"It just worked for me, and he has to go with what works for him," Berry adds.

Revolving Door

A challenge Mayer faces that Berry didn't have to confront is a tight labor market, which encourages staff to look elsewhere for employment.

While the current United States unemployment rate is 4.1 percent, Cambridge's rate has slipped as low as 1.4 percent in recent months.

"People don't come knocking at your door--you have to go out to them," says Judith R. Della Barba, associate director for human resources at HUDS. "When an opportunity comes along in this market, people have an opportunity to move like they've never moved before."

With more openings in higher paying jobs than ever, HUDS' historically high retention rate has dropped considerably.

Still, some say the labor market can't shoulder all of the blame.

"Harvard was the best place to work. That's what doesn't come through," Atkinson says. "You never work past nine, there's a fixed wage. And Harvard's benefits are way better than Atlantic Fish Company or Border Cafe."

Atkinson notes that a dedicated human resources department, which Mayer added to HUDS, is an advantage--but he questions why it failed to stem the exodus.

Della Barba suggests that the loss of five managers in Quincy this year is due to the large number of other jobs available in the food services field, as well as personal problems beyond HUDS' control.

"Granted [losing five managers] is high, but they were individual events. I don't see a connection between one another," Della Barba says.

And, in fact, the human resources department has made great strides in keeping staff within its ranks.

While HUDS' list of hourly job openings was a full two pages in early November, by May that list had been whittled down by half.

To Those Who Wait

Mayer says his plan is finally coming together.

The success of one of Mayer's two-year projects, the Culinary Support Group (CSG), backs up his contention that his management style will work in the long-term. A new unit, housed below Eliot and Kirkland, the CSG was initially unpopular with the staff.

"You think they weren't pissed at me? You think they weren't angry with me?" Mayer says.