A recent poll of hospitality leaders put the spotlight on a growing desire to implement new technology to better address staffing and employee turnover— to be more competitive, relevant, and capital efficient. We think this is a smart move on their part

But as we move closer to Spring and further into a vaccinated world, there are so many restaurant, bar, and hospitality operators preparing to open or reopen, or just get back to operating without as many restrictions in place. And yet a very important “something” is missing…

Where are all the workers?

The answer is actually pretty complex, but simply put here are 5 factors that are influencing the current state of recruiting & hiring in foodservice and hospitality:

• up to 3 million workers have already departed the industry with no intention of returning
• stagnant teen labor force participation
• a perception that tipped-positions will be less lucrative (at least in the short term)
• lower waged, non-tipped positions are not attractive compared with higher base-wage roles with decent benefits outside of foodservice and hospitality (e.g. Amazon, Target, FedEx, Kroger, etc)
• an apprehensive workforce due to health concerns (COVID impact)

How do we compete then?

The war for talent in the restaurant industry is very real, and it extends far throughout the entire foodservice, hospitality, catering sector. But the problem is not new, it merely requires a new approach to get the attention of potential workers, and getting them to have any interest in open jobs.

Acclaimed restaurant groups and hospitality operations are seeing great success in holding on to their core staff, and augmenting the remainder of the team by using SnapShyft to bring in high-quality, fully-screened industry professionals. The use cases show the power of a “try-before-you-buy” system, that essentially replaces the task of reviewing resumes and  interviewing candidates before they spend one minute on the job. Bringing in competent workers ready to work allows managers to see first hand if a worker might be a fit on their team.

The best part of this approach is there are no obligations tied to the typical hiring/firing process and the time-commitment that entails— managers simply post open shifts and grade the performance of the worker(s). If they really like a worker (and the feeling is mutual) they can move forward with hiring them as a full or part-time employee. Or if there is no desire from either party to do something long term, or the needs of the business fluctuate too often to dictate carrying an additional employee, then a shift-to-shift approach can work quite well. Staff up as needed. Have reduced overhead. Build out a preferred/favorites list over time to have familiar faces familiar with your operation on stand-by in your hand-picked on-demand labor pool, managed by SnapShyft😉 

At the end of the day we are here to help you succeed! If you are hiring, how is that going for you? Reach out and talk to us. 

You’ve Got Open Jobs. We’ve Got The Qualified Workers.

Thor Wood is the Founder and CEO of SnapShyft, a technology company that connects hospitality and food-service businesses with fully vetted & experienced front or back-of-house staff, on-demand. Headquartered in Indianapolis, IN, U.S.A., SnapShyft is delivering the best attributes of the gig-economy while eliminating bias and discrimination from the staffing process — working with acclaimed restaurant brands, high-volume catering & event operations, and hospitality businesses of all shapes and sizes. SnapShyft supercharges a manager’s ability to get great staff working on a short-term, seasonal, or long-term basis — allowing managers to give core staff the support they need while flexibly adjusting staff levels on-the-fly. An industry leader in delivering reliable & consistent results, SnapShyft has a successful shift fulfillment rate that is 3X the staffing industry average. SnapShyft was founded by a leadership team with over 20 years in food service & hospitality, 14 years in executive recruiting & staffing, and over 20 years in operations, finance, accounting, and HR. The SnapShyft platform has been featured in Bar & Restaurant, Business Insider, Buzzfeed, Hospitality Tech Magazine, TechCrunch, Xconomy, Yahoo! News, and was named a TechCrunch Top Pick for Social Impact, as well as a Top 15 Startup of the Year by Established, and was a recipient of the Indiana Innovation Award.