QUALITALY

FEB. MAR. 2017

of staff during peaks of activity –

Tells Giancarlo Deidda, President Fipe

Sardinia and Vice President Fipe, and

owner of the restaurants Dal Corsaro

and Dal Corsaro al mare in Cagliari –

they are also used at the beginning of

the season, when the weather is still

uncertain and a day of sun or rain

can significantly change the influx of

customers. At this time of the year the

voucher becomes an instrument for

assessing staff in the field to be later

added in the middle of the season,

through more structured contracts”.

Between actual contracts of

employment, the most flexible is

that on-call, used to handle peak

workloads foreseeable during the

week or the season: weekends,

holidays, week days and days such

as Valentine’s Day... Then there is

the fixed-term contract, which lasts

for example throughout the season,

to then enable the contract for an

indefinite period, ideal for those

elements of the staff which constitute

the “Hardcore” and who have perhaps

a function of responsibility for and

management of temporary staff.

“For example – says Deidda – I

willingly use the the on-call form

of contract for university students,

who I already know and who give

me certain guarantees in their

relationship with customers. They

have a supporting role with respect

to the more permanent staff”. For

potential young employees there

is the option of an apprenticeship,

which offers advantages from the

point of view of social security

contributions and constitutes a valid

training path.

Schools: a catchment area for

apprenticeships and selection

Staff may be taken thanks to the

alternation between school and work,

a very valuable tool to complete

the education of the youngsters

who choose the hospitality-linked

professions.

That doesn’t mean that only young

people with this type of background

are needed in a restaurant. “I

believe – maintains Deidda – that the

school-work alternation may also be

extended to students with another

educational certificate in order to

meet different requirements from

those of the kitchen, the dining area

or at the front desk. Thinking about

those from high school: the artistic

ones can help us to improve the

image of our establishment, those of

a literary nature to give us ideas to

promote the establishment and its

menu, those with languages allow

us to reach out to an international

clientele... I really believe in this type

of approach to improve what the

restaurant has to offer and its image”.

Unfortunately, the use of trainees

also has constraints. “For a small

establishment – explains Musacci

– it is virtually impossible to take

these youngsters, because the law

requires that you can accommodate

a maximum of one student trainee

per 5 employees. And in our country

there are not many restaurants

with more than ten employees...

abroad this constraint doesn’t exist,

that is why it is so easy to find

Italians working in overseas public

establishments.”

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And chefs?

If the chefs, especially the most

famous ones, are frequently also the

restaurant owners, they always have

those who act as consultants or who

work as employees in the restaurants

of others.

“I willingly collaborate with great

chefs – says Giancarlo Deidda – for

the preparation of the season, they

help us in the fine-tuning of the

menu and in the training of staff”.

In the case of employees, their

grading should reflect their actual

tasks.

“In a kitchen, the role of the chef

is one of great responsibility –

emphasizes Matteo Musacci – he is

not limited to cooking, but has a role

of management and supervision of

his subordinates. The salary and the

presence of any benefits must take

this into account”.

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Outsourcing:

A little used possibility

The alternative to direct employment

would be to entrust the management

of staff to third party institutions such

as cooperatives. This practice, which

is very common in other sectors,

is not so in the traditional catering

sector.

“The staff is far too important an

asset for a public establishment –

maintains Matteo Musacci – and it

is difficult to leave it to others to

choose”. “I’ve happened to resort to

cooperatives – continues Giancarlo

Deidda – but only in case of special

events, not in general because I

always prefer to have the direct

control of the employees in the daily

management of my business”.

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THE ROLE OF SCHOOLS

The hotelier institutes scattered

throughout the country are the

preferential catchment area from

which to draw youngsters to give

apprenticeships.

“The hotel schools are professional

institutes,” explains Francesco

Antonio Malaspina, director of the

IPSEOA Carlo Porta di Milano, in

response to this. “We have a close

connection with the territory and

even the activities of career guidance

are participated by restaurateurs,

hoteliers, and academics. These

meetings allow students to become

more aware of the reality of the work

and through internships finalise their

professional preparation. The school-

work alternation in our institute

was part of the educational activity

even before the entry into force of

the ‘Good School’ (Buona scuola)

law.” Each year we send about 830

youngsters of the last three years

to on-the-job training. We work