service areas

Talent Acquisition & Recruiting

Hospitality Executive Search & Restaurant Talent Acquisition

Success in hospitality comes down to one thing: people.

Most serious restaurants rely on a hospitality recruiting expert who understands what it takes to build strong teams. That firsthand industry experience and deep talent networks allow them to help hospitality businesses find the leadership and talent needed to thrive.

Whether you’re hiring a key leader, a critical manager, dozens of hourly employees, or even an entire opening team, a strong recruiter can help. At Empowered, we leverage strong professional networks, efficient processes and tried-and-true approaches, which make our team an excellent partner. And since we’re non-exclusive, use flexible fee structures, and guarantee our work, there’s very little risk in working with us. We partner with restaurants, hospitality groups, and hospitality brands to deliver executive search, management recruiting, high-volume hiring for openings and expansions, and long-term talent strategy. Our team has successfully helped our clients hire hundreds of candidates across the industry—and we’re ready to help you, too.

We commonly support hospitality businesses with

Executive Search & Leadership Recruitment

Hiring the right leaders is one of the most important decisions a restaurant can make. The wrong hires cost time, money, and momentum — and the right ones accelerates growth. 

Our executive search and recruiting team’s mission is to help you secure high-impact leaders with confidence. Every search is customized to your organization’s structure, culture, and goals. 

We help you: 

  • Define leadership competencies and success profiles
  • Share salary benchmarks and recommend compensation
  • Develop targeted search strategies
  • Access passive candidates within our industry network
  • Conduct structured screening and reference evaluation
  • Manage offer negotiation and closing strategy
  • Support onboarding and transition planning 

 

Recruiting Management & High-Volume Hiring Support

Scaling quickly? Opening multiple locations? Managing high-volume hiring?

As an HR firm, we’ve been uniquely positioned to build a recruiting team that integrates seamlessly into our clients’ teams, and designed it for restaurant and hospitality groups looking for structured, scalable hiring support beyond executive search.

Our high-volume recruiting approach drives your cost per hire down dramatically compared to standard contingent search and offers flexible access to experienced hospitality recruiters without the need to hire someone in house. And because we’re an HR firm, we not only help you find and hire the right candidates, but often assist with onboarding, training, performance management and a host of other areas to help your new team succeed. 

Our team’s support includes: 

  • High-volume candidate sourcing and screening
  • Full-cycle recruiting management
  • Interview coordination and hiring workflow oversight
  • Fractional talent acquisition leadership
  • Hiring process design and optimization
  • Employer branding and job posting strategy 

 

Talent Acquisition Strategy for Restaurants

Sustainable growth requires more than filling open roles — it requires a structured, data-driven hiring strategy. 

We partner with restaurant and hospitality brands to evaluate, strengthen, and scale their current recruitment efforts. Whether you’re experiencing hiring bottlenecks, inconsistent candidate quality, or rapid expansion, we provide strategic perspective to improve performance. 

Our hospitality recruiting strategy team is well-positioned to provide: 

  • Recruiting process reviews and improvement recommendations
  • Evaluation of current sourcing channels and job post effectiveness
  • Time-to-fill and candidate quality feedback
  • Compensation benchmarking and market positioning reviews
  • Hiring workflow design, optimization and training
  • Succession planning and leadership pipeline development
  • Fractional recruiting support

 

Employer Branding & Hiring Positioning for Restaurants

In competitive hiring markets, strong employer branding helps hospitality businesses attract the most qualified candidates and reduce time-to-fill for critical roles.

Our team works with restaurants and hospitality brands to strengthen their position in the market — from updating job descriptions and messaging to enhancing the interview experience and highlighting differentiators that enhance the employer reputation.

