If you run a catering firm, you already know that finding suitable staff can be a challenge. Even in a climate where there are not many jobs finding people who are capable of working in catering is difficult. Many people think that they can be a waiter or dish washer with no experience but are often surprised at just how hard the work is. They do not realise that they have to think on their feet, work at a fast pace and be on their feet for long hours. As a result, many who are new to the industry do not last long. You have probably experienced the situation where someone turns up for the first day or the first week then does not turn up again.
Whatever you do this is going to happen occasionally. However, you can reduce the chances of it happening by making a few simple changes to the way you recruit.
Catering Recruitment Agencies Focus Your Search
The first step is to find a well-established catering recruitment agency. These agencies are a great place to find people who have already worked in the industry. These candidates are far more likely to understand what it takes to work in catering. The long hours, and pace of work does not come as a shock to them. They know that this is what is expected of them and are prepared to do this type of work. Therefore, once you recruit them they are far less likely to let you down.
Importantly many of the job seekers who turn to catering recruitment agencies for jobs will not require much training. The fact that they have already worked in the industry means that they will already have most of the skills that you need.
A Choice of Services
The bigger catering recruitment agencies and websites offer you a couple of different ways to use them. If you want they can take the details of the role you are trying to fill and immediately send you a list of candidates with the right experience, or websites pass your details along to the right agencies. Alternatively, you can just post your job advert on your website and let you wait for candidates to apply. Ideally, advertising through a recruitment agency that both has people on its books, and also places your advert on large websites online would be most likely to result in a successful recruitment. It is well worth trying both agency and direct (placing the ad on your website) to see which offers the best value for money and the quickest way of finding the people your particular company needs.
To find the oldest and newest catering recruitment agencies, Caterer.com has one of the most comprehensive databases of agencies and jobs in the UK. They have helped thousands of catering firms to fill their vacancies, so can definitely help you to do the same.