When you need temporary staff most companies in the hospitality space hire the first semi-qualified worker that applies. While there are plenty of tools to help you fill in an empty space, there is no service better than JitJatJo at finding the most qualified worker as fast as possible. JitJatJo, the on demand staffing platform, only contacts pre contacted workers that meet your set qualifications and wont clash with other workers. The app takes care of payroll, hiring and other HR duties to reduce the hassle that tends to come along with hiring a temp. So if you don’t want to hire the first responder to your craigslist request, make sure you are using JitJatjo.
AlleyWatch chatted with cofounder and CEO Tim Chatfield about his experience in the hospitality field and why he chose to settle the Startup in NYC
Tell us about Jitjatjo
Jitjatjo is an on-demand, temporary staffing platform for restaurants, bars, venues, corporate hospitality and caterers. The hospitality industry frequently deals with last minute call outs and unexpected increases in demand. Jitjatjo provides instant staffing at your fingertips and can have staff on-site within an hour when the need is urgent. We also provide temporary staffing for scheduled events up to 2 months in advance. In under 30 seconds, a client can enter their staffing needs into our app and the Jitjatjo platform sources the best available talent. Clients are updated in real-time as to the progress of their booking, as well as the location of their talent, and can communicate with their talent using the live chat feature before and after they arrive onsite. To reduce the burden for managers, Jitjatjo also handles all the human resources (HR) responsibilities from the get-go, including conducting interviews, coordinating background checks, gathering tax forms, compiling performance reviews, timekeeping, and payroll. The app ultimately serves as a quicker and more efficient alternative to the temp agencies and Craigslist queries that most hospitality operators rely on.
How is Jitjatjo different?
Unlike other on-demand staffing apps, Jitjatjo does NOT broadcast a job to groups of potential workers. Simply broadcasting jobs to potential workers most often results in rewarding the employee that is the fastest to claim it; this way of doing things is underwhelming and outdated, since when has the first to claim a shift necessarily been the best or most appropriate fit? It’s about time we matched gigs with the most-appropriate worker for the job. Our clients expect quality talent that, in addition to having the required skills and experience, are a ‘good fit’ for the client and will complement their existing team. Platform intelligence and real-time availability enables Jitjatjo to rapidly analyze and select ‘the best’ available talent for each specific job and client. All of our talent are W2 employees of Jitjatjo and have passed a rigorous interview and selection process, including skills assessments, reference checks, and background checks. Our clients need not worry about interviewing, HR forms, withholding tax or timesheets. Everything is handled within the Jitjatjo app. Simple and fast.
What market are you attacking and how big is it?
There is nothing quite like the hospitality industry in New York. There are 55,000 restaurants and bars, in addition to thousands of catering and events companies that could all find value using our platform. While, we naturally have much bigger aspirations, we are currently laser focused on solving the staffing challenges of New York City’s hospitality industry.
What is the business model?
Transparent and transactional. We retain 15% of each booking total, plus transaction fees and withholding taxes mandated by the government.
What inspired the business?
Our executive team has over 30 years of hospitality experience, filled with resourcing nightmares. Combine that with our passion for leveraging technology to solve real business problems and you have Jitjatjo.
How do you plan to compete with already launched on demand staffing platforms?
By offering the most frictionless and compelling solution available. We provide our clients instant staffing at your fingertips and talent with flexible work with instant pay. It’s a win:win:win.
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within six months?
Through our commitment to continuous improvement and machine learning, we will be the go-to solution for temporary staffing throughout the New York hospitality market.
What is the one piece of startup advice that you never got?
Don’t underestimate the power of clearly defining your brand before anything else. A clearly defined brand acts as a compass to guide decisions, and a magnet for like-minded people whom are passionate and willing to help you realize your vision.
If you could be put in touch with anyone in the New York community who would it be and why?
Fred Wilson from Union Square Ventures, arguably the most respected platform/marketplace VC on the East Coast. Why? Building a globally successful marketplace requires significant funding, and even if he didn’t invest, the learning gained from the questions he’d likely ask would harden our business plan and increase probability of success.
Why did you launch in New York?
We considered several locations and industries. However, we determined that the NYC hospitality market offered the best combination of density, demand, supply, culture, and access to capital.
What’s your favorite restaurant in the city?
This is so hard. We are in SoHo, which has many great options. Some that quickly come to mind are La Esquina, Seamore’s, and NoMo. Further up-town, in Flatiron, I love Black Barn, Cosme and ABC Cocina.