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Best Practices for Online Hiring Tools:

Hey everyone, today I am going to be talking about getting the most out of your online hiring software. In my last post, I talked about the top 5 benefits to online hiring, and now I’m going to address the best practices (for managers) on effectively using and implementing such software in your restaurant. I interviewed several hiring managers to get some real-world input on how to truly put your hiring software to work for you, and here are the top best practices that I found.

1.Process your applicants right away:
Online hiring allows you to process your applicants with a few clicks of a mouse and most software platforms will send you email notifications about new users. So why not process them right away? There are several benefits to this; first is that you are always on top of your hiring activity, and you will know right away when you get a great candidate that you want to hire. You don’t want to miss out on a great employee! Secondly, if you let your applicants pile up then it can easily get away from you and will ultimately take you more time to go through them. Thirdly, out of common courtesy for the applicant themselves, you should let them know your decision right away so they can prepare for what they need to do next. (This will also help avoid them calling the store and constantly asking what the status of their application is, which is a complaint that I have heard from several managers).

Here are some tips from some hiring managers for when to process your applicants, keep in mind that you should do whatever you feel most comfortable with:

• Have notifications sent to your smart phone so you know every time you get a new applicant – Jeremy Harding (Wendy’s) does this so that his applicants are always on the “top of his mind” and marks the email as unread if he can’t process them right away so he’ll notice it later.
• Set a schedule for when to log in, one manager logs in every 2 days which keeps processing to under a half an hour every time
• Set benchmarks for what a good applicant would be, James Berman said an applicant score of 85 or above (for WyckWyre) is the cut off for rejection or not
• If you are a high volume store then check in multiple times a day, get yourself into a routine

2.Have advertisements in the store promoting your online applications:
Now that you have an online application process, you can’t ignore people coming into the store. One of the great things about having an online hiring system is that you can reach a broader applicant base, but you still must be prepared for walk-ins.

“We have a hiring center on the wall right by the door so applicants can see it as soon as they walk in”
- Tricia Frank, General Manager at Wendy’s.

Doing something like this is a great idea, having a display solely for walk-in applicants will make it easier on your staff and is a constant advertisement for anyone who visits your store.

3.When processing applicants look at how they best fit in with your team:
One of the best things about an online hiring tool (like WyckWyre) is that it gives you the ability to make much more informed decisions about an applicant through pre-screening interview questions. So when looking at their answers, decide what is most important to you and the current culture of your store before bringing them in for an interview.

I received multiple answers when asking this question to hiring managers. James Berman (Wendy’s) said that he doesn’t put too much weight into grammatical/spelling mistakes and looks for the deeper meaning behind applicant’s answers, he understands that sometimes potential employees might have a great work ethic but maybe not the best writing skills. Other managers went with different approaches, putting more weight into these sorts of things. Whatever the case may be, try to access your team as a whole and build on their strengths.

4.Use additional free advertising to your advantage:
There are a few ways to further promote your online job board, and they are just waiting for you to use them! The biggest ones being Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs. Having a greater online presence results in more online applicants! If you run a restaurant and have a Facebook page or a Twitter account, make posts about your online hiring site. Since the people who follow you already like you, word will travel fast that you are recruiting.

Even if you don’t have a social media presence, Craigslist is a great option to advertise your jobs. In most areas it is free to post a job, so take 5 minutes and go to the Food, Beverage & Hospitality section and make a quick post about what jobs you have available with a link to your hiring site.

So there you have it, some great ways to fully utilize your online hiring system and get the best people possible! If you have any other tips or questions please leave them in the comments. Happy hiring everyone!

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Posted: Thursday, February 7th, 2013

Top 5 Benefits to Online Hiring (Vs. Paper Applications)

Benefits to Online Hiring (Vs. Paper Applications)

Hiring the best employees for your company can be somewhat of a nightmare, especially in high turnover industries such as restaurant and hospitality. Traditional methods of hiring like paper applications, local newspaper ads and radio/television ads, are quickly becoming a thing of the past. In the new era of the internet, there are a plethora of tools available for hiring managers to do all of their hiring exclusively online. Below I will outline the benefits of why you should do this for your company/organization. Leave your thoughts in the comments and anything that might have been left out!

1. Reach a Broader Amount of Applicants
With over 245 million internet users in the United States and a higher than normal unemployment rate, it is no wonder that internet job boards are extremely popular .
By using an online hiring tool, you can expose your job to an incredible amount of applicants, and that pool is only increasing, especially in larger metropolitan areas. Right now you may be thinking, “what about people coming in asking for an application?” Simply direct those applicants to apply to your online hiring site, if they truly want the job, they will take the effort to apply online. If they don’t, would they have made a great employee to begin with?