Our hands-on support for employer branding and hiring positioning includes:

  • Developing employer branding strategies for restaurant and hospitality teams
  • Refining job descriptions and role positioning for competitive markets
  • Strengthening job postings and candidate messaging
  • Improving the candidate experience throughout the hiring process
  • Aligning recruiting messaging with company culture and values
  • Advising leadership teams on employer reputation and hiring visibility
  • Helping organizations attract high-quality hospitality talent

Compensation Benchmarking for Restaurants

Competitive pay is one of the biggest drivers of hiring success and retention in hospitality. Our compensation benchmarking services help restaurants, hotels, and hospitality groups understand how their pay stacks up against the market — so you can attract top talent, reduce turnover, and make confident, data-informed compensation decisions.

As part of our broader hospitality people strategy work, we benchmark salaries, hourly wages, bonuses, and benefits against comparable restaurant and hospitality employers in your market, role by role — from line cooks and front-of-house staff to general managers, executive chefs, and corporate leadership.

Our restaurant compensation benchmarking support includes:

  • Market pay analysis for hourly, management, culinary, and executive roles
  • Salary bands and pay ranges for multi-unit and multi-market operations
  • Bonus, incentive, and total rewards structure reviews
  • Pay transparency readiness and salary ranges for job postings
  • Internal pay equity reviews to identify and correct gaps
  • Offer strategy guidance to help you close top candidates faster

Benchmarking also connects directly to compliance and operations. We factor in local minimum wage, restaurant tipping models, and wage and hour requirements, and coordinate with our restaurant payroll and benefits team so new pay structures are implemented accurately.

The result is a compensation strategy that strengthens both recruiting and restaurant employee retention. Contact Empowered Hospitality to schedule a compensation benchmarking review.

Hospitality Roles We Recruit For

As a team of specialized hospitality experts, we support hiring across restaurant operations, culinary leadership, and corporate roles. Our team has successfully matched high-performing professionals with highly selective positions including: 

Culinary & Kitchen Leadership 

  • Executive Chef
  • Chef de Cuisine
  • Sous Chef
  • Pastry Chef
  • Corporate Chef
  • Kitchen Manager 

Restaurant Operations Leadership 

  • Director of Operations
  • General Manager
  • Assistant General Manager
  • Multi-Unit Manager
  • Regional Operations Manager
  • Front of House Manager 

Corporate & Strategic Hospitality Roles 

  • Chief Operating Officer
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • Chief HR Officer
  • VP of Operations
  • VP of Human Resources
  • Director of Human Resources
  • Talent Acquisition Manager
  • Finance & Accounting Leadership
  • Marketing Director 

Food & Beverage & Specialty Roles 

  • Food & Beverage Director
  • Beverage Director
  • Sommelier
  • Catering Director
  • Event Operations Manager 

Simply put, our team knows the market because we’ve been on both sides of the table – recruiter and hiring manager – and work in the market every day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you offer fractional talent acquisition services for restaurants?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality offers fractional talent acquisition support for restaurants and hospitality businesses that need recruiting expertise without hiring a full-time internal recruiter. Our team can support sourcing, screening, interviewing, and hiring strategy.

Can you support high-volume restaurant hiring?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality helps restaurants manage high-volume hiring initiatives for new openings, seasonal hiring needs, growth periods, and multi-unit operations. We develop recruiting strategies designed to attract qualified candidates efficiently.

Do you provide salary benchmarking for hospitality roles?

Yes. We provide compensation benchmarking and market insights to help hospitality employers remain competitive when attracting and retaining talent. Benchmarking can support hiring decisions, compensation planning, and workforce strategy.

Can you audit our current recruitment process?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality can evaluate your current recruiting process, identify bottlenecks, assess candidate experience, and recommend improvements to help increase hiring efficiency and improve results.

Do you offer retained and contingency search options?

Yes. We offer both retained and contingency recruiting solutions depending on the complexity, urgency, and strategic importance of the role being filled.

What types of restaurant roles do you recruit for?

We recruit for a wide range of hospitality positions, including executive leadership, operations management, culinary leadership, HR, finance, marketing, corporate support roles, and other key positions across the hospitality industry.

What does hospitality talent acquisition include?

Hospitality talent acquisition can include sourcing candidates, screening applicants, interview coordination, compensation guidance, employer branding support, recruiting strategy, executive search, and hiring process optimization.

