Operations

Onboarding at root of QSRs' turnover problem; here’s how to fix it

To combat the quick-service industry's costly 150% turnover rate, operators must replace clunky paperwork with a frictionless, digital onboarding process that immediately engages new hires with a sense of purpose, automates compliance and frees managers to focus on profitability.

Photo: Adobe Stock

June 5, 2026 by Matt Umholtz — President & CRO, AllianceHCM

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It's common knowledge that turnover in QSR hovers around 150%. It's so common, in fact, that many operators just accept it as an inevitable downside of the industry. But replacing an employee costs thousands of dollars and taking the time to multiply that cost by all the units in your franchise will quickly transform turnover from an HR problem into a basic profitability problem.

So why are they all leaving? Perhaps that's the wrong question. Perhaps operators should be asking themselves what reason they give their new employees to stay. The workers walking out after two weeks never got a real taste of what it's like to work at your restaurant — but they got a taste of something, and they weren't impressed.

That's where the difference lies. You have days, not months or years, to show your new hires why they should invest their time with you instead of the QSR right down the street. Your onboarding process is your first impression. Here's how to make it a good one.

Lead with the brand story

Most restaurant operators are entrepreneurs. They have the entrepreneurial gene. They took a big risk, opened their first location, and maybe they're now at a hundred. That's a powerful story which the new hire will almost never hear.

Your employee doesn't work for Wendy's or McDonalds or any chain. They work for your restaurant. That distinction matters, and onboarding is where you get to make it. You can share the company's origin, its values, and the opportunities it has to offer before the employee ever touches a fryer.

Tell the story of someone in the corporate office who started as a fry cook. Show new hires that this isn't a stepping-stone job; it can be a career where you make real money if you rise through the ranks. This generation wants to feel a sense of purpose. "Why the heck am I doing this?" is a question they're asking on day one. If you don't offer an answer, someone else will.

Meet them where they are

The average QSR employee is under 24 years old. That means they grew up with different standards of ease and convenience. They expect onboarding to feel like ordering a Domino's pizza — about 10 clicks to the finish line. If it's more cumbersome than that, they read it as a signal. Working here must be impossible if it's this hard to get started. And, just like that, they become disillusioned and drop out.

First, communication should go through text. You would be amazed how many younger workers simply don't check their email. Some don't have an email address at all. If onboarding starts with "check your inbox," completion rates drop. You can then direct them straight from a text message to a consumer-grade onboarding system.

The standard to beat isn't your competitor's onboarding system, but every other app on their phone. A frictionless platform is a win-win. Not only are young applicants more likely to complete it, but all applicants are able to fill it out more quickly and get one step closer to generating revenue for the business.

Free the manager

A manager in a high-turnover restaurant is constantly hiring and trying to fill shifts. When that manager is also chasing paperwork, helping employees complete forms, and re-entering data into multiple systems, they're not doing what they're measured on: controlling food costs, ensuring shift coverage, running promotions that drive traffic.

It becomes frustrating. Managers feel like they can't control their own destiny because they're doing busy work that was dictated from the corporate office. So, they take shortcuts. They breeze through the I-9, skip a notice, and trust that corporate will sort it out. They're not being negligent; they're trying to get back to managing.

A well-oiled, software-guided onboarding system removes this strain from one of your most valuable assets. Errors and compliance risks are reduced, and managers are free to focus on the bottom line and engage the new hires face-to-face.

Bake compliance into the system

I-9 verification is the headline onboarding risk, but it's not the only one. State and federal notices require employee sign-off. Age-related restrictions limit how many hours minors can work. California and New York have Fair Work Week laws that require collecting an employee's available hours during onboarding and then honoring them legally when building schedules—and more states are following.

Once again, the solution is a digital system that can remember what managers don't and flag mistakes automatically. Labor laws should be built into the onboarding process. A manager who accidentally misfiles an I-9, fails to get a sign-off, tries to overschedule a newly-employed minor, or schedule an unavailable shift should be prevented and notified before the breach is made.

Close the loop

You should never assume onboarding went well. Within the first week, send a short, anonymous survey: How were you greeted? How clean was the store? How was orientation? The answers highlight opportunities for improvement and flag managers who may need coaching.

Operators using this approach have found a direct correlation between first-week survey scores and store performance. It's a fast, low-cost way to see whether the investment in better onboarding is actually landing on the ground. More importantly yet, it shows your new employees that you care about their experience.

Bottom line

If you can't retain your hires, all the money you invest in recruiting will just keep leaking out the other end. And, since you can't assume that employees will stick around for months or even weeks, you have to capture them while you're guaranteed the chance — day one. Implementing the kind of system that builds trust and instills purpose from the outset is a small price to pay for a workforce that actually wants to stick around.

About Matt Umholtz

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