Restaurant Staffing: Best Solutions, Scheduling, and Hiring Tips

Have you ever launched a new menu item—only to watch the rush hit harder than expected? As the rush builds, your Back of House falls behind, tickets pile up, and suddenly you’re jumping between stations and wondering why you didn’t schedule an extra cook.

That’s why restaurant staffing needs a proactive strategy, whether you run a café, food truck, or full-service dining room.

This guide walks through how to hire restaurant staff, build a smarter restaurant staffing schedule, and choose a restaurant staffing app that actually helps your team. And once your ducks are in a row,  Homebase can help with scheduling, communication, and real-time labor cost control—so your next menu debut feels exciting, not overwhelming.

TL;DR: Restaurant staffing guide

Restaurant staffing is about building a team that can handle busy nights, new menu launches, seasonal spikes, and everything in between.

Staffing challenges: High turnover, hiring difficulty, unpredictable demand, burnout, and BOH skill shortages.

Key roles: FOH, BOH, and support staff all need to be balanced based on your restaurant size, menu complexity, and peak hours.

Restaurant staffing solutions: In-house teams offer consistency, a restaurant staffing agency fills urgent gaps and adds flexibility; most restaurants benefit from a hybrid model.

Hiring: Clear job postings, multiple sourcing channels, scenario-based interviews, and structured onboarding to hire reliable restaurant staff.

Scheduling: Use sales and demand data, cross-training, a restaurant staffing schedule template, and the 30/30/30 rule to stay efficient.

Software: A restaurant staffing app reduces turnover and chaos through clear schedules, shift swaps, reminders, and easy communication.

Budgeting: Use labour cost percentage benchmarks to inform your budget. And a simple restaurant staffing budget template can help plan your labor spending all year.

Common restaurant staffing challenges

Think back to that new menu launch rush. Most of the stress you felt in that moment comes from year-round staffing challenges, not just that single shift. 

Restaurant staffing challenges include:

• High turnover: Restaurant employee turnover is almost double the national average.
• Hiring difficulties: A lack of experienced cooks, servers, and dishwashers make it harder to maintain a full employee roster.
• Seasonal demand and unpredictable rushes: Weather, special events, and social media buzz can instantly change traffic that you aren’t staffed for.
• Burnout and wage pressure: Lean restaurant teams carry too much weight, causing mistakes, call-outs, and turnover.
• Short BOH talent pipeline: With fewer workers entering the culinary trades, competition for skilled cooks increases even more.

How to solve these challenges:

• Post schedules early and keep communication clear so staff feel supported.
• Recruit continuously to deal with labor market trends. Use job boards, referrals, culinary schools, and (when needed) a culinary temp agency.
• Use staffing demand data (POS history, reservations, weather, real-time availability) to schedule accurately.
• Cross-train your team and use temp labor during peak weeks to prevent burnout.
• Build an internal BOH pipeline with apprenticeships, paid training, and clear role growth. This can also improve employee retention.

Restaurant staffing requirements and roles

Once the challenges are clear, every restaurant relies on a blend of Front of House, Back of House, and support staff. And when any one group is running thin, you feel it instantly during a menu launch or rush.

Front-of-house (FOH) roles

FOH staff are the face of your business and keep service flowing smoothly.

• Servers: Guide guests, upsell new items, keep tables turning.
• Bartenders: Handle bar service + blended FOH support when it’s busy.
• Hosts/Greeters: Manage flow of customers, waitlists, and guest expectations.
• Bussers/Runners: Maintain pace so food arrives fast.

Back-of-House (BOH) roles

BOH roles (kitchen staffing) keep food production running safely, consistently, and efficiently. This is where your new menu item succeeds or fails.

• Line cooks: Prep and cook dishes consistently under pressure.
• Prep cooks: Foundation work, like chopping and mixing, to keep stations ready.
• Dishwashers: Essential for fast pace and clean tools.
• Kitchen managers: Oversee quality, inventory, and BOH training.

