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ZipRecruiter, Yelp are teaming up to help Texas restaurants sweeten the pot
by: Tahera Rahman
Posted: 10/18/2021 / 10:17 PM CDT
Updated: 10/18/2021 / 10:36 p.m. CDT
AUSTIN (KXAN) – Local businesses are struggling to find staff as demand picks up and is expected to continue to grow for the holidays.
Online job market ZipRecruiter says the number of active online job postings in the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area increased 106% from just before the pandemic in February 2020 to September 2021.
However, they say the workforce is 3 million fewer workers than it was before COVID-19.
Because of this, the owners of Bird Bird Biscuit are working at their new location on West Koenig Lane on limited hours.
“At some point we want to have night shifts, but we just don’t have the people to do it,” said co-owner Brian Batch.
They have streamlined their operations and decided to keep the indoor restaurants closed.
“Our entire business model has changed. We turned to the window model, where you place your order in advance online or at the kiosk, ”said Batch.
He says customers have been receptive and business is growing.
Julia Pollack, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, says it’s a national trend. Restaurants like Bird Bird Biscuit are seeing increasing customer demand across the country, but are unable to fully capitalize on that growth due to ongoing labor shortages.
“If you don’t have enough employees, there will be delays. Companies need to reduce working hours. They have to limit the number of goods and services they offer and focus on their strengths – and all of that means that growth opportunities are lost, ”said Pollack.
For this reason, many restaurants and retailers are offering contractual bonuses and wage increases.
Amazon announced Monday that it is hiring more than 3,000 workers in the Austin area for seasonal jobs with sign-up bonuses of up to $ 3,000.
Amazon hires 3,000 seasonal workers in the Austin area, 150,000 across the country with vacations nearby
One reason for the challenges of working in retail and hospitality is that potential employees have different standards. Pollak says more than half of active job seekers on ZipRecruiter want to work remotely.
It’s more difficult in the grocery industry, and to help Texas restaurants ahead of the holidays, ZipRecruiter and Yelp are teaming up for “Yelp for Help Wanted.”
Restaurants are given a free two week period to post jobs on ziprecruiter.com/yelp. It started on October 12th and runs through October 26th.
They also sweeten the pot for applicants. Fifty will be selected to win a $ 500 American Express Gift Card once they provide evidence that they have applied to a local, independent company.
“This is going to be a tricky challenge for a while, and employers who get it right will have an advantage in the war for talents,” said Pollak.
It’s something that Batch could look into; he needs 10 to 15 more employees.
“We just want to keep moving forward and hopefully with that mentality we can just keep moving forward,” he said.
Restaurant owners and job seekers can learn more about Yelp for Help Wanted here.
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