For years, Christopher Grossman, executive chef and operating partner of The Chastain, struggled to keep his dishwasher position filled. That all changed when Grossman started using an on-demand restaurant staffing app.
“I never thought I’d be using a temp service, but staffing has never been as hard as it’s been,” says Grossman. That challenge is only growing today. According to the National Restaurant Association’s 2025 State of the Restaurant Industry report, the restaurant workforce is projected to add 200,000 new jobs by the end of the year.
Restaurants are under intense pressure to staff these jobs. Many owners and operators are using on-demand restaurant staffing tools to do so.
The Move Toward On-Demand Restaurant Staffing Tools
Grossman notes that his experience with the app-based restaurant staffing solution has been entirely positive.
“Now, if someone calls out, I can fill the shift within a few hours. Every shift I’ve posted [to the app] has been picked up, and I can only count two or three no-shows.”
The app Grossman used is just one of many options in a growing marketplace of restaurant staffing tools. For restaurants struggling to staff shifts, manage costs, and navigate high turnover, this new generation of tools may be the answer.
But choosing the right on-demand restaurant staffing tool for your restaurant will depend on a number of factors including cost, features, and functionality. Below, we offer a few tips to help you select the right restaurant staffing solution for your business and we take a look at the pros and cons of using a tech-based tool.
How On-Demand Restaurant Staffing Tools Work
Naturally, before you can choose the right platform, you need to understand the basics. Let's take a quick look at how these mobile tools typically work.
How To Get Started With an On-Demand Restaurant Staffing Solution
- Sign up: Usually, setting up an on-demand restaurant staffing app is as simple as signing up and creating a business profile.
- Post jobs: With most staffing tools, you should be able to post available shifts immediately. You can include a description of required skill sets, an hourly rate, expected shift length, dress code, and other important information.
- Choose an applicant: Once a post goes live, people can apply. Some restaurant staffing tools – like Poached and Gigpro – will provide you with a pool of applicants to choose from. Others, like Qwick, use an algorithm to select and dispatch a temp worker matching your job description.
What To Expect When Using Restaurant Staffing Tools
- Vetting: Most tools will interview, screen, and run background checks on candidates so you don’t have to.
- Profiles: With most on-demand staffing apps, you can view candidate profiles that include details on prior experience and feedback from previous employers.
- Insurance: Most apps carry a third-party liability insurance policy that would cover your business in the event of an employee-related incident such as accident, injury, or property damage.
- Pricing: Most hiring companies allow you to post shifts for free, and will charge either a fixed fee per shift or a percentage (usually between 20 and 40%) of the total cost of that shift.
- Speed: Most competitive hiring apps boast average shift pick-up rates of 24 hours or less. Kirk Thornby, founder and CEO of hiring platform Poached, says that while the average pick-up time may be a little longer in new markets, “in our core markets, we’re filling shifts in less than 30 minutes, on average.”
The Pros and Cons of Using On-Demand Restaurant Staffing Tools
In a fiercely competitive labor market, on-demand restaurant staffing tools clearly offer speed and convenience. But there are also a few drawbacks that you should be aware of, including the potential cost per hour. Below, we take a close look at the pros and cons of on-demand restaurant staffing.
Pros of Restaurant Staffing Apps
- Flexibility: Staff your operation as needed, including for last-minute call-outs and unexpected surges in foot traffic.
- Scalability: Staff up for major events (such as the Super Bowl or Valentine’s Day) or ramp up for seasonal shifts.
- Hiring optimization: Reduce the time and money you spend on recruitment, on-boarding, and training by trialing candidates in real time.
Cons of Restaurant Staffing Apps
- Availability: While on-demand staffing may be readily available in select markets, restaurants outside of major cities may not be able to access these services.
- Affordability: Samuel Mylrea, co-founder and CEO of Gigpro, says you may need to pay a slightly higher rate per hour to secure workers on short notice. Mylrea explains that “As you approach $20-plus per hour, restaurants get a lot more interest [from temp workers].”
- Compatibility: With on-demand staffing apps, you don’t have an opportunity to meet candidates before putting them to work, which heightens the risk of receiving a temp who is a poor fit for your restaurant. Tyler Haake, executive chef of Argosy, has used Gigpro to fill a wide range of back of house positions and explains that “I’ve had some people that’ve come in that are a little rough around the edges, and I know some managers struggle with those kinds of personalities.”
In spite of these potential drawbacks, says Haake, “It just makes life easier – you don’t have to go through interviews and then have people not always work out.”
For a deeper dive into the restaurant staffing tools that your competitors are using to meet pressing labor demands, check out the Best Recruiting & Hiring Tech for Restaurants today!
