at 15 to managing partner by 30, and now coaching independent multi-unit restaurant owners—I've seen firsthand what separates restaurants that constantly scramble to fill shifts from those that have employees lining up to work there.
The answer isn't higher wages alone (though competitive pay matters). It's about creating an environment where people feel valued, see a future, and genuinely want to show up.
Why Most Retention Strategies Fail
Before we dive into solutions, let's talk about why most retention efforts don't work.
Too many operators treat retention as a reactive problem—someone quits, so they throw money at the next hire or offer signing bonuses that don't address the real issues.
The truth is, retention isn't a single tactic. It's a system built on clear values, consistent communication, and genuine investment in your people's growth.
When done right, this system becomes the reason employees stay through the tough shifts, recommend their friends for open positions, and grow into your next generation of leaders.
Think about it: every hiring decision costs you money.
Between recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, and training, replacing a single hourly employee costs approximately $5,000.
For management positions, that number jumps to $13,000.
Now multiply that by your annual turnover rate. The financial impact is staggering—and completely avoidable.
Step 1: Start With Your Foundation—Define Your Core Values
You can't retain the right people if you don't know what "right" looks like.
That's where core values come in.
These aren't generic words on a wall—they're the behavioral standards that guide every decision, from who you hire to how you handle a guest complaint.
In Multi-Unit Mastery, I walk restaurant owners through defining 3-7 core values that authentically reflect their brand.
These values become your filter for everything.
When you're interviewing a candidate, you're not just checking if they have experience—you're assessing whether they embody your values of hospitality, curiosity, constant improvement, community, or sustainability (or whatever values define your brand).
Here's how this plays out practically: Let's say one of your core values is "hospitality."
During the interview, you ask behavioral questions like, "Describe a time you went above and beyond to make a guest feel special."
The candidate's response immediately tells you if they naturally align with what matters most to your restaurant.
But values-based hiring is just the beginning. To truly drive retention, those values need to be woven into every operational touchpoint.
Step 2: Implement Performance Management That Actually Develops People
One of the biggest mistakes restaurant operators make is treating performance reviews as an annual checkbox exercise—or worse, skipping them entirely.
If you want people to stay and grow with you, they need to know where they stand, what they're doing well, and where they can improve.
The performance management process I teach in Multi-Unit Mastery includes three critical components:
Daily Performance Check-Ins: Real-time coaching during shifts. This isn't formal—it's managers providing immediate feedback that helps employees improve on the spot. "Hey, I loved how you handled that guest complaint. That's exactly what hospitality looks like here."
Quarterly Reviews: Structured evaluations that assess performance against your core values and operational standards. These reviews should celebrate wins, identify growth areas, and set clear goals for the next quarter.
Long-Term Development Planning: This is where retention really happens. Employees need to see a future with your company. Show them a clear path: what does the next role look like? What skills do they need to develop? How can they get there?
When employees understand their trajectory and feel invested in, they're exponentially more likely to stick around.
Step 3: Use One-on-One Meetings as Your Secret Retention Weapon
If I could give restaurant operators one tool to improve retention overnight, it would be structured one-on-one meetings.
Yet most restaurants don't do them—or they do them inconsistently, which is almost worse.
One-on-ones create dedicated space for managers to connect with team members, address concerns before they become resignation letters, and reinforce the standards you're building.
I recommend weekly meetings for management.
Here's what a productive one-on-one looks like:
- Check-in: How are you feeling? Any wins or challenges?
- Review Previous Action Items: Follow up on commitments from last time.
- Performance Discussion: What's going well? Where do you need support?
- Development & Growth: What skills do you want to build? How can we help you progress?
- Action Items: Clear next steps for both employee and manager.
The magic of one-on-ones is that they make people feel seen and heard.
You're not just another body filling a shift—you're a valued team member whose growth matters. That feeling is what keeps people engaged and committed.
Step 4: Build Communication Systems That Create Consistency
Poor communication kills retention.
In multi-unit operations especially, inconsistent communication creates disconnection, confusion, and ultimately, turnover.
When employees don't know what's happening, don't feel informed, or see different standards at different locations, they disengage.
Establishing clear internal communication protocols is essential. This includes:
- Daily pre-shift meetings where teams discuss priorities and celebrate wins
- Weekly manager check-ins that keep leadership aligned across locations
- Standardized reporting so everyone operates with the same information
- Emergency protocols that reduce chaos during crises
When communication flows consistently, employees feel like they're part of something bigger than their individual shift.
They understand how their work contributes to the restaurant's success, and that sense of purpose drives retention.
Step 5: Make Recognition Part of Your Operating System
People don't leave jobs where they feel appreciated.
