Patio season is right around the corner — typically a joyous, hectic, and overworked time of year our industry loves and hates at the same time. Enter Poached Shifts — your new saving grace when things get a little unpredictable.
The pandemic has entirely confused the term “patio season.” For many restaurants across the country — every season is now patio season. But, the truth is, even if the meaning has changed for us, it hasn’t changed for our customers. The moment March comes around and we get a few spontaneous days of near-perfect weather — hordes of 9-5’ers, desperate to relive the glory days of pre-pandemic happy hours sipping margaritas on the patio — will be lining up outside your door. And just like all the other patio seasons, you’re going to wish you had staffed up much quicker. Don’t worry – that’s where Poached Shifts is going to be your new best friend.
If you haven’t heard, Poached Shifts is our newest hiring tool that allows you to post and book freelance hospitality professionals, by the shift. So if you’ve been hesitant to try it out, or not really sure how it fits into your employment model — here are five ways you can utilize Poached Shifts this patio season, and beyond.
Post a shift to fill-in while you hire
Let’s face it, a two-week notice comes up fast when you’re juggling a million other things — and that’s if you’re lucky enough to even receive a two-week notice. With Poached Shifts, you can book qualified hospitality contract workers to fill in your schedule while hiring. This way, you can take the time you need to make sure you’re finding the right fit — and you’re not overworking your remaining staff, resulting in even more employee turnover.
Post a shift to try before you hire
If you’re looking to fill in while hiring, you might as well use Poached Shifts to find that new hire. While booking our contract workers to fill in your schedule, you’re free to offer employment if someone does a fantastic job and seems like a great cultural fit — there are no additional conversion fees when hiring from Poached Shifts. So, you can even book shifts in lieu of a paid working interview.
Post a shift for last-minute emergencies
One of the biggest struggles with restaurant staffing is wanting to staff only as many employees as you need so that everyone has hours and your employment costs stay low — but when someone calls out sick or has a family emergency, it can leave you and your team stretched thin. Now, you don’t have to worry because with Poached Shifts you can fill in an open schedule on short notice. Your staff will thank you, and your service won’t be compromised.
Post a shift to fill micro shifts
If your team could use a few extra hands, but you’re hesitant to bring in a contract worker for more skilled roles that require a deeper knowledge of your menu and preparation — you can still get that extra help you need by hiring someone to come in and do simpler tasks. A micro shift is a 2-3 hours shift where you book someone to do less demanding work in your restaurant. This could be booking someone to cover the rush hour as a busser, server assistant, or barback — it could even be booking someone before service to help prep the restaurant and give your staff a much-needed break and shorten their hours. Who knows, if you book the same person a few times — you could find yourself more comfortable with booking them for a full shift.
Post a shift for upcoming events
Whether you’re a catering company, or a restaurant with a large upcoming reservation, or planning for an event like Valentine’s day or St. Patrick’s day — you can staff extra hands with Poached Shifts. This way, you don’t have to commit to hiring a whole new employee, and you don’t have to worry about adding them to your payroll.
Poached Shifts was built to give you flexibility and control — we know how unpredictable things can get, but staying fully staffed and operational should not be. The best part is, you pay nothing until the shift is worked. So with patio season around the corner, why not give Poached Shifts a try to see how it could work for you.