2. Reach Better Quality Applicants
If your store is only accepting paper applications, it can be a hindrance not only to the amount of applicants you receive, but also to the quality of the applicant. Today’s job seekers are internet savvy; they want to work for companies that are “up to date”. Additionally, online applications can provide a more comprehensive pre-screening for applicants than paper applications, saving you valuable time when searching for that perfect employee.
If you aren’t accepting online applications, you are ignoring a large segment of the job-seeking population and potentially missing out on great talent!

3. Superior Organization
Keeping paper applications organized is so cumbersome. What do you do with the applicant files for people who were rejected? Put on hold? Hired? This can quickly add up to a lot of files to keep track of.
Many online hiring systems come with online storage for all of your applicant files. You can easily go back and take a look at past hires and other applicants, all organized and easily accessible. This will save you plenty of time and let you stay on top of your entire hiring process. Don’t even get me started on the metrics and reporting capabilities, we could be here all day… but seriously, how about being able to download the entire year’s hiring summary? Online hiring systems can provide you with some powerful metrics to let you make more informed decisions about your hiring methods.

4. Robust, Customizable Software Available
There is software out there for every sized business, whether you are a small company with 10 employees, or a large one with 500+. An online hiring system can be customizable so you can only receive information from applicant that you want. Additionally, you can add options that you might not have even been aware of. How about video or audio cover letters? The sky is the limit with online software, and most of them are user friendly and provide training for employees.

5. Reduce Your Carbon Footprint!
As an added bonus, going paperless will greatly reduce your carbon footprint and save some trees. So not only will you be hiring more quality applicants the way YOU want to, but you’ll also be saving the earth in the process. So what are you waiting for? It’s easy to make the switch, see you online!

Sources:

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats14.htm

http://freelanceswitch.com/freelance-news/commentary-analysis/online-jobs-are-on-the-rise/

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Posted: Monday, January 7th, 2013

Top 5 Way to Tackle New Software Adoption

Whenever someone talks about new and innovative ways to hire, what they mean is via the internet.  Like Facebook, email and texting being the new ways to communicate, online products and services are the new ways to do business.  Introducing new ways to do things can be extremely rewarding and time saving, but can present a unique set of challenges.  One of the challenges we’ll explore today is called Adoption.
Adoption in this sense means the amount of time someone is willing to dedicate to a new process.  Inherently, people don’t like change.  Take, for example, an Applicant Tracking System: When you tell your employees they have to go from doing what they’ve known their entire job-seeking and management career, to something internet based and totally paperless, there may be a disconnect.  Adoption can make or break your success with anything that is new.  Here we explore ways to combat the adoption issue and help make your newest change a success.

  1.  Speak positively about the new change.  If you’re talking about changing a process or adding an internet-based program, such as an Applicant Tracking System, talk about how much it is going to help save time and make the process more stream-lined.  Stay away from negatively referencing the new change.  Don’t mention how much you hope it works, or that you’re skeptical of the outcomes.  Stick to things like, “This will work! It will save us time!”
  2.  Take advantage of training.  Some companies includes unlimited training in their subscription rates, however some charge hourly.  If you know you’ll have a few people who need extra one-on-one time, take advantage of the unlimited training!  If the training is paid, be sure to reserve time for the users who may need help.  At any time if someone tells you they are struggling, or if a new manager comes on board- schedule a session with your account representative, or identify the expert user in your company to do training.  Also, if your new product or service offers this, instruct your staff to reach out to their contact if they need anything at all.  It will lessen the burden on you for fielding questions you may not have time for, and also let your staff know they are supported in this big change!
  3. Utilize Resources.  If marketing materials are provided, use them!  Companies have planned and tested the materials and know that they are proven to work.  For example: WyckWyre provides a business card template, and a poster template, both personalized with your hiring site information.  Hand the business cards out to walk-in applicants instead of a paper application, hang the poster somewhere visible in the store, and watch your online applicant traffic grow!  Utilizing the resources in the way the company suggests will help the service work for you.
  4.  Follow Up.  Most companies will follow up to see how you’re doing with the product.  However, make a point to talk to your managers to see how they are really doing with the system.  Sometime managers will be more willing to speak with you about the problems or issues they are having.  If they are uncomfortable in any way, see #2.
  5. Dive in!  If you’re heading up the project (or even if you’re not), dive-in!  Start navigating around the system, ask questions, and see what the service can do for you!  If you become an expert user, chances are the ones that you lead will follow!

