Flexible hiring, the gig economy, on-demand workers are all terms that reflect the fact that freelance workers now make up 35 percent of the U.S. workforce. How can clubs tap this new economy of workers—often working for multiple employers—who manage their own schedules? Well, there’s an app for that.
In fact, there are several apps that help hospitality venues in particular to find skilled staff on short notice or for special one-off events and functions. New York-based Jitjatjo (jitjatjo.com) helps provide front and back of house hospitality workers like servers or a bartender when a rush of members appears—or if several regular employees take ill. According to co-founders Ron McCulloch and Tim Chatfield, the Jitjatjo app and its algorithm books the most qualified workers available within minutes. The matching process selects the best individuals for the job based on their proximity, work history and other data. A key feature includes a rating system for the workers and the clients—meaning if a client rates a worker poorly, they will never be matched again, and visa versa. In addition, the app uses a three-tier pricing platform to pay workers based on “solid” “outstanding” and “epic” workers. Jitjatjo charges a 15 percent service fee, 7 percent transaction fee and 18 percent payroll tax—and workers are paid through the app and charged to the clients after each job. Jitjatjo operates in New York City and Chicago.
Most hospitality apps for temporary workers provide the structure for paying the workers and withholding taxes and charge a fee to clients in addition to the workers’ earnings. Screening of workers is another area where apps provide expertise.
Hospitality app Jobletics (jobletics.com) is based in Boston. Jobletics workers (called Jobletes), are not only properly vetted for skills but also assessed according to cognitive and behavioral criteria. CEO Rahul Sharma knows that quality is of paramount importance to the employers and said their proprietary vetting procedures source the best and brightest people. He notes that 90 percent of applicants are rejected through Jobletics’ screening process.
San Francisco-based Wonolo (wonolo.com) is another gig app that provides a three-step application process to ensure workers have the proper traits. After taking a test within the app, applicants undergo a background check and an interview. Co-founder and CEO AJ Brustein says the company is looking for attitude over aptitude, but also offers opportunities for worker training so they can advance their skills in areas such as safe food handling.
Wonolo (short for Work. Now. Local) is in eight markets: Northern California, Southern California, Metro New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas and Columbus, Ohio and Tampa Bay, Fla.
As the gig economy grows and workers look for more flexibility in work schedules, clubs, too can look to the flexibility of hiring temporary workers at their fingertips to fill gaps and staff up for busy periods.