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Billy Giordano . 2 minute read
HOSPITALITY STAFFING

Inspiring Conversations with Billy Giordano of StaffedUp

The following article was originally written and published to Voyage STL. Link to full article here. 

Today we’d like to introduce you to Billy Giordano.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
JP (Jeremy Phillips) and I have known each other for 25 years and started working together in the hospitality industry 20+ years ago. We respectively managed multiple locations until opening up Room 38 Restaurant & Lounge in 2008. We’ve both gone on to open and manage multiple businesses since, but StaffedUp was created out of a need for a better way to hire in our industry in 2016. We started the company with personal funds and began interviewing local developers we thought might have some information on how to start a tech company. One of these interviews led us to Startup Weekend Columbia, where we pitched, got in, worked through all hours of the night, and subsequently won the weekend. From there, we had a team, momentum, and some support in our venture. The company was founded to make hiring processes easier for restaurant owners and managers while focussing on ease of use for the applicant and employer. Our goal has always been to provide a service that our customers appreciate and enjoy using that’s affordable and helps people like ourselves run better operations. We still use StaffedUp to run our businesses to this day and will continue to improve our systems to make hiring the easiest part of running your business. We’re sincere when we say we appreciate the opportunity to help every single one of our customers. We’re tirelessly dedicated to their success just as much as we are ours.

Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Ha! Let’s start with the fact that we’re 2 past-time personal and athletic trainers, who loved bartending, evolved into managers, and then opened up their businesses, all of which had zero to do with tech. Our road has been uphill, mostly gravel, with massive potholes and collapsed bridges. We’ve raised capital, but that wasn’t exactly easy without much of a tech background. We did build a team, recruit a reputable board, and overcome that hurdle, but again, potholes in building our tool. It’s been a hard road with many expensive lessons learned. We’ve burned a lot of cash on bad development and trusted individuals and entire companies who didn’t deliver for us. However, we stayed focused and determined and crawled our way out of those dumpster fires. Today, we’re operating with trusted team members, contractors we’ve properly vetted and trained, and a solid direction for where we want to go as a company while staying true to our roots.

Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The cool thing about us is that we’re an HR service (an Applicant Tracking System) that isn’t built by your standard HR mind. We are our customers, and we build tools that our customers can relate to, enjoy using, and that work. We’re known for our customer service (we’re service industry professionals first) and for how easy it is to use our tools to get hires for your business and find work. Despite the doubt and criticism, I’m proud that we’ve stuck to our vision and let our sales, service, and product reflect who we are. Our competitors have always done things differently, so we’re doing well. Following the pack has never been our route in a highly competitive hiring market. StaffedUp is a simple tool that offers what a high-turnover employer needs to hire and onboard their team. We’re fully customizable for any employer, integrate into our customers’ brands, including their website and social media, and market your jobs for you. Our system is set up with pre-drafted job descriptions, custom message templates, and a ton of automation to make hiring easy. Our team creates hiring marketing around your brand, including social media images and printable “scan to apply” QR code hiring collateral. We even push your jobs out to local job groups and external job boards like Google Jobs and help you get those jobs ranked to get great traffic.

Aside from recruiting, we have awesome, simple digital onboarding tools to start that new hire quickly. We’re rolling out our newest release this month, which we’re excited about. For employers familiar with WOTC (Work Opportunity Tax Credits), and especially for those who might not be, we’re launching our pre-hire qualification and tax credit maximizing tools to help employers hire to put real cash back into their business and their stakeholder’s pockets. We do all the heavy lifting and make it easy for employers to capitalize on this incredible Federal tax program that most employers don’t participate in, leaving real money on the table. For companies already capturing tax credits like these, we’ve built tools to do it better and make it easier. Here’s a fun ROI calculator showing how we can help our customers do more than hire great staff: https://staffedup.outgrow.us/staffedup-roi-calculator

Before we go, can you talk to us about how people can work, collaborate, or support you?
Working with us is easy. We love like-minded employers and even companies in the same space. We’ve got multiple referral partners who love what we do and sell us a value add to their customers, including POS companies, advertisers, consultants, etc. In terms of support, they are keeping us top of mind and sharing our story with the massive list of employers who struggle to hire or are having issues with cash flow in their business.

Pricing:

  • $29/month for our standard recruiting service / location
  • $59/month for our standard recruiting service + onboarding / location
  • Enterprise and multi unit services and pricing available

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • How does StaffedUp find applicants for me?

    StaffedUp leverages our extensive talent networks, optimized SEO, external automated job board posting such as Indeed and Google Jobs, social media integrations, QR code scan to apply marketing, and by leveraging your website and brand to drive genuinely motivated applicants for hire.

  • Can I customize StaffedUp to hire the way I need to?

    100% your can. We offer complete customization to fit your exact needs. Create custom company recruitment pages, company culture, jobs, application questions, and customized automated or one click messaging to expedite engagement.

  • How long does it take to get set up?

    How's a few minutes sound? Our quick startup tools are the easiest thing you'll use all year! We provide pre-drafted job descriptions & application questions, & even wrote your application responses for you! Need a hand? We'll teach you everything you need to know in 10 minutes. Did we mention it's easy?

  • Can I cancel anytime?

    Yep! For paid accounts we simply ask for 15 day notice before you next bill. Need to chat with us? Use the help desk in your account or email us at support@staffedup.com.

  • What is the WOTC (Work Opportunity Tax Credit)?

    WOTC (Work Opportunity Tax Credit) is a federal tax credit available to business employers, both large and small. The credits are designed to offset Federal income tax liabilities. When the WOTC program is executed the right way, employers can capture enough tax credits to significantly reduce, or even eliminate, their Federal income tax liabilities. (And if your business was formed using a flow-through-entity, like a S-corp or LLC, then the credits could flow-through to the owner’s K-1).

  • How can WOTC impact my business?

    Executing the WOTC program is simple and easy with the right provider. We’ll screen your applicants to determine if they satisfy one of nine qualifying criteria. If so, our team of tax credit experts work with specific government agencies, behind the scenes, to capture the tax credits for you. Once captured, tax credits can be used to eliminate Federal income tax liabilities and thus improve cash flow for stakeholders and the business.

  • DID WE JUST BECOME BEST FRIENDS?

    Duh! We built this for you, because we are you! Your success in hiring is the only thing we care about. Anything you need, any time, we're always here, we'll always listen!