When it comes to recruiting highly talented chefs and truck drivers, there’s no better way to do it than a mobile app.
Smartphone apps as a recruiting tool is by no means a novel concept. We all know that.
But two niche industries – restaurants and truck driving – are becoming the first of their kind to launch their own apps.
Restaurant Management Recruiters has created a free mobile phone application to find top-shelf chefs, managers and other staff for elite jobs that may not be advertised to the general public.
The app is the first of its kind in the restaurant industry, according to RMR.
The specialized recruiting firm has been around since 2000, recruiting staff for nationally recognized chain restaurants (like McDonald’s; Ronald needs high-quality chefs, too).
Principal partner Steve Gibson said in a press release, “This is clearly where we need to be recruiting to best serve our clients and candidates. Having RMR Mobile send an alert to users when new jobs become available gives these candidates tremendous advantage over the hundreds of similarly qualified people who want the same job. The best jobs routinely open and are filled within days. If you don’t get there fast, you won’t get there at all.”
In an industry that has a high turnover rate, despite employment at the highest growth levels since 2007, it’s a vital tool.
TruckerJobs the App launched in July. With the tagline “Driver recruiting will never be the same … ” Wright Media, a print and Internet advertising industry bigwig, created the app, which according to Digital Journal can be used on more than 470 different phone types.
According to CEO Kenny Wright, hundreds of drivers have already downloaded the free app and submitted applications not long after the launch. And they make it sound so easy – “within a few clicks, a driver can be on the phone talking with a recruiter, all because of seeing the free app on his/her phone.”
Like restaurants, there’s also a significant turnover rate in the trucking industry. American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello recently told The City Wire, “We hear nearly every day from fleets who cannot find enough drivers to meet demand.”
He added that he expects to see the turnover rate rise due to more retirees than new drivers entering the industry, among other reasons.
Wright’s got a more optimistic outlook: He told Digital Journal, “The evolution of driver recruiting is definitely in the use of smart phones.”
