The short answer
Finding the right hospitality staff starts with an honest picture of the job: shift pattern, evening and weekend availability, travel distance, hours, and gross salary come first. We distinguish tasks you can learn on the job from experience that is genuinely required. The first contact is low-threshold – via campaign and WhatsApp. A personal follow-up conversation comes next, and the hiring decision is always yours.
Bring one vacancy. In 30 minutes, we discuss where your recruitment is getting stuck, which approach could fit and your recruitment fee.
Transparency about the job attracts the right candidates
A job advert describes what you are looking for. Less often does it describe what the work actually looks like day to day: whether evenings are included, whether Saturday nights count, what the gross salary or pay band is, and how far the venue is from the nearest station. These are not minor details – they are exactly the information that determines whether someone wants to respond.
Making that transparent up front attracts candidates who know the job for what it is. Keeping it back increases the chance that people drop out once they learn the details – and that costs more than an honest job advert.
Distinguishing what can be learnt from what is essential
Not every task requires experience. Clearing tables is quick to learn. Knowing a wine list takes longer. Stating the distinction clearly in a job advert does two things: it broadens reach to people who cannot yet do everything but are willing to learn, and it sets realistic expectations for those who apply.
At the same time, not everything can be picked up on the job. If a position demands a certain pace on a busy Saturday, it is more honest to say so than to hope someone will cope. HR determines what the role requires. Red Rocket asks the questions that sharpen that picture.
Making the first step as small as possible
Filling in an application form takes time and effort. Someone who is uncertain – or simply not in the habit of applying – does not always take that step. A campaign that reduces the initial barrier to a short reply via WhatsApp lowers the threshold for people who would not otherwise respond.
The first qualification is based on collected answers to questions you have set. It is not a verification of qualifications and not automatic proof of suitability – it is an initial overview that gives HR enough to decide whether to explore further.
A personal follow-up and room for onboarding
After the first step comes the personal conversation. Through Cockpit – the platform Red Rocket uses – Red Rocket brings together an overview for each candidate: the answers to questions you have set, a conversation, the reasoning that follows from it, and, if the candidate provides one, a CV. The organisational context shapes the conversation: the type of team, the service style, the culture.
HR keeps oversight and conducts the conversation with the person. The hiring decision is always yours. Recruitment only delivers results if there is also capacity to onboard and guide new staff. Without that capacity, new inflow alone does not resolve a staffing shortage.
Recruitment alone will not fix an unattractive rota
UWV describes several directions for employers who want to address shortages in the hospitality sector: reaching a broader target group in recruitment, investing in training and development, organising work differently, and working actively on staff retention.
Recruitment is one of those directions, not the only one. If the underlying problem is high turnover driven by irregular shifts or a salary that does not compete, a new recruitment campaign will not change that. New inflow alongside the same outflow brings no structural improvement.
What Red Rocket does and what it costs
Red Rocket works on a no cure no pay basis. On a successful placement, you pay a percentage of the gross annual salary – starting at 11% as standard. The exact percentage and further terms are agreed in advance. Media budget and associated terms are agreed separately.
Which vacancy do you have open, and where is recruitment currently getting stuck? Let us know – and we will look at whether and how we can help.
Frequently asked questions
How does the initial qualification through Cockpit work?
Through Cockpit, Red Rocket brings together an overview for each candidate: the answers to questions you as the employer have set, a conversation, the reasoning that emerges from it, and, if the candidate provides one, a CV. The organisational context – the type of team, the service level, the culture – shapes the conversation. This is not a verification of qualifications and not automatic proof of suitability. It gives HR a substantiated basis for the personal conversation that follows.
How does Red Rocket handle role requirements and fair selection?
Red Rocket uses role-related requirements as the basis for qualification. If a requirement inadvertently narrows the target group in a way that is not connected to the role itself, we discuss its relevance – so you can decide what, if anything, you want to change. The hiring decision always rests with you as the employer.
What if our salary or shift pattern is hard to sell?
Then it is more honest to name that up front than to leave it out. Candidates who drop out over the rota are better off doing so before the conversation than halfway through it. Recruitment extends your reach, but it does not make an unattractive employment proposition attractive. If the question is whether recruitment is the right first step here, that is something we discuss.
Can I also use media budget through Red Rocket?
Yes, that is possible. Media budget and the associated terms are agreed separately and are independent of the no cure no pay fee. More on pricing and how we work can be found on the pricing page.