How is restaurant executive search different from general recruiting?

Executive search focuses on identifying, evaluating, and recruiting senior-level leadership candidates who may not be actively seeking new opportunities. Executive search typically involves a more strategic, targeted approach than traditional recruiting.

Do you recruit for multi-unit restaurant groups?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality supports multi-unit restaurant groups with recruiting strategies designed to address growth, operational complexity, leadership hiring, and workforce planning across multiple locations.

Can you help fill hard-to-fill management roles?

Yes. We specialize in helping hospitality organizations identify and attract qualified candidates for difficult-to-fill management and leadership positions through targeted sourcing and industry-specific recruiting expertise.

How long does hospitality recruiting typically take?

Hiring timelines vary depending on the role, market conditions, and candidate availability. Leadership and specialized positions often require a longer search process, while high-volume hiring initiatives may move more quickly with the right recruiting strategy.

Why is hiring in the hospitality industry so challenging?

Hospitality employers often face challenges related to labor shortages, high turnover, competition for talent, seasonal staffing needs, and evolving candidate expectations. Effective recruiting strategies can help organizations overcome these challenges and attract qualified talent.

Can restaurants outsource recruiting?

Yes. Many restaurants outsource recruiting to gain access to hospitality hiring expertise, improve candidate quality, reduce time-to-fill, and support hiring initiatives without building an internal recruiting team.

What are the benefits of working with a hospitality recruiting firm?

Hospitality recruiting firms provide industry expertise, access to specialized talent networks, recruiting resources, and market insights that can help employers fill positions more efficiently and improve hiring outcomes.

How can restaurants improve employee retention after hiring?

Employee retention can be improved through competitive compensation, effective onboarding, manager training, career development opportunities, strong workplace culture, and ongoing employee engagement efforts.

Do you offer compensation benchmarking for restaurants?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality provides compensation benchmarking for restaurants and hospitality businesses, comparing your salaries, hourly wages, bonuses, and benefits against similar employers in your market. We help you build competitive pay ranges, review pay equity, and create offers that attract and retain top talent. Learn more about our people strategy services.

Hiring the right leaders is one of the most important decisions a restaurant can make. The wrong hires cost time, money, and momentum — and the right ones accelerates growth. 

Our executive search and recruiting team’s mission is to help you secure high-impact leaders with confidence. Every search is customized to your organization’s structure, culture, and goals. 

We help you: 

  • Define leadership competencies and success profiles
  • Share salary benchmarks and recommend compensation
  • Develop targeted search strategies
  • Access passive candidates within our industry network
  • Conduct structured screening and reference evaluation
  • Manage offer negotiation and closing strategy
  • Support onboarding and transition planning 

 

Scaling quickly? Opening multiple locations? Managing high-volume hiring?

As an HR firm, we’ve been uniquely positioned to build a recruiting team that integrates seamlessly into our clients’ teams, and designed it for restaurant and hospitality groups looking for structured, scalable hiring support beyond executive search.

Our high-volume recruiting approach drives your cost per hire down dramatically compared to standard contingent search and offers flexible access to experienced hospitality recruiters without the need to hire someone in house. And because we’re an HR firm, we not only help you find and hire the right candidates, but often assist with onboarding, training, performance management and a host of other areas to help your new team succeed. 

Our team’s support includes: 

  • High-volume candidate sourcing and screening
  • Full-cycle recruiting management
  • Interview coordination and hiring workflow oversight
  • Fractional talent acquisition leadership
  • Hiring process design and optimization
  • Employer branding and job posting strategy 

 

Sustainable growth requires more than filling open roles — it requires a structured, data-driven hiring strategy. 

We partner with restaurant and hospitality brands to evaluate, strengthen, and scale their current recruitment efforts. Whether you’re experiencing hiring bottlenecks, inconsistent candidate quality, or rapid expansion, we provide strategic perspective to improve performance. 

