What’s the Best Way to Hire Hospitality Staff?

Hiring Hospitality Staff: Indeed vs. Gig Apps

Following the economic hardships of recent years, businesses continue to seek efficient and cost-effective methods to find and hire top hospitality staff. 

Employers have many options for finding hospitality staff, such as staffing agencies, recruitment software, and job boards. But which solution can meet your needs without breaking the bank?

Many businesses revert to a tried and true approach – job boards. Job boards, like Indeed, can be costly and have their limitations.

While general job search platforms like Indeed can also be valuable resources for finding hourly workers, hospitality gig apps offer additional benefits that cater specifically to the needs of employers and job seekers in the hospitality industry.

In this blog, we'll dive into why more hospitality businesses are ditching job boards and discovering that gig apps are the best way to hire hourly employees.

Hiring Hourly Employees

While some of your hospitality staff might be full-time, salaried employees (General Manager, Head Chef, Catering Director, etc.), hourly employees likely account for the majority of your workforce.

But what is the best way to find hourly employees? 

There are several recruiting strategies that hiring managers and talent acquisition teams implement, including temp services, recruitment software, staffing agencies, sponsored job boards, and more.

When hiring hourly hospitality staff, you’ll want to consider the cost of each solution as well asthe hard and soft costs associated with the hiring process in general.

What Are Hard Costs?

Hard costs associated with hiring typically include tangible expenses incurred during the recruitment process. These costs directly relate to activities such as job posting, candidate assessment, and onboarding. Examples of hiring hard costs include:

• Job Posting Fees
• Advertising Costs
• Background Checks and Drug Testing
• Recruitment Agency Fees
• Employee Referral Bonuses
• Pre-Employment Assessments: 
• Onboarding Expenses: 
• Legal and Compliance Costs

What Are Soft Costs?

Soft costs associated with hiring are less tangible but equally important factors that can impact productivity, efficiency, and overall organizational effectiveness. These costs often relate to the time, effort, and resources expended throughout the recruitment process, such as:

• Time Spent on Resume Screening
• Interview Preparation and Conduct
• Coordination and Communication
• Decision-Making Delays
• Training and Onboarding Support
• Productivity Impact on Existing Staff
• Candidate Attrition and Turnover Costs

Using Indeed for Hospitality Staffing

Indeed is two-sided marketplace that allows job seekers to search millions of job openings across the world while enabling more than three million employers to find and hire new employees for their business. 

But is Indeed the best place to find your hourly employees? Let’s find out!

How Much Does Indeed Cost?

Indeed offers two job posting options – free or sponsored.

Free Postings

Free postings typically garner less visibility as they run for a limited amount of time and appear less frequently than sponsored or new posts.

While employers can post some jobs for free on Indeed, the platform retains the right to require sponsored posts in order to benefit job seekers, verify the legitimacy of the ad or employer, prevent abuse of the free post system, or improve the site.

Some scenarios that might require sponsorship include:

• Identical job postings across multiple locations
• Reposted jobs
• Hard-to-fill jobs
• Jobs that you’d like to keep up once the free time period ends

Sponsored Postings

Employers may opt for sponsored postings in order to generate more views on their ad as they show up more frequently in results.

With sponsored posts, employers can set a fixed budget based on job views (daily budget) or applications (monthly budget). Sponsored job postings stay active until the employer pauses or closes the ad.

Indeed sponsored posts require employers to set a minimum budget of $5 per day or $150 per month; however, prices may be higher for certain roles, titles, and locations. Additionally, employers pay sales tax on every invoice received for sponsored job postings.

For example, if an employer sponsors a two week job posting every month and always sets the minimum budget of $5 per day, this still amounts to $840 for the entire year plus the hard and soft costs associated with hiring. If an employer elects for monthly postings, this amounts to $1,800 per year. And don’t forget, this is per job posting.

While some employers might leverage Indeed to urgently hire hourly workers, that also comes at a cost. Although Indeed offers an “Urgently Hiring” option for employers to display on applicable roles, employers must set the minimum budget to whatever Indeed recommends will yield the best results.

Smart Sourcing

Indeed’s Smart Sourcing uses job seekers' profiles, skills, qualifications, and preferences to recommend job openings. Using generative AI, Smart Sourcing learns what employers are looking for and then analyzes and summarizes potential candidates’ resumes to suggest why they may or may not be a fit.

Indeed offers two different Smart Sourcing subscriptions – Standard and Professional.

Standard provides 30 contacts a month, enough for employers look to up to approximately 11 hires per year. With this subscription, employers can pay $120 per month or $1,150 per year. 

The Professional subscription provides 100 contacts per month and is better suited for employers who hire constantly throughout the year. This subscription comes at a cost of $400 per month or $3,840 per year. 

Both subscription costs are exclusive of any job posting costs.

The Best Way to Hire Hourly Employees

The hospitality industry is increasingly leaving hospitality temp services, staffing agencies, and job boards behind for a new way to hire – gig apps.

According to the National Restaurant Association’s State of the Industry Report, 25% of restaurant operators say that using gig workers to fill gaps in their hospitality staff will become more common in 2024.

Hospitality gig apps can sometimes be more effective than general job search platforms like Indeed for finding hourly workers in the hospitality industry due to several reasons:

Industry Specificity: Hospitality gig apps take into consideration the unique needs and requirements of this sector, which can streamline the hiring process and ensure that candidates are a good fit for the roles available.

Targeted Audience: These apps attract job seekers who are specifically interested in hospitality work. As a result, the pool of candidates tends to be more focused, making it easier for employers to find suitable hourly workers quickly.

Ease of Use: Hospitality gig apps often feature intuitive interfaces and streamlined processes for posting job listings, reviewing applications, and scheduling interviews.

Flexibility: With gig apps, businesses can scale their workforce as needed to accommodate seasonal demands and slow seasons. Job boards can come with costly commitments whereas many gig apps offer more flexible subscriptions to accommodate business’ needs.

Rating and Review Systems: These apps often incorporate rating and review systems, allowing employers to assess the reliability and performance of potential hires based on feedback from previous employers or clients. 

Instant Communication: Some hospitality gig apps include messaging features that enable real-time communication between employers and job seekers. This can be beneficial for clarifying job details, arranging interviews, or addressing any questions or concerns that may arise during the hiring process.

Using Gig Apps to Hire Hourly Employees

Gig apps are on the rise across industries and hospitality is no exception. 

By leveraging these platforms, businesses gain access to a diverse pool of on-demand talent, allowing for flexibility in staffing at a cost-effective price.to fluctuating demand. Not to mention, the streamlined process offered by gig economy apps reduces administrative burdens and fosters quicker recruitment, ultimately enhancing operational efficiency. 

Although job boards might’ve been the way of the past, gig economy apps are the way of the future. If your business is on the hunt for hourly workers to fill front-of-house, back-of-house, event, or general labor positions, don’t underestimate the impact the gig economy can have on your search.