By Morgan Huether, Andy Cook and Alina Day
Scheduling — HotSchedules
A technology solution can streamline scheduling, shift swapping and help you stay in compliance with secure scheduling if you are in Seattle. Best of all, if you upgrade from paper schedules to a digital service, your staff can access schedules outside of the office. This means team members won’t need to call in to doublecheck their shift and they can swap schedules, with manager approval, using their smartphone.
HotSchedules is one of several digital scheduling services. It is designed for individual operators, multi-unit franchises and enterprise brands. The service includes tools for labor, logging, time and attendance. Their model revolves around creating and managing schedules in less time while increasing staff satisfaction and shift-to-shift communication. For users in Seattle, Hotschedules allows easier compliance with the Secure Scheduling Ordinance by giving manager alerts and highlighting when a schedule would require additional compensation under the law.
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Onboarding — FastrackOnboard
Onboarding can be costly and time consuming. There are technology solutions for onboarding that can automate the onboarding process. These services can eliminate the amount of paper that is filed and stored in your office and can also prompt you with appropriate paperwork when onboarding new team members, so nothing slips through the cracks.
One automated onboarding service is FastrackOnboard. The service has options for background checks and is specifically geared to help keep hiring and onboarding compliant with federal, state and local rules. The system can present appropriate forms automatically based on location, job title and level within your organization. FastrackOnboard also manages staff documentation for future reference, as opposed to keeping paper records in physical files, and allows new team members to digitally sign necessary documents. Additional onboarding benefits include screening for tax credit opportunities showing each candidate’s tax credit eligibility.
Hiring — Heartland Hire
Automated or tech-heavy hiring services aren’t a new solution, but they still can bring a lot of value to the table. Some automated services will allow you to reach the right candidates and manage paperwork during the hiring process.
Heartland Hire can reach candidates across multiple employment platforms, like Monster and Indeed. In addition to reaching candidates digitally, Heartland Hire screens candidates for tax credit opportunities and can show each candidate’s tax credit eligibility as well as manage the paperwork needed to file for the tax credit after the candidate is hired. Heartland’s platform can also manage your employee handbook, automating the process of getting employees educated with the information they need while also allowing new team members to digitally sign necessary documents.
Hiring — Instawork
In addition to providing long-term team members, some online services allow managers to search for staff on a short-term, or “gig,” basis. Gig-style employment allows potential candidates the flexibility to pick up shifts as needed, which is an increasingly popular style of work among younger generations. Gig employees can be a benefit in the hospitality industry because a skilled staffer can pick up shifts wherever they like, and managers can bring on extra staff during events or busy seasons without the time and effort of hiring full-time employees.
One service that provides both gig-employees and full-time employees is Instawork. The service allows managers to determine what type of work they need done and what requirements employees need to have and the service will provide a temporary team member to fill the need. The employee is paid through Instawork, so there is no additional onboarding or temporary payroll to implement. Instawork also has a permanent staff job portal, for managers looking to bring someone on for a longer term.
Hiring — Umami Jobs
One challenge when sifting through applications is how difficult it is to get a feel for a candidate before an interview. Umami Jobs uses video technology to help employers get past that hurdle. This restaurant-focused service helps the employer showcase positions with video job listings, giving candidates a better understanding of how they might fit in the organization. In turn, candidates send videos in to apply for positions, giving hiring managers an opportunity to get a better feel for which candidates would be the best fit for a job.
Hiring — WorkSource
In addition to other services available to alleviate the challenges of a tight labor market, the Washington Hospitality Association Education Foundation has partnered with Washington Employment Security Department to create a micro site on WorkSourceWA.com that connects job seekers with opportunities in the hospitality industry.
WorkSource allows hiring managers to search its talent database and to put out job postings searching for specific qualifications. Together with WorkSource, the Education Foundation also put on hiring events around the state in 2017 and 2018 that focused on helping bridge the challenges facing entry-employees. Learn more on the Education Foundation’s website at whaef.org.
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