Irish recruitment company Get the Shifts is striving to change the face of recruitment for the hospitality sector in Ireland by providing firms in need of temp staff with so- called ‘superstars’ to meet their requirements. To find out how its process works and what makes its temp staff so super, Hospitality Ireland spoke to Hannah Wrixon and Gillian Rijke of Get The Shifts about the way in which the company operates.
What is it that sets Get the Shifts apart from other recruitment companies out there?
Get The Shifts is disrupting the temporary hospitality recruitment sector one shift at a time. We provide high quality temp staff solutions to our client where and when they need them, and we know that it is the quality of our ‘superstars’ that makes us different and sets us apart. We only choose people to join our community when they have gone through our rigorous recruitment process and will only fill a shift with an individual who we know will suit our clients requirements. We feel communication is key and we keep in regular contact with a client in advance and after an event to ensure that they have been happy with the process.
What criteria do you look for when interviewing and screening those who apply to be listed as temp staff on your site?
All of our staff need to have a minimum of one year's Irish hospitality experience. We have the whole spectrum of experience, from one year to 30 years, and will match according to our client's needs for that shift. It is very important to us that all of our temp staff have fluent English so communication is never an issue for the client or for them. All of our temp staff are reference-checked to ensure that they have the experience that we would expect and we weight references very highly.
How does the process of managing temp staff online work for clients?
A busy manager can manage their staff needs from their phone while on the move or a HR manager can book large volumes of staff quickly and efficiently for multiple locations at multiple start times. They can reduce their time and paperwork as all time sheets will be online, and they can even create a favourites list to work from. It will remove the need for clients to contact the office, unless they wish to do so.
Approximately how many potential temp staff are usually signed up to your service at any given time?
We are constantly recruiting and hold approx 350 temp staff at any one time. We have a consistent and core group of superstars who have been with us since we started and we use them time and time again, so we know our clients love them. We tend to have more bar staff than any other area signed up with us at any one time, but a lot of them would have experience in waiting or events also, so we can offer them work in lots of different areas.
Is there an area of expertise that you find is more popular than others?
No, we support so many different areas in hospitality that our superstars have to be all- rounders who can work in many areas. We have partnered with a hospitality e-learning company called Dulann and through them we will be introducing further training for all of our temp staff so that they will have even more skills. The qualifications and experience of our superstars really varies, so we are introducing the e-learning to create consistency across our community.
What inspired you to base your advertising images on the 50s-style tongue-in- cheek postcard?
We offer old-fashioned quality through cutting edge technology and our branding has to reflect that. Our values are also old- fashioned - simple, helpful, innovative, flexible, trustworthy and secure. We give our clients peace of mind so they can agree to take that extra event as we have them covered for staff. Our approach to marketing and branding is eye-catching and we hope people will be curious to see what it is that we do as a result. We are currently working on rebranding and will have a great new website coming soon in a very similar style.
Are there any areas in the hospitality that you wish to expand into but that you do not currently cater to?
Yes, we see opportunities in hospital and large organisation catering, festivals and pop- up events, and these are areas that we do not focus on at the moment, but in which the quality of the staff is everything. We would also like to start working with some of the bigger hotel groups and pub groups. We want to be the first company that people think of when they have a staff requirement.
Is there a limit to the amount of staff any one company can source from your site?
No, there is no limit. We can offer just one superstar to a client or we can offer hundreds. We have a minimum charge of three hours.
How do you approach new clients?
Whether we are networking at events or through social media, we are always keeping our eyes and ears open for opportunities with clients we consider to be ideal. As Ireland is so small, we will often come across someone who can connect us. We have found that industry-specific trade shows are a great opportunity to shout from the rooftops about what we can do.
How do you feel you are changing the traditional model of recruitment within the industry?
We feel that the temporary recruitment industry has been damaged by agencies sending unskilled and non-English speaking staff. As a result, we find that businesses will often see temporary agency staff as a last resort. We are changing this, and our clients view us as the "go to" place for when they are having staff issues. Our commitment to quality will never change and we know that happy customers are the cornerstone to our success, so this will be where we continue to focus.
© 2018 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
