September 2008

By Debby Cannon, Ph.D., CHE, Director, Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality, Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University

SURVEY OVERVIEW

Training and consulting company WineAndHospitalityNetwork.com/Outside the Lines, Inc., in conjunction with the Georgia Restaurant Association, conducted a comprehensive restaurant salary survey for the state of Georgia. A wide range of restaurant positions were included, ranging from regional management levels to culinary positions, support areas such as accounting and HR and hourly supervisors. In total, data was obtained for 34 different restaurant positions. For the purposes of this brief summary and analysis, only a portion of those 34 positions will be included.

In analyzing the data from this survey, caution should be used in generalizing the results to all restaurants in Georgia. Less than 50 restaurant companies responded. Wage and salary information do not differentiate between urban and rural areas, large and small operations or fine dining and more casual concepts.

Having said that, it is important for any state, including Georgia, to monitor and continually collect industry statistics such as the data that follows. The restaurants that participated should be commended for contributing information that provides a foundation for future research efforts. The number of participating restaurants will hopefully grow in subsequent surveys and will provide an important source of information for the restaurant and food service industry throughout Georgia.

The respondents in the 2008 Georgia survey were predominately from independent operations (46.3%), followed by chain-operated (22%) and franchised (12.2%) restaurants. Other participants included hotel/resort restaurants (7.3%); banquet/catering companies (4.9%) and other (7.3%).

Of the concepts, upscale casual dining had the highest representation (29.3%), with casual dining (22%), fine dining (12.2%) and family restaurants (9.8%) also included. The average annual revenue per unit ranged from under $50,000 to $10,000,000 with the most (37.5%) in the $1 million to $3 million category. Collectively, 65% of the respondents represented operations with annual revenues of $1 million to $10 million. A cross-section of geographical areas was reflected in the survey representing a majority of city/downtown locations with a smaller percent in the suburban areas. Other areas represented included waterfront properties, small towns and rural regions and tourism destinations.

SALARY DETAILS

Regional/area/district management positions among the participating companies ranged in annual salaries from less then $50,000 to over $120,000. Most of the average salaries at this level (42.1%) were between $50,000 and $65,000, with 31.6% of this group averaging less than $50,000. For entry-level regional/area and district management positions, 85% started at $60,000 or lower, with most (45%) under $50,000 for annual compensation.

The director of franchise operations, in comparison, was at a higher salary level among the respondents, with 60% having an annual salary between $70,000 and $120,000. Only 10% averaged less than $50,000 at this level. For starting salaries for this group, most were in the $50,000 to $80,000 range (60%).

As might be expected, restaurant general managers had a wider range of annual salaries spanning below $40,000 to over $110,000. The most frequent average salary range for a general manager was $45,000 to $50,000 (22.2%). For entering general managers, the majority (32.4%) were being paid below $40,000. Assistants correspondingly ranged from below $25,000 to over $75,000, with the largest group (23.5%) in the $35,000 to $40,000 range. Almost 79% of assistant managers started between $25,000 and $40,000 (See Figure 2).

Executive chefs among the companies participating ranged in average salaries from $30,000 to $90,000 with 70% being in the $40,000 to $70,000 range. Entry salaries for executive chefs ranged from $30,000 to $80,000 with most (65%) between $30,000 and $50,000 (See Figure 3).

In comparison, working chefs/kitchen managers tended to start at $40,000 or lower (92.9%), with the highest percentage (38.5%) in the $35,000 to $40,000 range. Regarding average salaries at this level, the largest group (39.1%) was in the $40,000 to $45,000 range.

For the entry-level sous chef category, 80% were in the $25,000 to $40,000 range. This range increased for the average sous chef salary, with 87.5% in the $30,000 to $45,000 category.

Banquet/catering chefs and pastry chefs were also included in the survey. For starting salaries for banquet chefs, 50% were in the $35,000 to $40,000 range with an additional 25% between $45,000 and $50,000. Average salaries for this category tended to be in the $40,000 to $45,000 (60%) range with an additional 30% in the $45,000 to $55,000 range.

Entry-level pastry chefs were most often (33.3%) in the $25,000 to $30,000 starting range. The average for this category increased to $40,000 to $50,000 with 50% of the respondents in this range.

Regarding hourly positions, starting wages for supervisors in this study ranged from less than $8 per hour to one location paying $20 to $25 per hour. Starting supervisors tended to make $9 to $10 per hour (26.7%) with an additional 30.1% in the $10 to $13 range. Most supervisors (58.1%) averaged between $10 and $14 per hour (See Figure 2).

Benefits are an important part of the total compensation package and were included in the survey. Of the respondents, 53.8% provided benefits to management employees with an additional 46.1% providing benefits to all full-time employees.

Most frequent management-level benefits included medical insurance (91.9%), dental insurance (70.3%), vision insurance (45.9%) and basic life insurance (59.5%) as well as a variety of other types of insurance coverage including long-term disability (40.5%), short-term disability (40.5%) and accidental death and dismemberment (35.1%). Retirement plans (401(k)) were provided by 40.5% with an additional 18.9% offering employee stock purchase/ownership options. For management, 23.6% of the responding companies paid 100% of the benefit costs, with a higher percentage (38%) paying a portion of these costs. Benefit options offered to hourly employees were similar to the types of insurance for managers. Almost 31% (30.9%) of the responding companies contributed a portion to hourly employee benefits (See Figure 6).

A small percentage (10%) of respondents indicated insurance benefit options for part-time employees including medical and dental insurance. In addition, 60% noted that part-time employees got paid time-off/vacation and 20% provided paid holidays. Approximately 20% of the respondents also provided some type of retirement plan through 401(k) options or stock ownership opportunities for part-time employees.

Industry Salary Survey – What Impacts Restaurant Salaries?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 at 6:31 pm and is filed under Management.