From expanding annual leave to offering thousands of dollars in bonuses, Canberra businesses are trying everything as they desperately seek staff to fill vacancies.
As labour shortages cause delays and disruptions across the country, and skilled migration sputters back into motion, bar and restaurant owners are trying to figure out how to get people interested in hospitality careers again.
The sector's vulnerabilities were exposed by COVID-19 lockdowns, and businesses have struggled to adapt to a new landscape in which flexible work has emerged as a fixture.
"We'll try new approaches to try and get staff into full-time hospitality, there's just been a big drop-out from from the sector," the co-owner of Old Canberra Inn, Ben Johnston said.
"Casuals are still coming and going, but it's the full time staff that we desperately need."
Mr Johnston and business partner Nick Diver have added an extra week of annual leave for their full-time staff, bringing the total to five weeks.
"We think that's a good thing to attract staff, give a bit more work life balance opportunities for people to throw in long weekends, have days off here and there, and then have some more solid holiday breaks as well," Mr Johnston said.
The workforce across their three venues - Old Canberra Inn, Queenies and Dickson Taphouse - comprises about 70 casuals and 35 full-time workers.
Perks and sign-on bonuses are becoming more typical as businesses compete for a shrinking pool of workers.
"I've heard of figures of anything up to $20,000 for professional services areas; lawyers, accountants ... in the hospitality industry, for chefs," Canberra Business Chamber chief executive Graham Catt said.
"Those businesses are often competing with the public sector as well as the private sector companies.
"Those sorts of perks like a gym membership or health club membership, salary, packaging, a whole range of things to make that offer more attractive, are becoming more and more part of that employment landscape."
"I don't know what more can do," Natalie Colbert, the operator of three Canberra childcare centres said.
She's already paying staff above award wages at her centres, which include Majura Park Childcare, Torrens Early Learning Centre and Urambi Early Learning Centre.
"We're offering incentive sign-on bonuses, that are around all sorts of different amounts depending on the qualifications, we're offering movement support, we offer immigration support.
"We offer 50 per cent off the gap fees for childcare so that employees can have their own children at the centres, paying around $17 a day," she said.
The measures are working to attract people into vacant roles, she said, but retention is still an issue.
"A lot of people are not drawn to stay in the sector," she said.
"They're looking for better opportunities."
It's the revolving door of full-time staff that has beleaguered Mr Johnston's Kingston bar Queenies.
"We haven't had any continuity of full-time staff in the almost two years that we've been open there, and it is actually the biggest challenge that business faces," he said.
Adding the extra week of annual leave will cost the business money, but they have to try something, Mr Johnston said.
"We have to make hospitality look attractive," he said.
He thinks the answer to slowing the drain of talent from the industry lies in ensuring staff are not overworked, and slowly changing the work culture.
"This is something that we've been doing for a number of years now, just to make sure that our kitchen staff are not overworked," he said.
"They work so hard, we need to make sure that they are only working that 40 hours a week.
"I think just getting the work hours down is a really important thing for a hospitality business to do."
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.
