WorkShift announces app launch

WorkShift, the technology platform designed to connect talent with open shifts in the restaurant industry, was a finalist in the 2023 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest.

The Milwaukee-based company, founded in 2018 by Bekki Yang and Manny Lara, won the Business Services division of the contest. After nearly a year of behind-the-scenes work, the company is ready to share its creation with the city.

WorkShift recently announced the soft launch of its employment app is scheduled for May. Cofounder Bekki Yang confirmed that pilot program participant, Saz’s Hospitality Group, will continue to use the product. She also reported the company has had success recruiting shift workers interested in the temporary employment the app provides.

“We put out a couple of ads on social media platforms a week ago. We’ve already got over 300 applicants. It was a huge response,” Yang said.

“We can tell you the talent is definitely intrigued. They want to participate in this gig ecosystem we’re creating for Milwaukee with the restaurant service group. Now, it’s just a matter of looking for restaurant partners that want to test this modernized talent pipeline and recruiting model into their process flow to fill in those open shifts,” she continued.

The company hopes launching its app before the need for hospitality workers skyrocket with the start of wedding season, festival season and the Republican National Convention will ease the stress of local restaurants while helping talented restaurant professionals to capitalize on upcoming opportunities.

“Any restaurant looking to staff up, or that  is currently understaffed, should definitely consider using WorkShift to help,” she said.

Not only is WorkShift looking to add restaurants to its roster of users, but it is also interested in adding additional gig workers. The company anticipates that banquet servers, dishwashers, festival workers and bartenders will be in high demand in the coming months.

Yang describes the ideal candidate as someone with more than a year of restaurant industry experience and “great customer service skills. A positive attitude and hard worker who enjoys flexibility and is willing to commit to working hours based on their flexibility per week. It could be someone returning into the industry for supplementary income or someone currently in the industry who wants to pursue a promising position within the industry.”

Yang highlighted the positive long-term impact of using the WorkShift app.

“When I speak with restaurant owners about WorkShift, what attracts them to WorkShift is ‘interviewing on the job.’ The talent has gone through the preliminary interview questions and looks like a great candidate, but it’s not until they actually are on the job and interacting with the other staff members that you really get to understand if this person is a fit,” Yang said.

“Restaurants face a huge turnover … (WorkShift helps) make sure that this is where (the employee) wants to work and is a good fit for the work environment. WorkShift is also an opportunity to find that next superstar. It’s a great way to source talent,” she said.

To learn more about WorkShift, or connect with the company to explore opportunities, click here.