How Heron Farms Uses Qwick to Solve for Temporary Staffing Challenges

Heron Farms is the world’s first indoor, vertical, saltwater farm, located in Charleston, SC. Heron Farms is focused on sustainability aided by technology – through their processes, they are exploring the next generation of sustainable agriculture. The nature of the business requires reliance on surge labor, which presents ongoing staffing issues. Therefore, staffing was consistently difficult, as temporary employment terms were very uncertain, creating an undesirable situation for potential workers and a source of friction or discomfort in the workplace.  Heron Farms began using Qwick in August 2021, with the volume of gig posting frequently changing including many last-minute postings for immediate assistance. There are periods when Heron Farms posts gigs every day. The typical roles for Qwick pros include packing, harvesting, and labeling jobs. Since signing up with Qwick, Heron Farms has filled approximately 190 gigs. Many times each posted gig receives up to 90 applications. To help aid selection Heron Farms utilizes the ratings, reviews, and pro completion rate to determine the most desirable candidate(s). While Heron Farms’ unique business model is different from the majority of Qwick users, they have found that finding workers through the app has helped to improve a historically problematic staffing situation, adding efficiencies and removing internal friction. They can fill shifts at the last minute which helps the farm’s operations run smoothly.