Changes in processes can be a great asset to a growing company in today’s world- especially with the addition of internet based services.  With the right mind-set and tools, you and your management will be on your way to succeeding in no time!

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Posted: Wednesday, December 12th, 2012

More than 96% of our customers say they’d absolutely recommend us

Normally, I’m not one to write blog posts about our latest product statistics or surveys. I feel like those should go out as press releases, and I should leave the blog posts for tips and tricks that will help either our applicants find great jobs, or our employers find talented workers.

But this is a statistic I just have to share. We did a survey in June 2012, asking our customers, large and small, about what they thought of our service, our product and the overall experience and results. In total, we surveyed 774 people.

One answer that came back was really powerful to me. When we asked our current customers whether or not they’d recommend our product to another restaurateur or hospitality-industry hiring manager, 96.6% of respondents said they would absolutely recommend it without hesitation.

It’s hard to get 96.6% of people to do anything, but to have them all answer an astounding yes to liking our hiring tool enough to want to recommend it, we at WyckWyre felt like we won the lotto. To say that the WyckWyre team was elated and humbled over the figure is downplaying it.

We even had some people write us awesome comments when they turned in their survey. One hiring manager and survey respondent said, “We’ve had a very positive experience with WyckWyre. The quality of applicants I’m seeing has definitely increased over using paper applications.”

Others credited us for increasing the productivity and customer service in their workplace due to finding great new employees through their WyckWyre system.

WyckWyre is here to provide an applicant tracking system for our niche industry that is simple to use, but provides extraordinary results. It shouldn’t be hard for those in the food and hospitality industry to find high-quality workers. And, it shouldn’t be hard for the workers who want to be in that industry to find high-quality work places.

Every day we take steps to make sure it’s easier and easier for both parties. We’re glad that you are taking notice. And we’re humbled by it, too. We promise to keep working hard on our end to give you a great recruiting experience, whether you’re an applicant or an employer.

If you’re interested in checking us out for your hiring, drop me an e-mail at the address provided below and I’d be happy to give you a one-on-one demonstration.

Until next time,

Lisa DiVirgilio
Director of Business Development
lisa@wyckwyre.com

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Posted: Thursday, September 6th, 2012

Employers: Respond to applicants, even if they’re not getting an interview

When a potential employee puts in an application with you, they’re letting you know they’re interested in talking more about the job. Employers will take the application, review it and either call the person back for a follow-up to discuss qualifications, or move on. But there’s one step that many employers are missing: Notifying applicants of their status.

Applicants who are applying through online means with pre-screening are taking even more time than an average paper application fill-out process. They have to not only make sure their resume is up-to-date, but they also have to go through and answer a series of questions, including some that require paragraph-long responses. For all the effort that an applicant goes through, it is more than courteous to reply back even if they will not be considered any further than an initial application review.

By not responding to applications, you’re not only not respecting the applicant’s time that he or she put into applying for your open position, but you’re sending a message that you don’t really care to further the relationship.

More times than not, an applicant is also a customer – and by letting them know in an acceptable time period that they are not an ideal fit at your company, you’re giving them the opportunity to quickly pick up where they left off, and not put all of their eggs in one basket. An idea time period is somewhere between one to two weeks since the application was submitted.

You may say you don’t have enough time. But when you say that, you’re saying that you don’t have enough time to tie up the lose ends of the hiring process. The hiring process should be as perfectly wrapped up as other aspects of your well-oiled machine.

There are tons of easy ways to let applicants know they will not be considered further without costing you a lot of time during the hiring process. One, make sure whatever online system you are using allows for pre-populated e-mails. These emails are accessible to you by the click of a button, and will go directly to the applicant, letting him or her know that you have moved on with the employee hunt.

If you’re still using paper applications, stay on top of them. Letting them pile up in the back will not only cause you more stress when you finally get around to them, but you may realize that you let a really awesome candidate slip through the cracks.

If you do decide to go the paper application route, consider adding a required line on the application that retrieves the applicant’s email address. This will allow you to respond to applicants via a form e-mail you can draft and save in your account. You’ll be able to use this form e-mail over and over again in order to save time. It will also raise your rate of responding to rejected applicants since you’ll have an easy, non-invasive way to get back to people – simply by shooting them an e-mail.

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Posted: Friday, August 24th, 2012

How to reject a job candidate without being the “bad guy”

Hiring for job openings can be tough. You’ll meet a lot of hopeful candidates who are looking for work, but unfortunately, you cannot employ them all. And what’s worse yet, is you’ll have to reject some of those hopefuls.

