The Black Swan In Hospitality Hiring Is Here. What Do We Do Next?

OCT- 2018_LONDON: Polina Montano is the co-founder and of Job Today. A serial entrepreneur with a background in retail, Russian-born Polina has a history of implementing her ideas and running her own businesses. Before founding Job Today with her friend Eugene Mizin, she managed six petrol stations in her chosen home Luxembourg. This gave her the idea for a mobile hiring solution. Together, they launched Job Today in Barcelona in April 2015. Within a year, Job Today was also operational in Madrid, Paris and London. Polina studied Business Administrations in Amsterdam and holds a Master Degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the University of Luxembourg. ( Photography by Graeme Robertson).

JOB TODAY, Spain and UK’s #1 mobile hiring platform, saw a 50%+ week on week drop in hospitality job listings this week on Monday, 16th March 2020.
by: Polina Montano
photo: JOB TODAY
featured: Polina Montano, Co-founder of JOB TODAY

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COVID-19 has arrived and our lives are being disrupted in every aspect imaginable: societal, sanitary, financial, and economical.. Life as we know it is put on hold. Uncertainty fuels panic and irrational behaviours – such as mass emptying of supermarket shelves in an attempt to stock up… If you have not read Tomas’s Pueyo article (link) on the current situation, I strongly suggest you to do so.

Last week, in Europe, a number of governments have announced a “state of emergency” – which are needed measures to slow down the virus outbreak. What does this mean for jobseekers, SMEs, and for the classifieds industry?

Hospitality is among the very first industries to be disrupted along with the travel and retail sectors. Restaurants and hotels have shut down or at best are operating in reduced capacity.

We are seeing a +50% drop in hospitality hiring particularly in front of the house/ customer facing roles over the last few days now. Retail jobs are also seeing a +20% decline at the moment, with events and promotion seeing an even steeper fall.

WoW Role Changes in listings:

– Barista: -20%
– Waiter/Waitress: -50%
– Retail: +32%
– Healthcare workers +108%

We are however also seeing increased demand and job creation in certain categories. Healthcare jobs are topping the charts with an +80% increase. Delivery, cleaning services and call center positions are also showing a significant growth. We are also seeing a growing demand in gig jobs across a variety of categories. As some businesses are likely to suffer in these uncertain time, many will look for alternative sources of income.

Remote work offers will increase in the coming months as well, and that just might be a lasting trend this time – making sure that both companies and employees adapt to appreciate the benefits and convenience of remote working.

In turbulent times such as these, urgency and convenience of communication will continue to play an important role in hiring processes and exchanges. We should all be on the alert mode ready to adapt and respond to changes quickly, and the hiring industry is not an exception to this rule. Most businesses that are seeing increased demand for the workforce today are what is known as “Essential Services”: hospitals, pharmacies, supermarkets, and gas stations… In particular, for these sectors immediacy in communication with candidates is critical to the hiring processes.

We are facing an unprecedented crisis and it is vital that we remain calm and work towards a common goal together. To reiterate Abdu Sharkawy, “Clean hands, open hearts, and facts not fears.”

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