Black Shirt Brewing in Denver, Colorado, combats turnover and staffing shortages by hiring through Poached Shifts.
Like most restaurant owners coming out of the pandemic, Jimmy and Karen Dodson of Black Shirt Brewing Co. found themselves strained with a small staff in the face of a rapidly returning consumer base. Across the nation, hiring has been more competitive than ever, taking twice as long and with no guarantee that new hires will work out long term. The Dodsons needed a better solution to keep Black Shirt Brewing Co. fully staffed, so they turned to Poached Shifts.
In addition to posting for permanent hire positions on Poached, employers can now book workers to fill individual shifts. Whether filling in for unexpected call-outs, large events, or while short-staffed and hiring, Poached Shifts provides more flexibility and control to stay fully staffed. Employers efficiently manage their staffing needs by posting, booking, reviewing hours, and paying workers right from their Poached accounts.
For the Dodsons, Poached Shifts has become a vital part of their hiring process. They’ve been filling in their staffing needs with the goal of finding permanent hires, killing two birds with one stone. Black Shirt Brewing Co. is constantly running with a full team and meeting potential hires through those they book.
“It’s hard to wait, you know, to interview two or three people and hopefully find someone that works out,” Dodson shared about the hiring process. “It can take weeks and sometimes even longer to find someone even good. So having the combination of posting Shifts, both from the perspective of filling the imminent need and getting a look at some of the people to potentially hiring one of them has been a powerful combination.”
Black Shirt Brewing Co., located in Denver, Colorado, has made its name as a destination brewpub. With innovative craft beers and artisan pizzas, served in an upbeat atmosphere complete with live music and an urban beer garden — operating with a full team is crucial to the business’s success.
“We’re planning to grow this business,” Dodson explained. “We’re planning to open additional locations. At least one over the next year and a couple more in the following years. I’m learning from the turnover we’re seeing here at the restaurant that I’m sure we will constantly be hiring people.”
With employee turnover as frequent and expensive as it is in the hospitality industry, ensuring compatibility and team fit is essential during the hiring process. With Poached Shifts, employers can increase employee retention by booking workers over a series of shifts with the intention of finding someone to hire, at which point there are no conversion fees when offering permanent employment to a worker.
Black Shirt Brewing Co. has been using Poached Shifts for the last four weeks, and they’ve already hired two new kitchen crew members. In running a pizza kitchen, it’s essential that each person knows how to toss dough and make a great product. According to Dodson, so far everyone they’ve booked has fit the bill, and they’ve been thoroughly impressed.
“The biggest benefit to me is not killing our existing employees while trying to fill roles, because otherwise they’re working 80 hours a week and we end up losing essentially even more people,” Dodson said. “…any time we’re going to be filling a role if we use Poached Shifts to supplement our staff and keep our existing employees happy and essentially try before we hire, I think all of that makes it worthwhile.”
With Poached Shifts, Black Shirt Brewing Co. is able to hire smarter and stay fully staffed to keep productivity up and reduce the turnover of their current team — a powerful combination that all restaurants could benefit from. If you’re short-staffed and hiring, check out Poached Shifts and see how our newest staffing tool can increase the efficiency of your hiring process today.