Hourly Hiring with Evelyn Scalora, Tin Pot Creamery's CEO

When Tin Pot Creamery came onboard Workstream, we were beyond excited to be a part of such an innovative ice cream producer. We knew that we had to ask CEO Evelyn Scalora to share her advice and experience in the food industry's hiring practices.

Tin Pot Creamery started as an ice cream of the month club in 2012. After about a year of delivering ice cream to customers in the Bay Area, Tin Pot opened its first brick and mortar store in Palo Alto. Now, Tin Pot has several scoop shops scattered across the Bay Area.

The team at Tin Pot Creamery hand-makes ice creams, toppings, sauces, mix-ins and baked goods every day. The menu changes seasonally and there is a strong emphasis on organic and local ingredients.

Tin Pot has an innovative take on all flavors, from the classic to creative and new ones. Their mix-ins made in their own bakery, with organic dairy, and the finest locally sourced ingredients including: TCHO chocolate, fruit from Oya Organic Farm, O Olive Oil, Mighty Leaf Tea, and honey from Bay Area Bee Company. This makes their products one of a kind.

Evelyn spent 7.5 years at Jamba, launching the brand in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. She tells us that she has always had the belief that people should have access to real, whole foods. On top of that, these should taste amazing and provide nourishment to the body, "because that is one the great joys of life". She has spent her entire career in the natural food and health and wellness industries, driven by a passion to create brands that improve lives as well as spark joy.

Q: What have your experiences been with hiring hourly workers?

Evelyn: Up until recently, the hiring of hourly workers has been rather laborious and often chaotic. While there are so many new candidate/job posting search engines, there have been few solutions to manage candidates through the hiring process once they submit a job application.

With the hourly jobless rate at an all-time low, it has been critical to find ways to speed up the application process and automate candidate engagement flow using current media in order to prevent the loss of a candidate to another potential opportunity.

Q: What has worked most for you when hiring hourly workers?

Evelyn: It's important to consider the hiring experience from your target candidate's perspective. In the food service industry, turnover tends be high, while retention is low and there is low investment in the employer brand.

Being able to engage with candidates to explain to them "how working for your brand can help them achieve their goals" is impactful. Often, social media is key in a meaningful in telling your brand story. Hiring events can also help you to connect with candidates.

Q: Where are your go to channels for sourcing and hiring? 

Evelyn: We leverage job boards as much as possible because of the ease and flexibility they provide in reaching candidates. It's always important to make sure that the job board used is relevant to the target candidate, and that traffic and impression are as high as possible on the platform. Social networking and referrals are also key in our processing for finding qualified candidates. 

Q: What innovative recruiting technologies or methods have you seen recently? 

Evelyn: Many in the food industry have used "open houses" with product tasting as an enticement for candidates to engage in their brand. For Tin Pot Creamery, this has worked well as everyone loves delicious ice cream.

Interested in finding out how else you can improve the hiring process for your QSR? Schedule a chat with us!