How Two AAA Four Diamond Hotel Properties Transformed Their Hiring Process With Qwick

The Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club and JB Duke Hotel, two AAA Four Diamond-rated hotel properties located in Durham, North Carolina, are known for their gracious service, intuitive staff, and attention to detail. Along with The Lodge at Duke Medical Center, the trio of properties employs more than 350 hospitality professionals across more than 620 guest rooms and six restaurants and bars. Delivering an exemplary experience to guests requires hiring exemplary staff members.

Recruiting highly qualified, passionate employees is an ongoing challenge for the hospitality industry as a whole. While the Inn, JB Duke Hotel, and The Lodge have retained many longtime personnel, in early 2022 there was a need to fill staff steward positions on short notice. After successfully filling the positions with Qwick, Area Executive Chef Troy Stauffer realized the platform was more effective than the traditional recruiting methods and temp agencies he was using at the time.

Stauffer turned to Qwick to bridge the gap in his culinary staffing needs, including hiring stewards, line cooks, cafe cooks, banquet cooks, and more. Chef Stauffer now typically requires all prospective hires to work at least one stage shift through Qwick to serve as a screening process and to experience a "working interview" before moving on to consideration for a full-time position. Stauffer also uses Qwick for short-term and urgently-needed staffing, often filling steward and banquet worker shifts in a matter of hours.

By requiring workers to fill at least one Qwick shift, the hotels are lowering the uncertainty inherent in the hiring process. Stauffer called this legal paid stage process a "game changer" that allows him to see how candidates perform on the job and work alongside fellow staff members. It also allows potential workers to experience the inviting atmosphere and elegance of the properties first-hand - something that is often difficult to describe in a traditional job posting.

While the hotels currently use Qwick for restaurant operations, they are considering expanding its use to help fill housekeeping positions, as well. The hotel properties' experience with Qwick is a model for how hospitality businesses of any size can transform their hiring practices.