Hospitality in the News | 5 Reasons to Add Gig Workers to Your Team Roster

Every week we comb through the news to find employment trends affecting the hospitality industry so you don’t have to. This week’s Hospitality in the News topic: 5 reasons to add gig workers to your team roster.   

Sitting at a restaurant we’ve all become more patient. We know staffing is tight. And we know the people who are working… are working hard. Still, there’s no doubt you’ve asked the question — where has everyone gone?  

Back in 2019, headlines were all about low unemployment, the gig workforce was growing, and things were great. Then came COVID. Our world got smaller. First, we all had to stay home, then as things gradually reopened those businesses with hourly public-facing workers started to rehire. The problem is those hourly workers discovered job options that had a unicorn – flexibility. 

These hourly workers really didn’t leave the workforce. They simply are reshuffling to get what they want. What does that mean exactly? Snagajob says they surveyed 3,000 hourly workers and employers to understand mindset. 

• 80% of workers say they’re planning to look for a new job in 2022 
• 54% say they want part-time 
• 59% are looking at changing industry 

Workers are looking at new job criteria in this order of importance:  

1. Pay (77%)
2. Location (67%)
3. Flexible hours (66%)

Meanwhile, employers say they have a low volume of applicants and not enough time to hire. In May our team was at the National Restaurant Show. We heard story after story from owners and leadership. They know they need to do something different but aren’t sure what steps to take. The Snagajob report echoes these comments saying employers want to do something different to staff to preCOVID levels. 

Our recommendation is to find a great staffing company and use gig workers. Here’s why: 

Give workers what they want

Workers say they want flexibility. Give it to them. That’s what gig work is all about. Our team specializes in the hospitality industry staffing restaurant and hotel workers. These are some of the toughest jobs to staff. Yet we consistently find workers to take open shifts. Remember flexibility means different things to different people. Remember some workers want part time –– that’s a gig job. 

Build bench strength

This same flexibility can be applied to full-time staff if you’ve got great gig workers to back them up. Full time workers get sick, get sick children, get burned out and need personal time. Finding a great staffing partner to work with you to locate great gig workers give your team a backup staff for bench strength. 

Save budget

Often someone says, it’s expensive to partner with a staffing company. Is it? Instead of spending cash to hire on your own, train, and provide benefits, the staffing company does that for you. And your business isn’t dealing with federal required payments either.  

Test the temp

Sometimes a great gig employee turns into a long-term staffer. Hiring gig workers gives a business team a chance to meet a person, work with them awhile and decide if it’s a great fit. Likewise, a gig worker who may want a permanent job gets to work for you to find out if they like the work and the people.  

Seasonal staffing

Staffing firms are available to help a business scale up or scale down depending on need. For example, hospitality clients near large convention centers need more people during a large conference. When it’s over, less workers are needed. Using gig workers means there’s no need to hire and fire and then repeat the hard process. Provide a plan to the staffing company, and they can assist in making sure you have people to take care of the customer. 

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LGC has the employees you need to fulfill your staffing needs. By offering our gig workers flexibility and choice when it comes to their schedule, we’ve been able to build a nationwide network of talented hospitality professionals. Contact us today for a streamlined staffing experience.