Hiring Short-term Restaurant Staff [Ultimate Guide]

Finding reliable staff is a constant challenge for restaurant owners, operators, and managers. 

Fortunately, on-demand, temp, gig economy, or flexi workers are a great way to make sure you’ve got enough staff for busy periods. 

In this article, we’ll cover how to find reliable restaurant staff for your short-term needs.

Key Takeaways

• Short-term restaurant staffing can be planned. It doesn’t need to be last-minute and chaotic.
  
• There are several ways to hire short-term restaurant staff to fill immediate or seasonal staffing needs: gig apps, job boards, staffing agencies, social media, and hospitality-focused on-demand staffing apps. 
  
• On-demand platforms help you hire in hours instead of weeks. It takes minutes to post a job ad for short-term staff, so you can focus on running your restaurant.
  
  

When & Why You Need Short-Term Staff

As you might expect, short-term staff provide last-minute coverage, often for events, holidays, and seasonal rushes. 

But they can also cover shifts when staff have called in sick, have simply stopped turning up, or are on holiday or other planned leave. 

Here are some of the roles you can fill with short-term staffing:

• Servers
• Hosts 
• Waiters/waitresses 
• Bartenders
• Bar assistant 
• Dishwashers
• Line cooks
• Event staff
• Chef
• Sous chef
• Assistant chef
• Front of House (FoH) managers
• Back of House (BoH) managers 
• Kitchen staff
• Cleaner 

Where to Find Short-Term Restaurant Staff

When it comes to hiring short-term restaurant staff, there are several choices you can choose from, including:

1. Generalized gig apps, like Upwork and TaskRabbit. 
2. In most cities, states, and metro areas, there are also traditional staffing agencies. 
3. Job boards like Indeed can also be used to find temp staff. 
4. You could try referrals and local groups. But this isn’t the best way to rely on for finding short-term staff. 
5. Hospitality-specific platforms like shiftNOW are ideal for finding temp staff.

Now, let’s look at how to find short-term staff for your restaurant. 

Setting Up Your Short-Term Staffing System

The worst time to try to solve short-term staffing problems is when you're already understaffed and desperate. Register on one or two reputable platforms like shiftNOW before you need them, completing your venue profile thoroughly with photos, location details, and clear descriptions of your operation. 

Doing this preparation means that when a server calls in sick on Friday morning, you're ready to post immediately rather than scrambling in a panic.

Essential setup steps:

1. Complete your whole venue profile, including accurate address, parking information, and photos of your restaurant. 
2. Verify your payment methods and understand when you need to pay short-term staff. 
3. Designate the relevant managers with posting authority so coverage doesn't depend on a single person, such as the main owner or operator. 
4. Set up notification preferences to quickly approve shift applications. 
5. Explore the platform's features during quiet periods. Learn the interface when the stakes are low.
6. Save templates for your most common short-term roles. 
7. For example, a well-crafted bartender template should include your bar layout, point of sale (POS) system type, typical drink menu, dress code, and peak service times. 
8. A server template covers section sizes, table numbering systems, and service standards. 

Having templates eliminates the need to describe the same roles repeatedly. When you’re unexpectedly short-staffed, you can post in minutes instead of spending 20-30 minutes typing details.

Posting Eye-Catching, Professional Short-Term Shifts Ads 

Vague shift postings attract poor-quality applicants, or worse, none at all. Top-performing on-demand workers always have options, and they will choose restaurants that demonstrate organization and respect through detailed, professional listings. 

Your shift posting is your first impression and sets the tone for the entire working relationship.

Here is a great example that sets out exactly what someone can expect:

"Fine dining server for Saturday dinner service (5 pm-11 pm). Upscale Italian restaurant, 60-seat dining room, 4-table section. Black button-down shirt, black slacks, non-slip shoes required. Experience with wine service preferred. Pre-shift meeting at 4:45 pm. Please arrive early. Park in the rear lot, enter through the kitchen door."

Essential information every short-term restaurant job ad must include:

• Precise role title and responsibilities: "Bartender: craft cocktails and high-volume service" is far better than just "Bartender."
• Exact start and end times, including whether early arrival is expected.
• Specific tasks: "Taking orders, running food, clearing tables, and basic bar backup during busy periods."
• Complete dress code: "Black trousers, black closed-toe shoes, and a white button-down shirt (provided)."
• Reporting instructions: "Ask for Sarah, the floor manager, at the host stand."
• Practical details: parking availability, staff entrance location, and the meal provision.
• Specific requirements: "Must have cocktail experience" or "Fast-paced environment, 200+ covers expected."

All of this is what potential short-term staff see. You need to have clear instructions, including pay rates. 

What managers need to know when posting short-term roles:

• Minimum pay rates by role (e.g., bartender, server, kitchen porter, host, etc.) that match or exceed local market rates. A $15/hour minimum is standard for posting on on-demand and gig-economy apps.
• Premium pay triggers (e.g., less than 48 hours' notice, holiday periods, exceptionally busy shifts, etc.). See below for more details/ideas. 
• Who has the authority to post, approve, and cancel shifts?
• Your rating strategy: Will you rate generously to encourage returns or critically to signal high standards?
• Cancellation policies for both you and on-demand workers, including any compensation for late venue-side cancellations
• How you'll handle worker performance issues during shifts.

Strategic premium pay structure:

• Standard rate for shifts posted 5+ days in advance.
• 15-20% premium for postings with 48-72 hours' notice.
• 25-30% premium for same-day or next-day urgent needs.
• Holiday premiums (Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day) are 30-50% above standard.
• Loyalty bonuses for workers completing multiple shifts in a defined period.

Premium pay for urgent or complex shifts isn't generosity; it’s innovative business. Paying an extra $5-10 per hour to fill a critical last-minute gap costs far less than turning away customers.