The biggest thing an employer can do wrong during recruitment is providing false hope. On the other hand, you do not want to cut off everyone abruptly who you do not believe would be a good fit at your hotel or restaurant.

There are many ways to let an applicant down easily, but it will take preparation.

If there is a candidate who you have discovered during the application review that does not meet your needs, you can easily reject them by sending an e-mail to let them know they were not the right fit for the position. Some applicant tracking systems, such as WyckWyre, allow you to do this with a few clicks. A pre-populated rejection notice will be mailed to the applicant, and you’ll be able to close the hiring cycle with him or her.

Say you’ve found a great candidate during the application process, and you have decided to bring him or her in for an interview. As a hiring manager, you have had many situations, both good and bad, during an in-person interview. If you find out that the candidate does not have the skill set or personality type that you are looking for in the position during that interview, end it and be clear what direction that you are taking. Do not lead the applicant on with the idea that they may be hired for the position in the future. This is wasting not only your time later on by delaying the rejection which will inevitably have to happen, but you’re also wasting the applicant’s time. If they know they’re not landing your position, they can seek other types of employment instead of wait for your non-existent offer.

To end the interview with clear expectations, say something along the lines of, “Thank you for coming in. We have more interviews with other qualified candidates throughout the week. We’ll be calling those we feel best meet our criteria by Friday. If you do not get a call by then, that means that we don’t have a job that matches your skill set at this time.”

With this, the applicant realizes that they do not have your position “in the bag,” nor are they going to be wondering why you didn’t call. You’ve set the expectation.

The number one rule to remember when letting a candidate know they did not get your open position is to be honest. Leading someone on by telling them “you’ll call them next week,” or that “you haven’t hired anyone just yet,” or “you’re still thinking about it” when you know that they are not the one will only leave you with a bad reputation if word gets out. And believe me, with social media in play now-a-days, it will get out.

Be honest, be kind and be quick about your rejections, and you’ll be able to sort through applicants and find the most-qualified person for the job quicker.

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Posted: Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

2012 National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show Highlights

Customer Success Specialist, Jessica Miller, shows how WyckWyre works at the 2012 NRA Show.

What a fantastic past few days it has been! The WyckWyre crew returned from the 2012 National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago just a few days ago, and we’ve been talking about what a great show it was ever since. More than 50,000 people, including attendees and vendors, packed into McCormick Place over the course of four day to get ahead on the latest trends in the industry!

The NRA Show is the largest venue for restaurateurs and those in the food and hospitality industry to gather at each year. Professionals come from near and far to see – and feature their own – products and services, talk about new, exciting ideas  and meet up with old friends in the industry.

Oh, and did I mention the tons of food tastings at the show? You’ll never go hungry while working in/for the restaurant industry, I promise you this.

This year was WyckWyre’s second year at the show, and it was very successful to say the least. We met up with a lot of our current customers and friends, and were even able to make new friends during the four days of the show that absolutely flew by for us.

The part that we loved was introducing our Customer Success Department. It’s customer service unlike anything you’ve seen before. We actually monitor every single job posting to ensure traffic and quality applicants. If we see a problem, we fix it immediately and then tell you about it. No more calling into a call center. Who has time for that, anyways?

Check out exactly what the show looked like by watching the video below:

If you happened to miss our booth, no worries! You can check out exactly how we streamline the hiring process for the industry by clicking here. You can even schedule a free demonstration to get a better look at how it all works,  plus pricing, by scrolling down and requesting to chat with us by filling out the form.

Do you hire less than two people a month? Get right to hiring someone now. No contracts, no fuss. Just quality applicants. You can purchase positions and begin editing them by clicking here.

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Posted: Friday, May 11th, 2012

Four ways to get ahead at the 2012 National Restaurant Association Show

The National Restaurant Association Show is the largest food industry show that happens each year. Naturally, it can get pretty overwhelming. Here are four quick tips from WyckWyre that will help you get the most out of your experience in Chicago May 5-8.

Get Floored
On the NRA Show’s website, you can access a floor plan that lists all of the vendors that will be attending and their booth location. Click here to access the plan now. You’ll be able to scroll over the vendors and get descriptions and product information. This will help you plan which areas and booths you know you won’t want to miss.

Plan Ahead
With all of the vendors to check out, speakers to listen to, events to attend and dinners to meet new people at, not planning ahead means you can miss some great opportunities. Take some time out to look over the speakers that will be at the NRA so you can attend the sessions that you’ll get the most out out of. Also, check out the events and education sessions that will be happening by clicking here.

