OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022. Within two months of its introduction to the public, the AI-powered content generating app amassed 100 million active users. This makes it the fastest growing app in history.
Today, businesses in every industry are actively experimenting with ChatGPT. The restaurant industry is no different. And there are lots of ways that ChatGPT can help with day to day operations – from writing social media posts and crafting marketing materials to answering customer questions and even providing creative support as you brainstorm menu ideas.
But today, our focus is on how ChatGPT can help with restaurant staffing and human resources (HR). HR for restaurants comes with a ton of demands – recruiting, onboarding, training, scheduling, payroll management…you get the idea.
Naturally, any time you can lighten the load on your HR people without losing efficiency, that’s a good thing. This is where ChatGPT comes in. ChatGPT can provide all kinds of support with restaurant staffing and other HR related tasks.
ChatGPT at a Glance
But first, what exactly is ChatGPT? To find out, we asked…ChatGPT!
Here’s what it told us:
ChatGPT is an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI that can understand and generate human-like text. It’s based on advanced language models (like GPT-3.5 or GPT-4), which are trained on vast amounts of data to understand context, follow instructions, and provide detailed responses.
The chatbot also referred to itself as “a really smart assistant that you can chat with” and told us that it can do things like:
- Answer questions
- Help with writing
- Translate languages
- Write or debug code
- Brainstorm ideas
That’s really just the tip of the iceberg. We’re only really scratching the surface of what this technology can do. But one thing we’re learning is that it’s really good at helping with restaurant staffing.
5 Ways You Can Use ChatGPT For Restaurant Staffing Help
Restaurant owners and operators spend an incredible amount of time and money on restaurant staffing, hiring, and training. But what if ChatGPT could handle some of our most tedious and time-consuming HR tasks?
How, you ask? To find out, we caught up with Back of House consultant and longtime industry insider Dan Durkin. Dan pointed out that “if you use it the right way, ChatGPT can actually save you a lot of time and money. And it’s not just that it can speed up the hiring process. If you really do it right, you’ll end up with better candidates and better retention numbers.”
So what exactly can the popular content-generation app do to help you with staffing?
1. Create Compelling Job Postings
“A good job post should do at least two things,” Dan says. “It should clearly describe the type of candidate you're looking for; and it should be a good sales pitch for why your restaurant is awesome to work at.”
So how can you do both of these things while creating job posts that are concise, compelling, and informative? Ask ChatGPT to do it. But here’s the catch. The quality of the writing that you get from ChatGPT will depend on how well you communicate your needs.
When you type your request, or “prompt,” into ChatGPT, give the app clear and thorough instructions about what you want in your post. Include information about the kind of tone you're going for, how long you want the post to be, etc.
The more details you provide about things like the workplace culture, restaurant type (i.e. fast-casual, fine dining, quick service, etc.) and style of cuisine (i.e. Italian, pub fare, family-friendly menu, etc.), the better ChatGPT will be at providing you a relevant job posting.
2. Screening Applicants
When it comes to restaurant staffing, speed is the name of the game these days. The demand for workers is high and applicants often have a lot of options. The faster you can move an applicant through the hiring process, the more likely you are to bring them onboard before they can be poached by a competitor.
You can use ChatGPT to initiate a lightning quick screening process for potential applicants. An article from Restaurant Business points out that some restaurants are already making chatbots the first point of contact for applicants who click through job ads.
“The way it works,” Dan explains, “is the chatbot will ask the candidate a few basic questions about things like work experience, skills, and availability. Then it can suggest possible job openings that match these qualifications. You can even use it to link the candidate to an online job application, all in a matter of minutes.”
3. Create a Sequence of Interview Questions
In a recent article, we discussed the importance of using interview time effectively. You're dedicating valuable time to the interview process, and you’ll be basing important hiring decisions on what you learn during these one-on-one conversations with potential hires. So it’s essential that you ask the right questions.
Not sure where to start? ChatGPT can be a great creative partner. Tell the app that you’re working on a sequence of questions for a face to face interview, provide details about the job you’re staffing, and tell ChatGPT what you hope to learn about each candidate during the interview.
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You’ll receive a fully formed, sequenced, and organized set of questions. They may not be perfect, but from there, you can either work alongside ChatGPT, or on your own, to mold these questions into the perfect interview.
4. Staff Training and Support
Naturally, HR for restaurants goes well beyond just recruitment and hiring. Your ability to retain your new employees will depend on how effectively you train and support them. ChatGPT can help.
ChatGPT can be used as an on-demand training tool – an application that new employees can use to get quick answers to questions about procedures, safety rules, menu details, and more.
Dan cautions that “ChatGPT should never take the lead on staff training. This is still a job for human beings. You need to involve experienced people in the training process – team members who can provide guidance, hands-on demonstrations, and mentorship.”
That said, ChatGPT can play a strong supporting role. Kitchens move fast. ChatGPT can provide quick and actionable information for those who are learning on the job.
5. Scheduling Assistance
One of the most demanding parts of restaurant staffing is scheduling employee shifts. There’s a lot riding on shift scheduling, including your profit margins and your team’s morale. So it’s important to get it right.
ChatGPT can help with the proper inputs. We asked ChatGPT if it could assist us with a complicated restaurant schedule. Here’s what the chatbot told us:
“Absolutely — I can help you build, troubleshoot, or optimize a restaurant staffing schedule, no matter how complex it is. Just let me know:
- Your restaurant’s hours of operation
- Roles needed (e.g., servers, line cooks, hosts, managers)
- How many people you need per role per shift
- Employee availability, time-off requests, or shift preferences
- Any scheduling rules or constraints (e.g., max hours, split shifts, no back-to-back closes/opens)
- Format you prefer (spreadsheet/table, printable calendar, digital app format, etc.)
You can also upload your current schedule if you want me to analyze or revise it. Let’s get started — just share what you have so far.”
Of course, if you’re not trying to do all that legwork yourself, some of the top vendors in the industry specialize in AI-powered scheduling solutions.
For instance, 7shifts utilizes AI in several key areas, including schedule creation, sales forecasting, and data analysis, to help restaurants optimize their operations and labor management. Specifically, AI is used to automate tasks like building initial schedules from existing data, predicting sales trends, and identifying optimal staffing levels
Vendors like Homebase are also using AI to automate and improve various aspects of hourly team management by focusing on hiring, scheduling, and communication. Their AI-powered tools aim to save small business owners and managers significant time on tedious tasks, so they can focus on other critical aspects of their business like customer service and quality control.
A Word of Warning About Using ChatGPT
As you can see from some of the AI-generated excerpts above, ChatGPT is super friendly and very happy to help. But you have to use ChatGPT with caution. The truth is that this technology is far from perfect.
Leading POS (point of sale) provider Otter warns “that ChatGPT learns from data patterns, so it may sometimes give you wrong or misleading answers. It's always a good idea to check the information you receive from ChatGPT for accuracy.”
ChatGPT can be an excellent virtual assistant as you screen applicants, write interviews, and train new employees. But you also need to prioritize fact-checking, quality assurance, and human oversight when using this technology.
Vendors Who Can Help You Leverage AI Chatbots
Who has the time for fact-checking and human oversight? We hear you. The whole point of this AI stuff is to make less work for you – not more.
The good news is that there are all kinds of innovative vendors out there that do have the time, resources, and know-how. And these vendors are using the ChatGPT model to transform HR for restaurants. Schedule a personalized consultation with one of our BOH industry experts to find out how you could be using this technology to transform your business.