Yet in the restaurant industry, we're notoriously bad at recognition.
We're quick to point out what went wrong but slow to celebrate what went right.
Build recognition into your operations deliberately. This could mean:
- "Mission Champion of the Month" awards tied to your core values
- Public shout-outs during team meetings for employees who exemplify your standards
- Handwritten thank-you notes from management
- Small perks like gift cards or free meals for outstanding performance
Recognition doesn't have to be expensive—it just has to be genuine and consistent.
When employees feel valued, they stay.
When they stay, you save money.
When you save money, you can invest more in your people. It's a virtuous cycle.
The ROI of Better Retention
Let's talk numbers.
If you're running a restaurant with 50 employees and experiencing the industry average of 130% turnover, you're replacing 65 people per year.
At $5,000 per hourly employee replacement, that's $325,000 annually just in turnover costs—and that's before factoring in any manager turnover at $13,000 per replacement.
Now imagine cutting that turnover rate to 75%. You're down to replacing 38 people per year—a savings of $135,000.
That's money that goes straight to your bottom line or can be reinvested in better training, higher wages, or growth initiatives.
But the benefits go beyond just dollars saved. Lower turnover means:
- Stronger service consistency because your team knows your standards
- Better guest experiences because experienced staff deliver better hospitality
- Reduced training burden on your managers, freeing them to focus on growth
- Improved morale because people want to work where others stick around
- Easier hiring because your reputation as a great place to work attracts better candidates
Better retention isn't a soft skill—it's a competitive advantage that directly impacts your profitability and scalability.
How to Scale Retention Across Multiple Locations
For multi-unit operators, the challenge intensifies.
How do you maintain consistent standards when you're not physically present at every location? The answer is systems.
In Multi-Unit Mastery, I introduce the Independent Restaurant Framework (IRF), built on three pillars: People, Process, and Profit.
This framework helps restaurant groups scale retention strategies intentionally by:
- Standardizing hiring practices across locations so every unit attracts values-aligned team members
- Implementing consistent performance management so employees receive the same development support regardless of location
- Creating communication rhythms that keep all locations aligned and connected
- Tracking retention metrics alongside financial KPIs so retention becomes measurable
When your retention strategy is systematized, it becomes scalable.
Your second, third, and fourth locations can deliver the same employee experience as your first—which means they'll achieve the same retention results.
Your Action Plan
Employee retention isn't a mystery—it's a choice.
You can continue accepting high turnover as "just how restaurants work," or you can build systems that make people want to stay, grow, and contribute to something meaningful.
The operators who win in today's labor market aren't the ones throwing money at the problem.
They're the ones creating environments where people feel valued, see opportunity, and experience genuine care from leadership.
That's what drives retention.
Start with these five steps:
- Define your core values and hire against them
- Implement structured performance management with quarterly reviews
- Schedule consistent one-on-one meetings with your team
- Build communication systems that create transparency
- Make recognition a daily practice, not an afterthought
The restaurant industry doesn't have to be a revolving door. With the right systems in place, you can build a team that stays, grows, and helps you scale without losing your mind—or your people.
Ready to build a restaurant operation that retains top talent and scales profitably? Multi-Unit Mastery gives you the complete playbook, including templates for core values-based hiring, performance reviews, one-on-one meetings, and more. Get your copy today at IRFbook.com and start transforming your retention strategy from the ground up.
Christin Marvin is a distinguished restaurant coach, speaker, and host of The Restaurant Leadership Podcast. She is also the author of Multi-Unit Mastery: Simplify Operations, Maximize Profits and Lead with Confidence, and The Hospitality Leader's Roadmap: Move from Ordinary to Extraordinary. She specializes in helping independent multi-unit restaurant owners scale without losing their minds or their culture. With over twenty years of hands-on experience in both fine dining and high-volume growth concepts, Christin has established herself as the go-to authority for restaurant leaders ready to move from chaos to confidence. She's the founder of Solutions by Christin and creator of the Independent Restaurant Framework (IRF) (a proven system that transforms overwhelmed owner-operators into confident CEOs). Christin's approach is built on supportive tough love and real-world experience. Having navigated her own journey from line cook at 15 to managing partner by 30, she understands the unique challenges facing restaurant leaders today. Her vulnerability about struggling with burnout and using alcohol to cope has made her a trusted voice for leaders who need someone who truly gets it. Through her personalized one-on-one coaching, elite group programs, and leadership workshops, Christin helps restaurant groups build unified leadership teams, create culture-driven operations, and implement systems that actually work. Her clients don't just survive expansion (they thrive through it).
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