The growing trend of online recruitment in restaurants

Restaurants can use an exciting variety of platforms to find, hire and train staff members. Gone are the days when managers had to wait a day or two for their ads to appear in the local newspaper, now online hiring restaurateurs can post an ad online and hire someone within hours in emergency situations.

Of course, the trends in digital communications and mobile recruitment bring both advantages and disadvantages when it comes to hiring the right people. Managers face problems when hiring the new generation of workers – the millennials – because they want to communicate via devices as much as possible. Hiring managers cannot expect to enjoy the positive benefits of online recruitment unless they are willing to change their recruitment and retention strategies.

In addition, restaurateurs, too, need to take advantage of these tech-savvy millennials for their own benefits, as digitisation is now a fact of life and they can help the restaurant achieve it without the need for digital business professionals.

Now all you need is a computer, tablet or smartphone, and a software like Banzzu’s and in just a few steps you will have your restaurant ready for the digital world that is coming.

The recruitment market

Not many managers hire a job candidate without meeting the person, but today’s job seeker is less willing to apply for jobs in person unless they have a strong chance of success. Job seekers consult their smartphones several times a day to find the latest job opportunities in their areas, and restaurants can fill positions more quickly by advertising their job openings there. Apps and websites include platforms where applicants can complete online applications, inquire about jobs via text messaging, and streamline communications between employers and job seekers.

Promote your restaurant culture

Job seekers want to know more about the place where they will be working, and restaurants that hire the younger generation of workers are adapting to the digital generation. Making it easy for job candidates to apply online for preliminary consideration benefits both parties by offering the following time-saving advantages:

• Finding out whether a candidate is more interested in the job, the salary or the company.
• Examining the qualifications, core competencies, references and personal attitudes of candidates
• Learn about a restaurant’s cuisine, social causes and food origins
• Request a preliminary reference
• Review candidates’ criminal records and credit ratings, if applicable
• Answer initial questions to determine whether the restaurant or the candidate should continue with the application process.

The hiring market

Restaurants face high turnover rates, high training costs and new job attitudes among younger job applicants who often fill entry-level restaurant jobs. The high costs of continuously filling positions make it worthwhile to spend more time selecting and attracting the best candidates for those positions. Mobile tools give restaurants the resources they need to reach the job market, regardless of city, state or restaurant concept.

Mobile surveys reveal that up to 85% of people access the Internet at least once a day. Google reports that mobile job recruitment has increased by 50% one year. Restaurants cannot afford to ignore these mobile developments if they want to find, hire and keep the best workers.

The effect of social media on recruitment

Many people search for jobs through their favourite social sites, and restaurants can target potential candidates through LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. The advantages of using social media for restaurants include creating fans among regular customers and people who support the restaurant’s concept, the ability to target job seekers more selectively, and the ability to gain deeper insight into potential hires from their social posts.

Hiring problems for restaurants

No matter where you live, restaurants are expanding rapidly and finding fewer and fewer people willing to work for minimum wage. Restaurant employment was growing at around 8% per year before COVID-19, where this sector has been one of the hardest hit, and so has its employees. Smart staff members need to assess their current gaps and estimate future growth to determine their hiring needs.

Thanks to mobile technology, your restaurant can become the first employer that qualified candidates consult when looking for a job. Candidates can consult up to 15 different resources before starting an application.