Support roles

Support staff fill gaps during busy periods or specialized operations.

• Expeditors (expos): Keep FOH and BOH aligned.
• Drivers: Handle delivery/catering orders.
• Event/catering staff: Help serve large events; often from a catering staff agency.

When you need each role (by restaurant type and size)

Your staffing mix depends on restaurant size, service style, menu complexity, and peak hours. Here are quick examples to help you visualize:

• Small café (<30 seats): 1 barista, 1 cook, 1 host/cashier + heavy cross-training.
• Fast-casual (40–60 seats): 2–3 counter staff, 2 line cooks, 1 prep, 1 dishwasher + extra prep during a new launch.
• Casual dining (80–120 seats): Host, 4–6 servers, 1–2 bartenders, 3–4 line cooks, 1 expo, 1–2 dishwashers.
• Full-service (120+ seats): 2 hosts, 6–10 servers, 2–3 bartenders, 1 barback, 4–6 cooks, 1 expo, 2 dishwashers + a food runner and extra cook during busy weeks.
• Food truck: 1 cook/operator, 1 cashier, optional runner; efficiency matters more than headcount here.

These structures grow or shrink as sales volume, seating capacity, and takeout/catering demand shift.

Restaurant staffing solutions: Comparing in-house, temp, agency, hybrid

The right staffing model depends on stability, cost, and how much flexibility you need across FOH and BOH. Let’s walk through the options (and when they actually help).

When to hire your own staff (best for consistency)

Hiring your own team works best when you want stability, consistent quality, control over training, and long-term team building. This is ideal for restaurants with steady demand and clear standards. Plus, you’ll have  a reliable, cohesive team that can adapt quickly to menu launches or other changes.

When to use a restaurant staffing agency 

Hiring restaurant staff from an agency is helpful when you need vetted staff fast, or when you don’t have time for recruiting. A restaurant employment agency fills urgent gaps but costs more per hour.

Temporary and on-demand restaurant staffing 

Temp labor is perfect for seasonal spikes, special events, patio openings, and menu launches. On-demand restaurant staffing also keeps permanent labor costs steady without overstaffing.

Hybrid model (most common and most flexible)

A hybrid model combines a core full-time team with part-time and on-demand or agency help. This model balances consistency with flexibility and protects your team from burnout during high-volume weeks.

How to hire restaurant staff effectively

Hiring well is one of the best ways to prevent chaos during big menu changes. The more aligned your team is from day one, the smoother everything runs.

Here’s a structured approach that makes it manageable to find reliable talent.

1. Write job postings that attract great FOH and BOH talent

A compelling job post includes:

• What makes your restaurant a good place to work
• Role expectations
• Schedule needs
• Pay transparency
• Growth opportunities (e.g., training and other education) 
• Perks like family meals, training days, or tip pooling
• Describes the work environment honestly

The clearer you are, the more likely you’ll attract people who want the job and will stick around.

What to avoid: Generic listings without specific details like responsibilities, hours, and pay.

2. Find candidates from multiple sources

Once your job postings are good to go, share them in places where your ideal candidates will be looking for work, like:

• Job boards (Indeed, Craigslist, industry boards)
• Referrals (your strongest channel)
• Culinary schools and trade programs
• A culinary staffing agency or agency for restaurant staff
• Social media

Great hiring comes from mixing several sources. And if you know you’re launching a new menu soon, start recruiting early so you’re not scrambling the week of.

3. Interview efficiently and use trial shifts

The candidates are rolling in. Next is restaurant interviews. They should be fast, practical, and focused on real skills.

Some best practices to help you interview:

• Ask scenario-based interview questions (handling rushes, difficult guests, station conflicts).
• For BOH roles, consider a short working interview or mise en place test.
• For FOH roles, observe communication style and guest awareness.

The best candidate is someone who has good technical skills, is reliable, and stays calm when your restaurant gets busy.

4. Onboard quickly and consistently

After you’ve hired your new staff, you need a strong onboarding system so new-hires can hit the ground running; plus, good onboarding can reduce mistakes and turnover.

