CEO says almost 60% of the American workforce is hourly and an overwhelming number of these workers consider themselves underemployed.
Snag, the leading platform for connecting hourly employees with employers, wraps up its wraps p HourMinds 2018 in Charleston, S.C. today. The three-day event brings together successful brands such Shake Shack, Uber and KFC to share insights on how to best attract and retain workers.
After acquiring PeopleMatter, a provider of applicant tracking and onboarding systems in 2016, Snagajob this past April rebranded itself as Snag. Snag now counts 90 million members and 450,000 employers who use its services.
In his opening remarks to attendees, Snag CEO Peter Harrison, talked about how the company is growing to addressing the changing needs of employers and employees.
The behind-the-scenes story, Harrison said, is that almost 60% of the American workforce is hourly and an overwhelming number of these workers consider themselves underemployed, meaning they aren’t getting enough work, hours or shifts to cover basic living expenses.
This trend and the growing need for employers to accommodate workers who seek more flexible work schedules have become hot-button issues in the U.S. labor market.
“I think this is a really important story that’s not really understood,” said Harrison. “We need to adapt to this changing mindset. Our workers already have.”
To help alleviate some of this labor stress, Snag’s flexible work platform, Snag Work, has gained substantial momentum since its launch last year in Richmond, Va., Designed to fit the gig economy, the on-demand platform instantly connects workers with open shifts in restaurants, hotels and retail stores. The company touts that workers get the hours and flexibility they need while helping businesses eliminate the headache of turnover.
On average, Snag Work fills 90% of shift requests and 70% of shifts are filled in just minutes.
Jim Monroe, Snag’s chief customer officer, said the provider is developing other products to assist its clients including new dashboards and later this year will launch a virtual data warehouse that will employer members of its network access to a bevy of data to help simplify hiring decisions.
ROCKING OUT
The keynote speaker was Jim Knight, author of “Culture That Rocks.” Knight began his 30-plus year career in hospitality training as a restaurant staff-level employee for Olive Garden and Hard Rock Cafe, before serving as the head of global training and development functions for Hard Rock International.
In a segment entitled “Service That Rocks,” Knight explained how companies can create differentiated service by through personalized and customers attention, developing emotional attachments with customers.
To do it, employers and their employees daily should employ attention to detail, a sense of urgency, responsiveness, follow up and genuine care for the customer.
The HourMinds event concludes May 2.
