Church’s Chicken、必勝客和Checkers的員工現在可以更快地拿到薪水了，原因是美國餐飲業人員緊缺的問題仍無緩解跡象。

由于失業率一直很低，連鎖餐館正在全力以赴地吸引和留住廚師與收銀員。它們的最新舉措是同日或隔日發工資。從今年6月開始，8家Church’s Chicken餐館將在員工下班時支付50%的當日工資。這番嘗試旨在評估50%的工資對員工來說是否足夠多，而且這家餐館打算在今后推廣這樣的做法。這可不是貸款，也沒有手續費。

Church’s Chicken的首席執行官喬伊·克里斯蒂娜在接受采訪時表示：“這給了員工更快地掙零花錢的機會。有些人就是沒辦法等兩周再領工資。”

美國經濟加速增長和失業率創49年新低給餐廳帶來了不利影響。餐飲業越發渴望吸引和留住優質員工，而且簡單地漲工資已經不太管用了。正因如此，它們才會創造性地搞出招聘派對、短信招工和簽字獎金來。麥當勞甚至開始請上了年紀的人來做漢堡。

克里斯蒂娜說，勞動力是管理者們討論的“首要問題”，“這么多年來，這是我記憶中最困難的就業市場。”

加入勞動者行列的年輕人減少以及美國部分地區最低工資上升給餐廳帶來了壓力。同時，亞馬遜、沃爾瑪和塔吉特向勞動技能水平較低的工作者開出較高的工資提高了餐飲業爭奪人才的難度。

總部設在亞特蘭大的Church’s Chicken請該市北部郊區的公司Instant Financial來快速代發工資。其兄弟品牌Texas Chicken在全世界設有1500多家餐廳。

“幾乎成了一項要求”

風投資金成立的Instant Financial還在跟Bloomin’ Brands合作，后者是連鎖牛排店澳拜客的母公司。最近，Checkers & Rally’s Restaurants也成為了Instant Financial的客戶。Instant Financial的首席執行官史蒂夫·巴哈指出，一年來，勞動力供應吃緊已經讓即時結算工資“幾乎成了餐飲業的一項要求”。

巴哈說，在Instant Financial的用戶中，餐廳員工每天下班后平均可以拿到28美元。Instant Financial不對員工收取任何手續費，而是通過向企業收取服務費來掙錢。

芝加哥大學無黨派研究機構NORC最近的一項調查顯示，多數成年就業者都是月光族。這項研究發現，如果少領工資的次數超過一次，51%的美國人就得靠存款來應付必要開支。

正是出于這個原因，必勝客的加盟商埃里克·比特納正在考慮是否要在征召快遞員的廣告中提到此項福利，因為他正在和Uber以及Lyft爭奪快遞服務人員。他在今年3月通過移動應用程序Branch Messenger啟用了這項功能。

比特納是Bittner Restaurant Group的合伙人，該公司在賓夕法尼亞州擁有12家必勝客餐廳。他說：“今后員工的預期會變成他們馬上就要拿到薪水。為什么要等兩個星期呢？”

Branch Messenger還為快餐連鎖店塔可貝爾提供服務。它對最多可以拿到當日工資一半的餐廳員工統一收取3.99美元的手續費，同時免費提供三天到賬服務。這家設在明尼阿波利斯的初創公司于去年9月在自己的App中推出即時結算工資服務，至今其餐廳員工用戶群體已經增長了150%。

Branch Messenger的首席執行官阿提夫·西迪奇說，大多數用戶都把這筆快速兌現的收入用在了交通、食雜以及意外支出上。更快地發工資“會讓員工一直開心”。（財富中文網）

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

Workers at Church’s Chicken, Pizza Hut, and Checkers can now get expedited pay as U.S. restaurants grapple with a labor shortage that’s not showing any signs of abating.

Restaurant chains are pulling out all the stops to attract and retain cooks and cashiers amid persistently low unemployment. The latest move: Same-day and next-day paychecks. Starting in June, eight Church’s Chicken restaurants will offer employees half of their earned pay the day after their shift. The test will gauge whether the 50% is enough for workers, and the idea is to roll it out more widely going forward. It’s not a loan, and there are no fees.

“It will give the employee the chance to get spending money quicker,” Church’s Chief Executive Officer Joe Christina said in an interview. “Some people just can’t wait two weeks to get paid.”

With an accelerating economy and the U.S. jobless rate at a 49-year low, restaurants are hurting. The dining industry is growing increasingly desperate to attract and keep quality employees, and simply raising wages isn’t always enough. That’s why they’re getting creative with hiring parties, text-message recruiting, and signing bonuses. McDonald’s is even going after senior citizens to flip burgers.

Labor is “the number one item” discussed among management, Christina said. “In all my years, it’s the toughest labor market that I can remember.”

Restaurants are being squeezed as fewer teens enter the workforce and higher minimum wages go into effect in parts of the U.S. Also, higher pay for lower-skilled workers at companies such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target are making it more difficult for restaurants to compete for talent.

Atlanta-based Church’s reached into the city’s northern suburbs to hire another company, Instant Financial, to offer the perk. Church’s and sister brand Texas Chicken have more than 1,500 stores worldwide.

‘Almost a Requirement’

Venture capital-funded Instant Financial also works with Bloomin’ Brands—the parent of Outback Steakhouse—and recently added Checkers & Rally’s Restaurants as customers. Instant Financial CEO Steve Barha said that the tight labor market has made instant pay “almost a requirement” over the past year for the dining industry.

On average, restaurant employees take out $28 with his company’s service after working, Barha said. Instant Financial doesn’t charge any fees to workers but rather makes money by charging the employer for the service.

The majority of working adults are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent survey from the non-partisan research organization NORC at the University of Chicago. The study found that 51% of Americans wouldn’t be able to cover necessities without dipping into savings if they missed more than one paycheck.

That’s why Pizza Hut franchisee Erik Bittner is considering whether to mention the perk in the ads he uses to attract delivery drivers as he competes for their services with Uber Technologies and Lyft. He added the benefit in March through the Branch Messenger mobile app.

“The expectation in the future from employees is going to be they want their pay now,” said Bittner, a partner at Bittner Restaurant Group, the owner of 12 Pizza Huts in Pennsylvania. “Why do I have to wait two weeks?”

Branch, which also provides its service to Taco Bell franchisees, charges a flat fee of $3.99 for workers to get up to half of their wages the same day they worked, and offers three-day transfers for free. The Minneapolis-based startup has seen 150% growth among restaurant employees since introducing the early-wage part of the app in September.

Most Branch early-pay users are spending the fast cash on transportation, groceries, and unexpected bills, Branch CEO Atif Siddiqi said. Expedited pay can “help keep employees happy.”