Best practices:

• Use checklists, 
• Assign a mentor.
• Set clear expectations for shifts and communication.
•  Offer a simple FOH/BOH orientation.

A structured first week can improve retention dramatically.

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Restaurant staffing schedule: How to design the right team

A solid schedule keeps labor costs predictable and prevents service gaps. It also keeps your team happy by giving them clarity and stability.

Use the 30/30/30 rule to plan staffing costs 

• A simple rule of thumb some restaurants use is 30% labor + 30% food cost + 30% operating cost. 
• This means labor shouldn’t exceed ~30% of revenue on average.

Build schedules around demand (predictable + seasonal + real-time)

To schedule effectively, use all the data you have:

• Historical POS data.
• Weather predictions.
• Reservation trends.
• Real-time staff availability (from your scheduling app).

The more demand-driven your schedule is, the fewer surprises you’ll face.

Cross-training for flexibility (one of the easiest cost savers)

When you have no-shows or sudden rushes, cross-training helps you fill in gaps quickly with available staff. Servers who can host, cooks who can expo, or bartenders who can run food give you built-in flexibility and reduce overtime on busy nights.

Cross-training also helps you:

• Reduce overtime.
• Maintain service during call-outs.
• Boost team morale.
• Promote from within.

Sample restaurant staffing schedule template 

A strong restaurant staffing schedule should make it easy to see who’s working, what roles are covered, and whether you’re staffed appropriately for that day and the weeks ahead.

Your schedule template should include:

1. A row with time blocks (30–60 min increments).
2. A column for team member names.
3. Use the cells where time blocks and names meet to indicate when a person’s shift is and their assignments.

For example, if Laura’s shift is from 8:00 am to 12:30 pm, and she’s on prep from 8:00 to 11:00 am, you can write “Prep” for that range of cells, and write “Cook” for the rest of her shift from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm.

4. Rinse and repeat for each person you have on shift that day.
5. Then repeat all the steps from 1–4 for each day of the week for as many weeks as you want to schedule.
6. You can also include: Labor hours and projected labor cost, and a notes column for reservations, menu changes, or events.

This keeps schedules transparent, predictable, and tied to demand.

If you don’t want to rebuild templates weekly, Homebase can create dynamic schedules with labor forecasts, drag-and-drop editing, shift trades, and real-time updates for your team.

Restaurant staffing software and apps

A staffing app can help your scheduling game even more and make schedules easier for your team to follow, too, without constant manager intervention.

Why staffing software matters in restaurants

Restaurants move fast, schedules change, and people call in sick. A good restaurant staffing software helps you adapt to changes more easily than a manual schedule. It can:

• Build schedules in minutes.
• Control early clock-ins 
• Reduce overtime.
• Communicate changes instantly.
• Automate reminders and shift alerts.
• Forecast busy days.
• Track breaks and labor laws

This is what reduces chaos on big menu launch weekends.

Key features to look for:

Look for a restaurant staffing app that includes:

• Labor cost controls with real-time wage forecasting.
• Schedule builder with drag-and-drop ease.
• Time clock with early clock-in prevention.
• Team communication for announcements.
• Hiring tools for posting jobs and screening candidates.
• Compliance tracking for breaks, overtime, and labor laws.

How staffing apps reduce turnover and last-minute chaos

Staffing apps reduce chaos by giving your team easy access to the information and tools they need. They help through:

• Clear, predictable schedules.
• Shift swaps without managers stepping in.
• Notifications for upcoming shifts or changes.
• Centralized communication—no missing important updates.
• Access to hours, wages, and time-off requests in one place.

When people feel informed and supported, they’re more likely to trust you, be happy at work, and stay longer.

Temporary staffing, gig workers, and on-demand labor

Even with a strong core team, temp workers can save a shift when volume spikes unexpectedly. Temp labor costs more per hour, but permanent employees cost more long-term (recruiting, training, turnover). Most restaurants find a hybrid approach to be the most cost-efficient.