Our hospitality recruiting strategy team is well-positioned to provide: 

  • Recruiting process reviews and improvement recommendations
  • Evaluation of current sourcing channels and job post effectiveness
  • Time-to-fill and candidate quality feedback
  • Compensation benchmarking and market positioning reviews
  • Hiring workflow design, optimization and training
  • Succession planning and leadership pipeline development
  • Fractional recruiting support

 

In competitive hiring markets, strong employer branding helps hospitality businesses attract the most qualified candidates and reduce time-to-fill for critical roles.

Our team works with restaurants and hospitality brands to strengthen their position in the market — from updating job descriptions and messaging to enhancing the interview experience and highlighting differentiators that enhance the employer reputation.

Our hands-on support for employer branding and hiring positioning includes:

  • Developing employer branding strategies for restaurant and hospitality teams
  • Refining job descriptions and role positioning for competitive markets
  • Strengthening job postings and candidate messaging
  • Improving the candidate experience throughout the hiring process
  • Aligning recruiting messaging with company culture and values
  • Advising leadership teams on employer reputation and hiring visibility
  • Helping organizations attract high-quality hospitality talent

Competitive pay is one of the biggest drivers of hiring success and retention in hospitality. Our compensation benchmarking services help restaurants, hotels, and hospitality groups understand how their pay stacks up against the market — so you can attract top talent, reduce turnover, and make confident, data-informed compensation decisions.

As part of our broader hospitality people strategy work, we benchmark salaries, hourly wages, bonuses, and benefits against comparable restaurant and hospitality employers in your market, role by role — from line cooks and front-of-house staff to general managers, executive chefs, and corporate leadership.

Our restaurant compensation benchmarking support includes:

  • Market pay analysis for hourly, management, culinary, and executive roles
  • Salary bands and pay ranges for multi-unit and multi-market operations
  • Bonus, incentive, and total rewards structure reviews
  • Pay transparency readiness and salary ranges for job postings
  • Internal pay equity reviews to identify and correct gaps
  • Offer strategy guidance to help you close top candidates faster

Benchmarking also connects directly to compliance and operations. We factor in local minimum wage, restaurant tipping models, and wage and hour requirements, and coordinate with our restaurant payroll and benefits team so new pay structures are implemented accurately.

The result is a compensation strategy that strengthens both recruiting and restaurant employee retention. Contact Empowered Hospitality to schedule a compensation benchmarking review.

As a team of specialized hospitality experts, we support hiring across restaurant operations, culinary leadership, and corporate roles. Our team has successfully matched high-performing professionals with highly selective positions including: 

Culinary & Kitchen Leadership 

  • Executive Chef
  • Chef de Cuisine
  • Sous Chef
  • Pastry Chef
  • Corporate Chef
  • Kitchen Manager 

Restaurant Operations Leadership 

  • Director of Operations
  • General Manager
  • Assistant General Manager
  • Multi-Unit Manager
  • Regional Operations Manager
  • Front of House Manager 

Corporate & Strategic Hospitality Roles 

  • Chief Operating Officer
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • Chief HR Officer
  • VP of Operations
  • VP of Human Resources
  • Director of Human Resources
  • Talent Acquisition Manager
  • Finance & Accounting Leadership
  • Marketing Director 

Food & Beverage & Specialty Roles 

  • Food & Beverage Director
  • Beverage Director
  • Sommelier
  • Catering Director
  • Event Operations Manager 

Simply put, our team knows the market because we’ve been on both sides of the table – recruiter and hiring manager – and work in the market every day.

Do you offer fractional talent acquisition services for restaurants?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality offers fractional talent acquisition support for restaurants and hospitality businesses that need recruiting expertise without hiring a full-time internal recruiter. Our team can support sourcing, screening, interviewing, and hiring strategy.

Can you support high-volume restaurant hiring?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality helps restaurants manage high-volume hiring initiatives for new openings, seasonal hiring needs, growth periods, and multi-unit operations. We develop recruiting strategies designed to attract qualified candidates efficiently.

