The restaurant industry remains in an ongoing struggle against high employee turnover rates. According to the National Restaurant Association’s “State of the Industry” report from February, 73 percent of restaurants say they have job positions that are difficult to fill. Because of this, some operators are finding that legacy hiring platforms simply aren’t cutting it any more.
“Finding quality employees has been a struggle,” says Trey Nelson, a franchisee who owns two Jersey Mike’s locations. “Traditional hiring platforms are extremely expensive and do not help pair candidates with our business model.”
Carrying out interviews and accurately assessing candidates based on their resume and interview performance alone can be challenging, as this may only give a partial picture of their abilities or fit for the job. To get new hires to stay, it is important they get along with the existing staff and fit into the work environment. To reduce employee turnover, operators can utilize new hiring technology to find and retain quality employees.
Innovative hiring platforms like Sprockets help streamline recruitment and find the best team candidates. “We use Sprockets to gain and screen candidates before bringing them in for interviews on-site,” Nelson says. “Sprockets has helped us determine if they are the right fit for our organization, saving us hours of additional interview time and thousands of dollars in application fees.”
Sprockets uses an algorithm to identify the best candidates. Instead of traditional interview questions, Sprockets sends applicants a simple, three-question survey to determine whether they would be a good fit for specific roles and locations. “The survey and smart technology have proven to be very accurate in determining good/poor fits,” Nelson says. Instead of asking practiced interview questions, it prioritizes the candidate’s unique qualities to predict success based on shared traits with top performers in the job.
Sprockets offers instant alerts, something Nelson says as helped his team hire the right employees before somebody else can. “The instant alerts allow us to connect with the best candidates quickly and secure times to have in-person interviews,” Nelson says.
Sprocket’s applicant matching system clarifies who will be an outstanding employee and who will not last. It scores applicants with a number labeled with a red, yellow, or green indicator to sort through results and determine if they will succeed in the restaurant. Each candidate is also attached a number, 1 through 10, with 10 being the perfect candidate. “Every hire that Sprockets rated over a 9.0 is still with us or has moved on under favorable terms,” Nelson says. “Every hire under 7.0 did not last a week. I don’t know how Sprockets does it, but I do know it works.”
Sprockets is a valuable tool for any restaurant looking to decrease turnover rates and create a more collaborative workforce. Implementing Sprockets can significantly improve employee retention, job satisfaction, and overall business success.
“Sprockets will reduce recruitment headaches significantly,” Nelson says. “It has simplified our recruitment and screening processes, is less time-consuming, and costs a fraction of what we paid in sponsored ads elsewhere.”
For more information on how to hire the right employees, visit the Sprockets website.
By Olivia Schuster