Consider offering completion bonuses for particularly challenging periods. "Work all four weekend shifts this month and receive a $50 bonus." Doing this incentivises commitment and reduces the risk of last-minute cancellations. These bonuses cost less than constantly recruiting and onboarding new workers.

Making Short-Term Workers Productive on Shift

A chaotic first hour destroys productivity and worker confidence. 

Even experienced hospitality professionals need orientation to your restaurant's layout, processes, and team. Designate a shift supervisor or a senior team member as the point person, who takes responsibility for the short-term worker's success that day.

Provide a quick but thorough orientation covering the following essential information:

• Brief venue tour: toilets, kitchen, bar, staff areas, and emergency exits.
• Introduction to key people: managers, head chef, and head bartender.
• Basic operational rules: break, meal, toilet, and phone policies, and where to store belongings.
• Safety essentials: fire exits, first aid kit location, and emergency procedures.
• Practical details: Wi-Fi password, placing orders, and the table numbering system.

Keep this orientation to 10-15 minutes maximum. Don’t overload short-term staff, but don’t leave them clueless when people are expecting food and drinks to be served. 

Building a Reliable Bench from One-Off Shifts

Every short-term shift is an extended job interview. Workers demonstrate their capabilities in real conditions while you assess whether they're worth inviting back. Implement systematic evaluation to transform one-off workers into your reliable core bench.

Rate workers promptly after each shift; within 24 hours, while details remain fresh. 

What to document in worker profiles:

• Technical skills: point of sale (POS) proficiency, cocktail knowledge, wine service, and food running speed.
• Soft skills: customer interaction quality, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills. 
• Reliability factors: punctuality, professional appearance, and ability to follow instructions.
• Specific strengths: "Best bartender we've had for craft cocktails" or "Exceptional at managing large tables."
• Areas for development: "Needs practice with our specific POS" or "Could improve garnish presentation."
• Quirks or preferences: "Prefers closing shifts" or "Lives nearby; great for last-minute calls."

These detailed notes become invaluable for future scheduling decisions. 

Re-invite top performers consistently and strategically. After rating someone 4.5 or 5 stars, immediately check your upcoming schedule and extend invitations to similar shifts. Don't wait. Short-term workers with excellent ratings receive multiple offers and commit to restaurants that contact them first. 

Build a tiered favorites system within shiftNOW or your internal tracking:

• Tier 1: Exceptional workers who receive first invitations to premium shifts.
• Tier 2: Solid performers who get early access after Tier 1.
• Tier 3: Temp workers who are available for general shift filling.

This structure ensures your best workers feel valued through priority access while maintaining backup options when top choices aren't available. 

3 Common Pitfalls to Avoid

1. Waiting until you're desperate to think about short-term staffing guarantees poor results. Desperation forces rushed decisions, inadequate worker vetting, and acceptance of whoever's available rather than who's qualified. 
2. Vague postings and low pay lead to weak applicants, creating a vicious cycle. When your posting says merely "Server needed, Saturday night" with below-market pay, you'll receive few applications from inexperienced or desperate workers. These workers then perform poorly, reinforcing your belief that short-term staffing doesn't work. 
3. Treating on-demand workers as outsiders rather than as part of the team that night is the most damaging mistake. When temporary workers arrive to find permanent staff treating them dismissively, providing no orientation, eating separately, or blaming them for service issues, they perform poorly and never return.

How shiftNOW Fits In for Finding Short-term Restaurant Staff 

As an on-demand restaurant staffing app, shiftNOW is ideal for last-minute coverage, events, and seasonal spikes.

It includes several key platform features that make finding short-term restaurant staff easier:

• Favorites and rebooking reliable and skilled staff 
• In-app communication
• Ratings, notes, and shift history
• Video profile hiring
• The temp-to-hire approach.

The beauty of hiring this way is that everyone on the platform are vetted local workers, and it comes with mobile-first posting.

If you want to solve staffing problems with an on-demand solution, shiftNOW is a regional, hospitality-focused platform worth exploring. Get the coverage and guest experience you need without the stress. 

Ready to get started? Request a demo with shiftNOW today. We have you covered when you need cost-effective restaurant staff.

Request a Demo

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How fast can I hire short-term restaurant staff?

In some cases, it could be posting a morning shift on a morning and having a short-term worker ready to start before the evening shift. However, we don’t recommend this in every case. It could leave you short-staffed, which can negatively impact the guest experience, takings, and your restaurant’s reputation. 

Try to plan hiring short-term staff a little further in advance. Give yourself the best chance of hiring staff who are a good fit for your restaurant. 

What roles work best for on-demand staffing?

On-demand staffing can fill almost any restaurant position (though some, like Head Chef, should be full-time unless a head chef has just left unexpectedly and you need someone to take over in the kitchen quickly). 

How should I think about paying for short-term or urgent shifts?

At a minimum, you need to pay short-term staff $15 per hour. However, that also depends on the role, the typical full-time rate for that role in your restaurant, and your area. If staff are used to getting paid more for a particular role, then you need to offer more. 

Plus, if you need someone urgently, you can boost jobs on shiftNOW and offer more short-term staff. If needed, you might have to pay up to $200 extra per shift to fill a particular role on short notice. As always, this depends on a number of factors unique to your restaurant, area, and the competition for short-term staff to fill urgent shifts. 

Can short-term workers become long-term employees?

Yes, if you hire short-term workers through shiftNOW, we encourage it when it’s a good fit. At shiftNOW, we understand the hospitality industry's struggle to find consistent, reliable, and experienced workers. 

While we take pride in the quality of the workers on our platform, not everyone will be the right fit for your business. shiftNOW's hiring fee structure incentivizes restaurants to work with Shifters repeatedly to ensure they make the right hiring decision.