| Hiring good in the neighborhood |
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| Learn how WorkSource Oregon helped this Applebees open on time |
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Dale Simonton, Applebee's Restaurants
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Dale Simonton has opened his share of restaurants, and experience has taught him that saving money and keeping the hiring process organized is an important ingredient for success. That’s why Dale turned to a proven partner when his franchise started construction on its newest Applebee’s restaurant in Gresham. “It’s the sixth time we’ve used WorkSource,” said Dale, whose franchise has over ninety outlets in Oregon, Washington, and five other states. “It’s a huge savings for us.”
This time it was the Gresham Employment Office, a WorkSource Oregon partner, serving up the goodies. The first order of business was to provide interview facilities at no charge for the company, who normally gets anywhere from 500 to 700 applicants for each restaurant opening. Dale explained that without interview space, the company would be forced to bring a trailer to the construction site; hook up power, heat, and telephones; and then hope enough candidates would show up to keep an interviewer busy all day.
Another important service was organizing the recruitment and interviewing process. For the Gresham opening, Applebee’s directed applicants to the Gresham Employment Office, and staff there pre-screened the applications so the company could interview qualified candidates.
“This way, we didn’t have to see 800-900 people who might not have the casual theme dining experience we need – you get better candidates, and the whole process was much, much faster.”
When it came time to interview, the Gresham WorkSource staff kept things efficient by scheduling candidates every 15 minutes over two-weeks. By the end of the recruitment, Applebee’s had interviewed over 250 candidates, and had hired their new crew. But one thing was missing – the check. Since most WorkSource Oregon services are pre-paid by employers, Applebee’s got the services at no extra charge.
“I don’t know why a company wouldn’t use these services,” Dale said. “And why not save the headaches?”
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