HARRI AND SQUARESPACE Partner to Serve Online Presences to Restauranteurs

December 2, 2016: New York, NY -- Harri, the most complete and effective solution to source, hire, and manage talent in the hospitality industry, has partnered with Squarespace, a leading web publishing platform that makes beautiful products to help people with creative ideas succeed, to develop design and branding packages tailored to restaurants and their online needs.  

Through this partnership, Harri users that need to build a brand or create/enhance their website, will gain access to a hand-picked network of independent Squarespace experts who offer top quality web design at a lower cost and with a faster turnaround time than traditional designers. Additionally, each expert-built website will include simple blocks of code that make it easy for Harri users to integrate their career portal into their restaurant's website. Harri users will be matched with their Squarespace expert by Crew’s intelligent project matching platform.

 "A July 2016 survey by the National Restaurant Association found that 75% of adults look up menus, 55% read reviews, 51% order takeout or delivery directly from the restaurant website"

“The quality of a restaurant’s food and service have always been the difference between success and failure in this industry,” said Luke Fryer, Founder and CEO of Harri. “Restaurants today rely too much on social media and review sites while not focusing on building a great website. That’s why we’ve partnered with Squarespace to ensure restaurant owners take control of their online presence.”

Recent data illustrates how important it is for a restaurant to have an engaging and updated Website. A July 2016 survey by the National Restaurant Association found that 75% of adults look up menus, 55% read reviews, 51% order takeout or delivery directly from the restaurant website.

To learn more about this partnership, visit https://crew.co/harri/. To learn more about Harri or to schedule a demo, visit www.harri.com. To learn more about Squarespace and its community of experts, visit circle.squarespace.com.

CONTACT:

David Barkoe

Carve Communications for Harri

david@carvecomms.com

917-359-7222

50% of Quick Service Restaurant Jobs Filled By First-Time or Promoted Workers

Restaurants continued to add jobs at a steady pace in February, and a sizable proportion of these job openings are being filled by either new entrants to the workforce or people being promoted from other positions within the same business, according to the NRA’s Chief Economist Bruce Grindy. His Economist’s Notebook commentary and analysis appears regularly on Restaurant.org and Restaurant TrendMapper.

The national labor market continued to expand at a moderate pace in February, according to figures released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The economy added a net 242,000 jobs on a seasonally-adjusted basis in February, which is generally on par with the average gains during the last six months. 

The restaurant industry remains one of the steadiest contributors to private-sector growth, with the 40,200 net new jobs added in February representing the ninth consecutive month with gains of at least 20,000 positions. 

While the industry added middle class jobs at a rate four times stronger than the overall economy in recent years, it also maintained its role as the training ground for America’s workforce. 

For new entrants to the labor force, the restaurant industry is one of the most common landing spots. In fact, roughly one-third of all U.S. adults say their first employment experience was in the restaurant and foodservice industry. 

According to new NRA research that appears in the 2016 Restaurant Industry Forecast, restaurant operators reported that roughly one in five of their job openings in 2015 were filled by people for whom this was the first regular job that they have ever had.

The limited-service segment was the most likely to hire new workers, with 30 percent of quickservice openings and 25 percent of fast-casual job openings going to people getting their first work experience. 

Approximately one in six jobs at family-dining and casual-dining restaurants went to first-time workers in 2015, while eight percent of openings in the fine-dining segment were filled by new entrants to the workforce.

In addition to providing employment opportunities for first-time workers, many jobs are also filled by people advancing from other positions within a restaurant, typically because of the on-the-job training and knowledge of the business that they obtain from those roles. 

In 2015, approximately one in five job openings were filled by people who were promoted from other jobs within the same restaurant business. This trend was strikingly similar across each of the five major segments, with the fast-casual segment only slightly ahead of the others at 23 percent.

All told, roughly one-half of limited-service restaurant job openings in 2015 were filled by either new entrants to the workforce or people being promoted from other positions within the same restaurant.

(via National Restaurant Association)

Valuable Tax Credits for Hospitality Workers

Get the word out to employees and customers who could benefit from the Earned Income and the Child Tax credits, which reduce the amount of income tax workers owe. Workers who don't make enough money to owe taxes can still qualify for the credit, but they must file tax returns to claim the credits.

