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The Best Recruiting & Hiring Technology for Restaurants
Need Advice? Talk to an Expert
Recruiting and hiring new talent is one of the biggest challenges facing restaurant operators right now. Aside from the talent pool seeming smaller in a post-pandemic world, the process of recruiting and hiring restaurant staff can be a heavy lift if you don’t have the right tools in place to support you.
Thankfully, there are plenty of technology options available to aid you or your Human Resources department in managing all of it. Our team of experts at Back of House have spent time in the trenches, and understand the unique hiring challenges that come along with being a restaurant operator. As a result, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best options to consider when it comes time to hire new talent.
Staffing and Labor Shortages: Hospitality’s Biggest Challenge
The restaurant industry–and more broadly, the hospitality industry–has seen a decline in labor and employment over the past decade. Due to a variety of factors, including benefits,wage competition, and work-life balance constraints , it’s become increasingly difficult to find qualified and reliable employees to work at restaurants.
As a result, employee turnover is high, which can be costly for restaurants. From disruptions in service to increased training costs, having employees leave abruptly or simply not show up for shifts can have a devastating impact on operational efficiency.
Harnessing Technology to Tap New Talent
Many restaurants are turning to technology to help them solve their employee shortages. Different platforms have popped up over the past few years that intend to make the process of recruiting and hiring restaurant talent less cumbersome. While plenty of restaurant operators are also getting creative about how to retain staff once hired, getting smarter about how to find them in the first place is crucial to a restaurant’s success.
We’ve identified some of the best technology platforms on the market to help streamline your research process. They cover a variety of strengths to consider based on your restaurant’s needs.
Our Top Picks
Feeling overwhelmed by all the options out there? We’ve got you covered. Our team of experts have identified their top choices for website builders for you. As you review, pay close attention to more than just price–from the level of your own involvement in the process to the other types of integrations that work well with each platform, it’s important to take your restaurant needs into careful consideration before making an investment.
Any paid partnerships have no influence on our evaluations and suggestions. All our opinions are our own.
Get 20% off your first shift
GoodJob is an end-to-end workforce management platform that connects you to independent workers.
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Features
- Create detailed shifts and published them to available works in your area
- Review candidate profiles and their metrics before confirming
- Weekly invoicing handled entirely by GoodJob
- In app work evaluations for curated candidates in future
Who it's best for
Restaurants employers and HR professionals who are struggling with high turnover or "bad hires".
Things to consider
The hourly rate displayed in the app is exactly what you pay. There are no posting or subscription fees - pay only for the shifts that are filled and the assistance you receive.
Where it excels
With 25,000+ candidates, GoodJob helps identify candidates who will be happy and productive long-term, rather than just reviewing resumes. The platforms handles the entire operational flow from staffing to payment.
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Support
Up to 20% off a Job Post
Poached has a network of hospitality professionals with years of experience and a variety of skills. They can connect you with talent that is available to fill shifts temporarily, part-time, or join your team permanently.
Features
Who it's best for
Enterprise and multi-unit restaurants who want more visibility on their job posts.
Things to consider
There’s no membership fee, it’s a pay-as-you-go business model, but that can get expensive if you need to frequently fill positions and shifts on Linkedin and other
Where it excels
They have a partner network and can boost your posts for permanent staff or fill-in positions across a variety of job search platforms, including Linkedin, Monster, and Indeed. They claim that boosted jobs see an average of 67% more resumes.
Support
30% Off Annually
Available in the US and CA
Go beyond the resume with Wedge and quickly identify high potential hires. Video interviewing software that shows you the best candidates in minutes, and makes screening for high-volume hiring a breeze. Wedge keeps hiring managers engaged and excited, while significantly reducing candidate no-show rate and time-to-hire.
Features
- Video interviewing software that shows the best candidates
- Quickly recall and review candidate responses
- Create a cohesive interview with your own custom questions
- Reduces candidate no-show rate and time-to-hire
- A clean, simple interface
Where it excels
Wedge HR excels at replacing traditional phone screens with one-way video interviews requiring no app downloads or logins for applicants enabling multi-location restaurant operators to screen high-volume applicants and drastically reduce candidate ghosting.
Support
20% Off
Available in the US, CA, and QC
HigherMe is an all-in-one hiring software that gives restaurant businesses the tools to easily find, screen, interview, and onboard employees. Save hours per hire by scheduling interviews, reviewing applications, managing all posts, and filling out paperwork from any device.
Features
- Post your job on the most popular job boards
- Let guests and passerby apply for jobs with you using a single text message
- Automated screening tools to rank candidates
- Get employees ready for payroll in less than 30 mins
Where it excels
HigherMe excels at capturing on-the-go hourly applicants through seamless Text-to-Apply tools, job board distribution, and automated candidate matching, allowing busy restaurant managers to review pre-screened applicants and schedule interviews in seconds.
Support
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