In many instances, pizza places are affected differently by world economic events compared to the rest of the restaurant industry.
To better understand it, we surveyed 91 pizzerias from across North America.
Pizzeria Employee Composition
Of the pizzerias that responded to our survey, 83% employ more than 10 people per location. Brands with two or more locations also employ more people per location, with 93% of pizzerias with two or more locations employing more than 10 people per store.
A little under a third, at 32%, of employees are full-time, according to the survey. This average remained the same, regardless of the number of locations or the number of employees.
Pizzerias also reported that they had an average of 3 management-level employees per location. As expected, there was a correlation between the number of employees and the number of managers a pizza place employs, where pizzerias with more employees also had more managers.
As for non-management staff, 38% of pizzerias reported annual staff turnover rates of 10-25%, while 29% of pizzerias reported annual staff turnover rates between 25-50%. Such a massive spike in turnover rates leads to much higher training and operating costs each year. Only 19% of respondents reported a turnover rate of less than 10%.
Delivery Driver Compensation
58% of the pizzerias that offer delivery employ between 4 and 10 delivery drivers. In a past survey, focused on pizza delivery, we learned that 68% of pizzerias have between one and 5 delivery drivers working during a busy night.
This past survey also revealed that 68% of pizzeria owners reported their drivers earning between 10-15% in tips on deliveries. These tips are not split with in-house workers at 86% of pizzerias.
They do, however, require delivery drivers to provide their own vehicle for work. This adds costs for the drivers, such as maintenance, gas, and insurance.
Delivery Driver Gender Demographics
Pizza is stereotypically a male-dominated industry, but as organizations like Women in Pizza are pointing out, there are many opportunities for women.
Pizzerias surveyed reported an average female driver rate of 25%. This is slightly more than the third-party delivery average, which is 23% according to Gridwise.
Impact of COVID-19
COVID-19 has impacted employment in every industry to varying degrees. For pizza, especially pizza delivery, the impact has not been as severe as in other restaurant industries. When surveyed last August, 57% of pizzerias reported an increase in sales compared to before the pandemic. In this survey, 46% of pizzerias reported increasing their staffing levels compared to pre-pandemic in order to cope with increased demand. Only 17% of pizzerias indicated a negative impact, stating that they had to lay off employees.