Earned Income Credit
The EIC is a refundable, federal income tax credit for full- and part-time workers who fall below certain income thresholds. Employers must notify employees for whom income tax was not withheld at any time during the year and are encouraged to notify employees whose wages for 2015 were less than $53,267 that he or she may be eligible. The EIC can be worth as much $6,242. Singles who raised children and earned less than $47,747, or those who are married filing jointly, raised children and earned less than $53,267, in 2015 can claim the credit, as well as singles not raising children who earned less than $14,820 last year or, for those who are married filing jointly, $20,330.

Some workers with children choose to receive part of their EIC payments in advance as part of their regular paychecks and the rest after they file their annual tax returns. Individual taxpayers who earned less than $39,131, or those married filing jointly who earned less than $44,651, with at least one qualifying child are eligible.

Child Tax Credit
The Child Tax Credit is worth up to $1,000 for each qualifying child under 17. The tax credits can help employees pay for childcare and cover other day-to-day needs. Families who earned at least $3,000 in taxable income in 2015 are eligible.

Employer assistance
The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities offers free posters, fliers and paycheck inserts for employers. Color posters are available in English and Spanish, and fliers are available in 21 languages. Get more information at 202-408-1080. Download thematerials, and get tips to promote the tax credits.

The Internal Revenue Service also offers an employer toolkit with outreach tips, posters, payroll stuffers, and social media tools. 

Free tax help
The IRS offers free electronic filing and assistance through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, a partnership with community-based organizations. Workers who earned less than $54,000 in 2015 are eligible, as well as people with limited English-language skills, people with disabilities and the elderly. Taxpayers can call 800-906-9887 to find a VITA site near them. The IRS helpline at 800-829-1040 is set up to answer taxpayer calls about credits or other tax issues. 

(via National Restaurant Association)

5 Ways the Restaurant Workforce is Changing

#1: Driving middle class job growth

The restaurant industry was a driving force behind the nation’s recovery from the Great Recession. Not only are restaurants leaders in total job growth, they’re also adding middle class jobs at a stronger rate than the overall economy. During the Great Recession, that rate was four times more than the overall economy.

#2: Turnover creeps up

The bad news: Restaurant turnover is trending up. The good news: Current turnover is relatively low, compared to record highs before the economic downturn.

#3: Recruiting challenges

The competition for employees intensifies as the economy improves. More than one in four operators say they have difficult-to-fill job openings. The biggest challenge? Finding applicants for back-of-the-house.

#4: Diverse opportunities

Restaurants provide unparalleled opportunities for people of all backgrounds to own their own businesses. The number of women-owned restaurant businesses is growing at a faster rate than the overall economy, as is the number of Hispanic-, African-American-, and Asian-owned operations.

#5: There’s money in the banana stand. And jobs, apparently.

Coffee, doughnut and ice cream shops are fueling more than commuters and snack attacks. The snack-and-nonalcoholic-beverage-bar segment is had the industry's highest job growth last year.

(via National Restaurant Association)

How to Write the Perfect Thank You Note

The job interview isn't over once you leave the meeting room. There is still one more step to the process, the thank you note.

#1: Salute with your interviewer's name.

Start off the note with "Dear Mr./Mrs." and include your interviewer's name. When you greet with their name, it shows that it is more personalized and you put thought into writing, rather than reusing a generic template. Also, indicate the date you met and position you applied for, to help refresh their memory. Your hiring manager might be conducting multiple interviews.

#2: Express your gratitude.

A thank you note/email would not be one if you do not include "Thank you". Write that you appreciated the time they took out to meet, speak and consider you for the position.

#3: Confirm that you are interested.

Let the hiring manager know that you are still interested in the position. State how you are excited to work for the company, and how you look forward to learning and growing with them. HR professionals like to hear enthusiasm from potential candidates when applying to jobs.

#4: Promote yourself.

Write a little promotional blurb about yourself. Briefly discuss your strengths and skills, and how they would be valuable to the team. You may also want to talk about your previous experience in the hospitality industry. Basically, provide further support on why you are qualified and the best candidate for the position. 

#5: Remember to follow up.

Sum up by writing thank you once more, and suggesting to keep in contact. Mention how you can be reached again via email or phone, if your hiring manager has any further questions. If you do not hear back from him/her in about a week or so, send a friendly a reminder email.

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