Innovation

Since the opening of the restaurant in 2016, Buffet Hut has been making strides towards reducing inequalities. They do this by ensuring that the majority of its staff are originally from geographical areas in the world that are considered poor or impoverished. This includes those who live in suburbs of Melbourne that have a low median household income, outlined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Furthermore, Buffet Hut also provides employment to those who have come from India, who have originally come from poor areas, and are eligible to legally work in Australia. This includes new migrants, and current visa holders.

A majority of full time employees at Buffet Hut are women, as outlined in Buffet Huts B Corp Assessment, achieving the tenth UN Sustainable Developmental Goal, 'Reducing Inequality'.

Buffet Hut ensures that the employees are involved at all levels of the business. At the top, the chefs plan and prepare the meals. Waiters provide the customer service and serve the meals prepared. The delivery drivers will deliver ordered food via transport. This is a choice by Buffet Hut to ensure that there is as much employment opportunities as possible to those who come from poorer backgrounds.

By creating a inclusive and diverse workforce, Buffet Hut helps achieve the tenth goal outlined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 'Reduce inequality'. In particular, the business is making efforts to 'achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40% of the population' by offering this opportunity to those who come from poor areas geographically and statistically.

Inspiration

Originally coming from India, Shreyas and his business partners understood how difficult it was for new migrants to find a job in Australia and adjust to the Australian way of life. Sometimes, this is often due to a lack of knowledge of the English language upon arriving in Australia. In some other cases, it is due to the lack of a strong networking that local residents already have.

Inspired by his own experience growing up in Australia, Shreyas had implemented hiring practices in his business, to ensure that "those who come from a poor socio-economic backgrounds, can find work, to support their lifestyle and well being".

Furthermore, Shreyas had also heard of businesses both domestically and internationally, who were taking action to hire "those in need". Some businesses would hire those without a home, people who had little to no income, or war veterans who had come back home and were struggling to find work. This was another source of inspiration for Shreyas, which he then tried to implement in his own business to replicate what was occurring locally and overseas.

Combining these experiences and pieces of information, it formed the backbone of the innovation, which saw Buffet Hut and it's partners inspired to implement these practices in their own business aiding and reaching out to populations in need.

Overall impact

See Below.

Business benefit

As a result of the implementation and conduction of the Innovation, there were several benefits that directly impacted the business and its partners, in a positive way.

When an employee leaves the business, Buffet Hut's management is able to replenish its staff quicker as there are many new migrants from India looking for employment. By being accepting to those in difficult or tough situations, many applicants are attracted to employment opportunities at the business, allowing replacement of staff a minor or nonexistent issue for the business.

Furthermore, the business has created an opportunity to market themselves as an employer who are conscious about those who are in need or are in difficult situations. By doing so, Buffet Hut may be able to attract more revenue and sales by positioning itself in a positive light, resulting in a positive impact which can boost sales or market share.

By being a socially responsible organisation and embracing the role of ensuring that those from impoverished or tough areas are able to find employment, Buffet Hut has experienced positive results, which helped them become more competitive in the food and dining industry.

Social and environmental benefit

While there is little to zero negative influence on the environment caused by the business, the overall effect of the innovation on society is beneficial, resulting in both short and long term positive impacts.

One effect as a result of the innovation is the increase in the equality of income, contributing to making a more equal distribution, and improving the amount of income that is held by the nation's poorer residents.

Another impact is the decrease in the gender employment opportunities gap. As outlined in Buffet Hut's B Corp Assessment, around 50-60% of the full time staff employed are female. Buffet Hut addresses this issue through their employment activities, which has a positive impact on the gender employment opportunities gap, providing females with job opportunities to help alleviate the issue of a gender biased workforce.

Thus, the innovation at Buffet Hut create positive impacts which directly address societies needs such as the gender pay/employment gap and helping populations in need, as well as the tenth United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, 'Reducing Inequalities'.

Interview

Shreyas Tawade, Partner