Take Advantage Of The Deals
I can speak for WyckWyre when I say that we’ll be offering spectacular deals at our booth, #6177, at the NRA Show. Plenty of other vendors will have special savings and discounts you can take advantage of, too. So, just because you think you know a vendor and are only looking for “new” things, don’t just overlook what they have to offer. You could save a lot of cash!

Get Starstruck
Have some favorite food industry authors? There will be plenty of celebrity book-signing opportunities at the show. Take a look at a few right here.

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Posted: Friday, April 27th, 2012

Five reasons why you need to visit WyckWyre’s 2012 NRA Show booth

Look, we know you’ve got a lot to see, do and eat during the 2012 National Restaurant Association’s Show May 5-8 in Chicago.  However, we’re pretty awesome and have some great reasons why you should find us at Booth 6177.

1.) The 2012 NRA Show is the place to explore, try and find new things that work for you.

Even though we may seem it, WyckWyre isn’t new to the restaurant scene at all. We’ve been in the restaurant business for 97 years! (We may not look it, but that’s just thanks to a lot of water and a good skin care regimen.)

Anyways, many restaurateurs are definitely seeing the value in us, especially with the recent hiring trends. We only work with the food and hospitality industry to recruit great applicants so we know exactly who you need in your stores. Naturally, the NRA Show is where we feel most at home, so we’re excited to meet our own there.  Come see how we can save you time and money while helping you focus on the best people for the job.

2.) Big, small, medium or kind of all three wrapped into one – we have something for everyone.

From independent restaurants to multi-units to national franchisees, we serve everyone and anyone in the food/hospitality industry and we wouldn’t want it any other way. We have cost-effective options for every single restaurateur, regardless of your volume. Come find your perfect hiring match at our booth.

3.) Who has time for countless, and pointless, interviewing?

Not us, and not you! Come see how we can give you back 10, 15, even 20 hours of your work-week during hiring season.  Hiring managers that use WyckWyre report saving at least four to six hours per hire. Don’t think you spend that much time on hiring? You’d be surprised. We’ll show you how and why you do.

4.) Put money back in your pocket.

Think turnover isn’t that expensive in a restaurant? Think again! With turnover averaging at least 114% annual in our industry, the fees and expenses associated with it at astronomical compared to other industries with a lower turnover.  If we lower your turnover just by 10 percent, you’ll be putting more money back into your pocket. Come see how at our booth.

5.) Awesome discounts (and swag).

There, we said it. Yes, you’re going to get an awesome discount and deals by checking out our booth at the NRA Show. What, did you think we’d leave you empty handed? No way! Another cool reason to stop by is the pretty cool swag we’ll be giving away. So stop on by and see WyckWyre at the 2012 NRA Show, Booth 6177!

BONUS REASON: Go green.
(Were five reasons not enough to convince you?)
Other colors are cute, but we all know it’s best for everyone to go green.

Get it?

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Posted: Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

WyckWyre launches franchise-focused product page

Spring cleaning is in the air as WyckWyre recently launched the company’s new franchise-focused page. The redesign showcases the latest features of the restaurant and hospitality industry’s applicant tracking system.

View the newly launched page here: www.wyckwyre.com/applicant-tracking-system

“We wanted to showcase what we do – and one of the most important things is to make sure our customers know they are never alone during the hiring process,” Lisa DiVirgilio, WyckWyre’s marketing manager, said.

WyckWyre launched a popular feature, the Customer Success Department, at the end of 2011. The department monitors each live job posting from WyckWyre customers, tracking it to make sure the job opportunity gets quality traffic volume and high-quality employees.

“Our Customer Success Department is one of the most proactive service departments in the restaurant technology industry. We’re working to turn the idea of call-center customer service upside down.” DiVirgilio said. “We seek out problems before they become apparent, and we create resolutions before the customer even notices there could have been issue.”

The new product site features other WyckWyre customer benefits, and allows those interested to schedule a free demonstration as well as view an instant “taste” of WyckWyre’s hiring system, created only for the restaurant and hospitality industry.

WyckWyre works with franchisees from different quick service, fast casual and casual restaurants and hotels, along with independent restaurants, bakeries and other concepts. The company focuses on easy-to-use, branded hiring systems that help to recruit high-quality employees, reduce turnover, and save time and money throughout the hiring process.

To learn more about WyckWyre, schedule your free demonstration on the company’s website: www.wyckwyre.com/applicant-tracking-system.

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Posted: Thursday, April 5th, 2012

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