Do you provide salary benchmarking for hospitality roles?

Yes. We provide compensation benchmarking and market insights to help hospitality employers remain competitive when attracting and retaining talent. Benchmarking can support hiring decisions, compensation planning, and workforce strategy.

Can you audit our current recruitment process?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality can evaluate your current recruiting process, identify bottlenecks, assess candidate experience, and recommend improvements to help increase hiring efficiency and improve results.

Do you offer retained and contingency search options?

Yes. We offer both retained and contingency recruiting solutions depending on the complexity, urgency, and strategic importance of the role being filled.

What types of restaurant roles do you recruit for?

We recruit for a wide range of hospitality positions, including executive leadership, operations management, culinary leadership, HR, finance, marketing, corporate support roles, and other key positions across the hospitality industry.

What does hospitality talent acquisition include?

Hospitality talent acquisition can include sourcing candidates, screening applicants, interview coordination, compensation guidance, employer branding support, recruiting strategy, executive search, and hiring process optimization.

How is restaurant executive search different from general recruiting?

Executive search focuses on identifying, evaluating, and recruiting senior-level leadership candidates who may not be actively seeking new opportunities. Executive search typically involves a more strategic, targeted approach than traditional recruiting.

Do you recruit for multi-unit restaurant groups?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality supports multi-unit restaurant groups with recruiting strategies designed to address growth, operational complexity, leadership hiring, and workforce planning across multiple locations.

Can you help fill hard-to-fill management roles?

Yes. We specialize in helping hospitality organizations identify and attract qualified candidates for difficult-to-fill management and leadership positions through targeted sourcing and industry-specific recruiting expertise.

How long does hospitality recruiting typically take?

Hiring timelines vary depending on the role, market conditions, and candidate availability. Leadership and specialized positions often require a longer search process, while high-volume hiring initiatives may move more quickly with the right recruiting strategy.

Why is hiring in the hospitality industry so challenging?

Hospitality employers often face challenges related to labor shortages, high turnover, competition for talent, seasonal staffing needs, and evolving candidate expectations. Effective recruiting strategies can help organizations overcome these challenges and attract qualified talent.

Can restaurants outsource recruiting?

Yes. Many restaurants outsource recruiting to gain access to hospitality hiring expertise, improve candidate quality, reduce time-to-fill, and support hiring initiatives without building an internal recruiting team.

What are the benefits of working with a hospitality recruiting firm?

Hospitality recruiting firms provide industry expertise, access to specialized talent networks, recruiting resources, and market insights that can help employers fill positions more efficiently and improve hiring outcomes.

How can restaurants improve employee retention after hiring?

Employee retention can be improved through competitive compensation, effective onboarding, manager training, career development opportunities, strong workplace culture, and ongoing employee engagement efforts.

Do you offer compensation benchmarking for restaurants?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality provides compensation benchmarking for restaurants and hospitality businesses, comparing your salaries, hourly wages, bonuses, and benefits against similar employers in your market. We help you build competitive pay ranges, review pay equity, and create offers that attract and retain top talent. Learn more about our people strategy services.

Success Stories

I have loved working with EH....Beyond this, they have found great candidates for our open positions and placed multiple managers for our business. Great people that I was struggling to find myself.

— Lee Weiss, U.S. Head of Operations, Farmer J

From recruiting and policy-building to on and off-boarding and PEO implementation, E|H helped us elevate to the next level and did a great job integrating with our team.

— Jaclyn Pascocello, Chief Operating Officer, Spacious

Working with Empowered Hospitality as our HR partner has been incredibly valuable for our team. They support us across day-to-day needs, provide meaningful support in our recruiting efforts, and have been instrumental in building practical tolls that have helped us sale more seamlessly.

— Joli Ridenour, Community Manager, The Buttery

Let’s Build a Smarter People Strategy

If you’re looking for outsourced hospitality HR support, restaurant executive search, payroll support, fractional HR leadership, hourly recruiting help, or anything in between, we’re ready to help. Let’s talk about your people!