When temp labor makes sense

Use temporary restaurant staffing for:

• Menu launches, holidays, and special events.
• Sudden rushes or staff call-outs.
• Catering jobs require extra hands.
• Preventing burnout or overtime.

A cook staffing agency can send trained professionals on short notice, so your full-time team isn’t stretched too thin.

How to integrate temp staff without hurting service

To get the most from temp staff:

• Assign them to simpler stations.
• Pair them with experienced staff.
• Give them a quick orientation.
• Clarify expectations for breaks, uniforms, and communication.
• Use a shift leader to check in throughout the day.

A little structure goes a long way toward a consistent guest experience. You can even create a one-page guide for temp workers that you can easily update and reuse anytime.

Restaurant staffing budget template and tools

A simple weekly restaurant staffing budget helps you stay proactive rather than reactive.

Labor cost percentage benchmarks

Knowing your labor cost percentage helps you decide whether to trim shifts or fill your hiring pipeline.

Most restaurants are at:

• 30% or less labor for normal operations (regardless of restaurant type).
• 25–30% for quick service and casual dining.
• 30–35% for fine dining.

Example weekly staffing budget

Labor cost benchmarks for your restaurant type can help inform how you budget labour. 

For example, if your weekly revenue is $20,000 and your target labor cost percentage is 30%:

• Labor budget = $6,000.
• At an average fully-loaded wage of $18/hr, you can schedule around 333 hours.

Break those hours between FOH, BOH, support, and temp labor based on demand.

Restaurant staffing budget template

A restaurant staffing budget template can help you make these kinds of calculations more easily. 

A simple labor budget includes columns for:

• Expected revenue
• Labor cost target
• Total hours available
• Actual scheduled hours
• Over/under variance notes
• Notes on events, holidays, or staffing shortages

You can build this in a spreadsheet for each schedule week, or automate it with a scheduling app like Homebase that tracks labor in real time and syncs with your payroll.

Restaurant staffing strategy checklist

With your labor budget mapped out, you can step back and look at the bigger picture: The systems and habits that keep your staffing plan on track week after week. 

This quick checklist can help:

• Staffing mix: Blend of full-time, part-time, and temp staff.
• Hiring pipeline: Use ongoing job postings, referrals, school partnerships, and culinary staffing services.
• Agency backup: Which restaurant temp agencies you’d call if needed.
• Training + onboarding: Use simple, repeatable checklists for every role, and cross-train your staff.
• Scheduling plan:  Base schedules on real demand data.
• Labor budget:  Review weekly to stay within targets.
• Communication + shift coverage: One place for updates, shift swaps, and reminders.

When restaurant staffing is done right

Staffing your restaurant effectively can be challenging, but with the right structure, tools, and planning, it becomes predictable and manageable.

Start by choosing one improvement to focus on this week—refresh a job post, review last month’s demand patterns, or cross-train a team member. Then, build from there to create a smoother, more predictable restaurant staffing and scheduling system.

Homebase offers one easy app to build, share, and optimize schedules to keep your team on track. Never hear “I didn’t know I was working” again. Try Homebase for free today.

Frequently asked questions about restaurant staffing

What is the 30/30/30 rule for restaurants?

The 30/30/30 rule for restaurants is a budgeting guideline that recommends allocating 30% of revenue to labor, 30% to food costs, and 30% to operating expenses, leaving roughly 10% as profit.

Why are restaurants having trouble staffing?

Restaurants are having trouble staffing because of high turnover, burnout, wage pressure, and a shrinking pipeline of workers entering the culinary trades. Many restaurants now balance in-house hiring with agency support or temp labor to stay fully staffed.

Do restaurants use staffing agencies?

Yes, restaurants use staffing agencies when they need trained, vetted workers fast, especially during turnover spikes, catering events, holiday surges, or other special events. A restaurant staffing agency helps maintain service quality when you’re short-staffed.

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