Workers at Church’s Chicken, Pizza Hut, and Checkers can now get expedited pay as U.S. restaurants grapple with a labor shortage that’s not showing any signs of abating.

Restaurant chains are pulling out all the stops to attract and retain cooks and cashiers amid persistently low unemployment. The latest move: Same-day and next-day paychecks. Starting in June, eight Church’s Chicken restaurants will offer employees half of their earned pay the day after their shift. The test will gauge whether the 50% is enough for workers, and the idea is to roll it out more widely going forward. It’s not a loan, and there are no fees.

“It will give the employee the chance to get spending money quicker,” Church’s Chief Executive Officer Joe Christina said in an interview. “Some people just can’t wait two weeks to get paid.”

With an accelerating economy and the U.S. jobless rate at a 49-year low, restaurants are hurting. The dining industry is growing increasingly desperate to attract and keep quality employees, and simply raising wages isn’t always enough. That’s why they’re getting creative with hiring parties, text-message recruiting, and signing bonuses. McDonald’s is even going after senior citizens to flip burgers.

Labor is “the number one item” discussed among management, Christina said. “In all my years, it’s the toughest labor market that I can remember.”

Restaurants are being squeezed as fewer teens enter the workforce and higher minimum wages go into effect in parts of the U.S. Also, higher pay for lower-skilled workers at companies such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target are making it more difficult for restaurants to compete for talent.

Atlanta-based Church’s reached into the city’s northern suburbs to hire another company, Instant Financial, to offer the perk. Church’s and sister brand Texas Chicken have more than 1,500 stores worldwide.

‘Almost a Requirement’

Venture capital-funded Instant Financial also works with Bloomin’ Brands—the parent of Outback Steakhouse—and recently added Checkers & Rally’s Restaurants as customers. Instant Financial CEO Steve Barha said that the tight labor market has made instant pay “almost a requirement” over the past year for the dining industry.

On average, restaurant employees take out $28 with his company’s service after working, Barha said. Instant Financial doesn’t charge any fees to workers but rather makes money by charging the employer for the service.

The majority of working adults are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent survey from the non-partisan research organization NORC at the University of Chicago. The study found that 51% of Americans wouldn’t be able to cover necessities without dipping into savings if they missed more than one paycheck.

That’s why Pizza Hut franchisee Erik Bittner is considering whether to mention the perk in the ads he uses to attract delivery drivers as he competes for their services with Uber Technologies and Lyft. He added the benefit in March through the Branch Messenger mobile app.

“The expectation in the future from employees is going to be they want their pay now,” said Bittner, a partner at Bittner Restaurant Group, the owner of 12 Pizza Huts in Pennsylvania. “Why do I have to wait two weeks?”

Branch, which also provides its service to Taco Bell franchisees, charges a flat fee of $3.99 for workers to get up to half of their wages the same day they worked, and offers three-day transfers for free. The Minneapolis-based startup has seen 150% growth among restaurant employees since introducing the early-wage part of the app in September.

Most Branch early-pay users are spending the fast cash on transportation, groceries, and unexpected bills, Branch CEO Atif Siddiqi said. Expedited pay can “help keep employees happy.”

Church’s Chicken、必胜客和Checkers的员工现在可以更快地拿到薪水了，原因是美国餐饮业人员紧缺的问题仍无缓解迹象。

由于失业率一直很低，连锁餐馆正在全力以赴地吸引和留住厨师与收银员。它们的最新举措是同日或隔日发工资。从今年6月开始，8家Church’s Chicken餐馆将在员工下班时支付50%的当日工资。这番尝试旨在评估50%的工资对员工来说是否足够多，而且这家餐馆打算在今后推广这样的做法。这可不是贷款，也没有手续费。

Church’s Chicken的首席执行官乔伊·克里斯蒂娜在接受采访时表示：“这给了员工更快地挣零花钱的机会。有些人就是没办法等两周再领工资。”

美国经济加速增长和失业率创49年新低给餐厅带来了不利影响。餐饮业越发渴望吸引和留住优质员工，而且简单地涨工资已经不太管用了。正因如此，它们才会创造性地搞出招聘派对、短信招工和签字奖金来。麦当劳甚至开始请上了年纪的人来做汉堡。

克里斯蒂娜说，劳动力是管理者们讨论的“首要问题”，“这么多年来，这是我记忆中最困难的就业市场。”

加入劳动者行列的年轻人减少以及美国部分地区最低工资上升给餐厅带来了压力。同时，亚马逊、沃尔玛和塔吉特向劳动技能水平较低的工作者开出较高的工资提高了餐饮业争夺人才的难度。

总部设在亚特兰大的Church’s Chicken请该市北部郊区的公司Instant Financial来快速代发工资。其兄弟品牌Texas Chicken在全世界设有1500多家餐厅。

“几乎成了一项要求”

风投资金成立的Instant Financial还在跟Bloomin’ Brands合作，后者是连锁牛排店澳拜客的母公司。最近，Checkers & Rally’s Restaurants也成为了Instant Financial的客户。Instant Financial的首席执行官史蒂夫·巴哈指出，一年来，劳动力供应吃紧已经让即时结算工资“几乎成了餐饮业的一项要求”。

巴哈说，在Instant Financial的用户中，餐厅员工每天下班后平均可以拿到28美元。Instant Financial不对员工收取任何手续费，而是通过向企业收取服务费来挣钱。

芝加哥大学无党派研究机构NORC最近的一项调查显示，多数成年就业者都是月光族。这项研究发现，如果少领工资的次数超过一次，51%的美国人就得靠存款来应付必要开支。

正是出于这个原因，必胜客的加盟商埃里克·比特纳正在考虑是否要在征召快递员的广告中提到此项福利，因为他正在和Uber以及Lyft争夺快递服务人员。他在今年3月通过移动应用程序Branch Messenger启用了这项功能。

比特纳是Bittner Restaurant Group的合伙人，该公司在宾夕法尼亚州拥有12家必胜客餐厅。他说：“今后员工的预期会变成他们马上就要拿到薪水。为什么要等两个星期呢？”

Branch Messenger还为快餐连锁店塔可贝尔提供服务。它对最多可以拿到当日工资一半的餐厅员工统一收取3.99美元的手续费，同时免费提供三天到账服务。这家设在明尼阿波利斯的初创公司于去年9月在自己的App中推出即时结算工资服务，至今其餐厅员工用户群体已经增长了150%。

Branch Messenger的首席执行官阿提夫·西迪奇说，大多数用户都把这笔快速兑现的收入用在了交通、食杂以及意外支出上。更快地发工资“会让员工一直开心”。（财富中文网）

译者：Charlie

审校：夏林