PastaHR Success Story: Recruitment via WhatsApp in the hospitality sector
How Autogrill combats the ongoing shortage of qualified workers with PastaHR
Industry: Hospitality sector
Challenge: Shortage of qualified workers
Solution: Applications and communication via WhatsApp
Results: Simple and target group-specific application process incl. pre-qualification without CV as well as uncomplicated and personal communication after application
The problem of the ongoing shortage of qualified workers in the hospitality sector
Autogrill is a subsidiary of Avolta, a company created from the merger of Autogrill and Dufry in 2023. Avolta operates over 5,100 locations in 73 countries and employs 76,000 people. PastaHR works with Autogrill Switzerland, which employs around 1,000 people in Switzerland. We met Manuela Studer, Head of Human Resources at Avolta Switzerland, and Melina Hunkeler, HR Business Partner at Autogrill Switzerland, for an interview, where both interview partners emphasized the challenge of finding suitable and experienced staff due to the shortage of qualified workers.
Why Autogrill Switzerland works with PastaHR
Due to the challenges, Autogrill wanted to rejuvenate and refresh its employer branding. In addition, the recruitment team was looking for an easy way to communicate with applicants and wanted to offer an application process that was as uncomplicated and target group-oriented as possible.
After the first demonstration of PastaHR, it was clear that the product was heading into the right direction. In particular, the simple and quick addition of PastaHR to the existing job advertisements was convincing. With the help of the PastaHR widget for the career page, Autogrill presents a very fresh look and feel towards applicants when they visit the career page. In addition, the WhatsApp application can be made accessible at the numerous physical locations of Autogrill Switzerland using a QR code. Furthermore, the PastaHR application process can also be started directly on job platforms such as Hotelcareer. The product is also optimized for social media recruiting and compatible with platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc. Landing pages, which can be created directly in the PastaHR app, help with this.
Manuela and her team described the collaboration with PastaHR as very pleasant and received great support and help from PastaHR.
"The versatility of PastaHR was of course great for us! And the implementation of PastaHR was simple!"
says Manuela.
Specific pre-qualification and quick and easy initial contact
According to Melina, the inhibition threshold for the first contact is thanks to PastaHR and WhatsApp much lower and the communication is more personal right from the beginning.
"It's not as if you know each other directly, but it's on a different basis."
mentions Melina. Further, communication is also less complicated and less rigid than via the usual recruitment platforms for applicants, but also for the Autogrill Switzerland recruitment team. In addition, the job-specific qualification questions in the fully automated application process ensure that only questions which are relevant for successful recruitment at Autogrill are asked. The resulting information is presented very clearly and provides recruiters a quicker overview than a conventional CV.
PastaHR results at a glance
- Employer Branding: Rejuvenating and refreshing the employer branding thanks to PastaHR
- Visibility: Easy integration of PastaHR on career sites (PastaHR widget), job platforms and social media recruiting (Landing-Pages)
- Pre-qualification: Quick overview of qualifications despite no CV thanks to pre-qualification questions
- Approachability: The inhibition threshold for initial contact is much lower and on a personal basis
- Candidate Experience: 94% of applicants find the PastaHR application process time-saving & uncomplicated
Interested? Let's talk!
PastaHR helps companies to receive more qualified applications via WhatsApp. Learn more about us here and book an initial meeting with us here.
