Dive Brief:

• DoorDash has partnered with six companies to provide restaurant partners access to healthcare and mental health benefits and continued career development, the company wrote in an email to Restaurant Dive.
• While DoorDash isn’t offering benefits directly, restaurants will be able to access discounted products and services based on their needs as part of the Merchants Benefits program. 
• This latest offering is part of DoorDash’s expansion of tools restaurant partners can use to improve their businesses. In August, it revised its dashboard to allow restaurants to pick and choose the products that fit their businesses.

Dive Insight:

DoorDash’s Merchant Benefits is expected to help operators with recruitment, retention and staff development — issues that are among the top challenges for restaurateurs. A DoorDash/Technomic report revealed that for most restaurants (83%), when an employee leaves their post it takes up to one month to hire and train a new employee. On average, restaurants hire six new employees annually, which requires about six months devoted to hiring and training. It can cost up to $5,000 to replace a single employee, translating to a cost of up to $30,000 per year for small operators, according to the report. 

Benefits can be a huge recruitment and retention tool. When it comes to picking a place to work, 66% of restaurant employees would choose an employer with benefits, while 62% would prefer a job that includes training opportunities, according to the report. Fifty-seven percent of employees said they would stay at their restaurant job if their restaurant employer added health benefits. Eighty-six percent of employees who aren’t satisfied with their current benefits would stay in their job if they were offered better benefits, the report found. 

While benefits help with retention, only 58% of operators surveyed say they offer them. That number rises to 76% for chain restaurants, while only half of independents said they offer benefits. Chains like Brinker, Starbucks and Noodles & Company increased benefits earlier this year. 

After a decent salary/wage, the most important benefits to employees aged 30 and older are workers’ compensation (63%), health benefits (61%) and development training (59%). For Gen Z employees, 70% are most interested in health benefits after adequate salary/wage, compared to workers’ compensation (66%) and development training (64%).

Restaurants have access to the following companies through DoorDash’s Merchant Benefits:

• Sesame: Restaurants can access healthcare benefit plans starting at $5 per month, which include in-person and virtual primary care, mental health services and specialty care. 
• Breathwrk: Discounted subscriptions to this personal health app can allow restaurants to offer employees access to breathing exercises to help reduce stress and improve focus. 
• EdApp by SafetyCulture: Restaurants can receive a discount of 40% or more off this all-in-one learning management system to access a curriculum specifically designed fo restaurants and hospitality. Custom courses are also available.
• StateFoodSafety: A 15% discount is available for this online food safety education company that offers hospitality training certifications for food handler, food manager, allergen awareness and alcohol server.
• Landed: This end-to-end recruitment platform is offering a free month. The platform helps with hiring hourly candidates and automates candidate engagement, screening and interview scheduling. 
• 7shifts: Partners can access this team management platform for four months for free.