Why Melbourne Venues Struggle to Find Good Staff

Across Melbourne’s café, restaurant, and bar scene, one complaint is heard again and again: “It’s so hard to find good staff.”

Despite the city having thousands of hospitality workers, many venues still struggle to build reliable teams. The problem isn’t always a shortage of people, it’s often how hiring is done.

One major factor is the heavy reliance on Working Holiday Visa holders. These workers are an important part of Melbourne’s hospitality workforce and often bring great energy and enthusiasm. However, many are only in Australia for a short period of time.

This means venues frequently face challenges such as:

• Staff leaving after a few months

• Workers changing cities or travelling

• Inconsistent long-term availability

While many working holiday staff perform well, the temporary nature of these visas can create high turnover for venues trying to build stable teams.

Another reason venues struggle is the lack of a proper recruitment process.

In hospitality, hiring is often done quickly because managers are busy running service. Job ads are posted, resumes come in, and interviews are arranged in a rush between shifts. Without structured screening, venues often end up interviewing candidates who may not have the right experience, attitude, or availability.

This leads to a common industry habit known as panic hiring.

A staff member quits, shifts need to be covered immediately, and the venue hires the first available person just to fill the gap. While this solves the short-term problem, it often creates bigger issues later — poor performance, unreliable attendance, or staff who leave soon after joining.

The result is a cycle many venues know too well:

Hire quickly → Staff leave → Hire again → Repeat.

To solve this, more venues are starting to move toward structured recruitment and pre-screened candidate pools rather than relying solely on job ads and rushed interviews.

By focusing on proper screening, experience verification, and organised trial shifts, venues can make better hiring decisions and build stronger teams.

As Melbourne’s hospitality industry continues to evolve, the venues that succeed will be the ones that treat hiring as a process - not a last-minute reaction.