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Your restaurant has had its share of challenges over the past couple of years. You’ve integrated new health measures, developed fully takeout options, taken your dining tables to the sidewalk, fought supply struggles, and repriced your entire menu at least a couple of times all in hopes that you can continue to serve your regular crowd and attract new guests.
What’s more, your increasingly complex business is further affected by the persistent staffing troubles that have existed for decades: You can’t hire fast enough. You can’t retain trained employees. And now there’s the lingering reality that even if you do succeed in staffing, you might need to trim it down again at a moment’s notice based on innumerable external factors.
You aren’t alone. According to a recent National Restaurant Association (NRA) survey, 87% of the 3,000 restaurants that participated say they expect to boost staffing levels within the next six to 12 months. At the same time, 57% expect to lay off employees in the same period if a recession sets in.
So do you hire to capture business now? Or do you hold off on hiring efforts until the future doesn’t feel quite so uncertain?
There’s a new option in Miami now that is designed with your staffing needs in mind. Qwick has developed a staffing marketplace exclusively for food service organizations like restaurants, hotels, caterers, country clubs, senior living facilities and corporate dining halls to be expertly matched – shift by shift – with experienced freelancers.
Qwick’s hospitality staffing platform has been a part of Miami’s food service scene since 2020 and has so far facilitated over 13,000 shifts between its freelancers and business partners. More than 130 Miami hospitality businesses are actively leveraging Qwick’s network with an equal number onboarding to the platform now. There are currently over 1,600 freelancers filling shifts now with thousands more joining the network.
What positions are Miami businesses filling with freelancers? Dishwashers, Banquet Servers, Cooks (Banquet Cooks, Line Cooks, Prep Cooks), and Bussers have been among the most requested and filled shifts to date. Qwick’s marketplace offers over 20 different shift types that Miami restaurants can tap into for experienced and vetted freelancers. In Miami, so far the most engaged business types posting shifts to Qwick are restaurants, caterers, country clubs, and hotels – Qwick is facilitating shifts for them with a 96% fill rate.
After simply creating a business profile, admins use Qwick’s online portal or mobile app to post shifts they want filled. They provide details such as shift start and end times, location, and attire, and Qwick handles the rest. The tech-enabled platform relies on both its freelancer matching algorithm and local human expertise to find the best qualified freelancers for each shift. From there, select freelancers are given the opportunity to accept the shift and carry out the work.
A huge advantage to freelancers on Qwick is that they can get paid within 30 minutes of completing their shift and clocking out in the Qwick for freelancers app. They also experience an unparalleled level of scheduling flexibility.
Qwick freelancer Jesus Guerra joined the Qwick network in February 2022 and has so far worked more than 260 shifts. Freelancing is his primary work and he chooses to use Qwick exclusively. Jesus said, “Being a Qwick freelancer is awesome. Freedom of flexibility and being able to travel while meeting new people make Qwick the true definition of what America stands for!”
Miami businesses using Qwick can staff confidently with the network of freelancers who are fully vetted by Qwick through one-on-one interviews and have at least one year of experience in their BOH and FOH specialties. Business partnerships with Qwick are non-binding and without any commitment or subscription fee. Business managers simply pay for their filled shifts as they use the platform.
As an added benefit to staffing objectives, businesses can hire their favorite Qwick freelancers to the team with no charge from Qwick. So while 79% of restaurants in the NRA survey reported having open positions they’re struggling to hire for, Qwick business partners can use freelancers to fill in gaps and potentially keep them on for permanent positions.
Are you looking to reinforce your staff for the busiest times at the restaurant? Qwick is by your side as the “staffing-as-a-service” solution letting you post shifts in advance and also as an on-demand resource for those times when you find your kitchen or dining area too light on personnel to handle the crowds. An increasing number of businesses are also using Qwick to easily staff for known high-turnover roles instead of having to vet, interview, hire and onboard again and again.
It’s Qwick’s mission to facilitate hospitality shifts according to your needs and schedule so you can avoid doing what 50% of NRA’s survey respondents have had to do in limiting operating hours by closing on slower days (32%) and no longer operating at full capacity (35%).
Is a freelancer-driven shift matching solution the future of staffing in hospitality? It’s absolutely a break from traditional staffing troubles, and is proving to offer more flexibility and versatility than the industry has ever had. Qwick’s staffing innovations can streamline your back office operations while keeping you as staffed as you need to be during your next rush.
Be proactive, not reactive. Let Qwick keep your kitchen, bar, and staff happy and set up for success. Contact Sid Beraha for more information and never worry about a call-out, or no-show again. Sid Beraha, Miami Business Development Manager 786-366-6748 sid.beraha@qwick.com
