Business Handbook (Part 3): Staffing and Human Resources – how to find and retain the team

“I have clients, I have no one to work with.”

This is the line you hear most often in Bansko in December. The lack of qualified staff is the biggest threat to local businesses. Hotels are scrambling for maids and restaurants are scrambling for chefs, often raising salaries in the middle of the season.

How can you avoid this chaos and ensure a stable team? Here are strategies that work.

1. The apartment: The hidden trump card

In Bansko, salary is not everything. The biggest problem for seasonal workers (who come from the interior of the country) is accommodation.

  • The strategy: If you provide free or cheap accommodation to your staff, you automatically gain an advantage over competitors who only offer a salary.
  • The solution: Many businesses rent cheap apartments long-term or use rooms in their own facilities for staff. It's an investment that guarantees loyalty.

2. Where to look for people?

Relying only on local people from Bansko and Razlog no longer works – they are employed or have their own businesses.

Student brigades

  • Contact the universities of tourism and food technology in Plovdiv and Blagoevgrad. Students are looking for internships and good money during the holidays.

Import of personnel (Third-country nationals)

This is the new reality. Many large hotels in Bansko already employ staff from Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan or Nepal.

  • The procedure: It takes time for visas and work permits (at least 3-4 months in advance). There are specialized agencies that handle the entire process.
  • The advantage: These workers come with a contract for the entire season and will not leave on January 1st because they had a fight with the manager.

3. Seasonal contracts and insurance

The law provides flexible options for tourism that save on administration.

  • One-day employment contract (Art. 114a of the Labor Code): Suitable for "extra" staff during peak times (e.g. New Year's or Student Holiday). Register online with the NRA and get paid immediately.
  • Fixed-term contract (Art. 68 of the Labor Code): The classic option for the season. Make sure the notice clause is well written so you don't end up without a person overnight.

4. Retention

The biggest nightmare is for the chef to leave at the peak of the season because the other side has offered him 100 leva more.

How to prevent it?

  1. End of Season Bonus: Include a bonus (e.g. half salary) in the contract that is paid out only if the employee stays until the end of the agreed date (e.g. March 31).
  2. Tips (Service Charge): Introduce a clear and transparent tip distribution system. If the kitchen also receives a percentage, tension between waiters and chefs decreases.
  3. Respect: It sounds trite, but in the tense environment of the season, scandals are a daily occurrence. An owner who yells at staff in front of customers loses people. Be a leader, not just a boss.

5. Training: Don't rely on "ready-made" staff

Instead of looking for “the perfect waiter with 10 years of experience” (which you won’t find), hire people with the right attitude and train them.

  • Set aside 2 weeks in November for intensive training – menu, etiquette, English.
  • The investment in training returns many times over through more satisfied customers and higher bills.

Next step: You have a team, you have clients. The last piece of the puzzle remains – technical support. How do you work with craftsmen and subcontractors so that they don't lie to you?

Read Part 4: For craftsmen and builders – standards, communication and trust