Tis the Season to be Hottie

As the title says, it most certainly is a great time to be a HotSchedules Hottie (that's what we call employees and fans of HotSchedules). Looking back on the year, we've seen enormous growth within the company. In fact, so much that we're running out of office space. We've also seen a lot of growth with our user base. This was clear to us when we saw this year's video contest submissions grow from 12 (last year's final count) to 55! With so much change happening at such a rapid rate, there's always a risk of losing that sense of culture. However, I've seen that this isn't the case. We're careful about who we hire (yes, we use our GoHire paperless hiring solution too!), making sure they aren't just technically qualified, but a great culture fit too. 

Everything that embodies the HotSchedules culture recently culminated in our end of year holiday party. The party was held at Banger's Sausage House & Beer Garden, which is located on Rainey St., the up and coming bar district in town. The HotSchedules faithful showed up in full force, and the staff at Banger's handled us all with an amazing display of hospitality and excellence. There was attention to detail (gluten free labels on food, staff ready to explain all menu items, heaters keeping the outdoor tents warm), great music (thanks to DJ Chino Casino) and a perfect amount of staff walking through the crowds ready to take drink orders.

The most impressive statistic of the night? 3,288. Let me explain. Every year, we collect donations from within the company and use the money to buy clothes, food, blankets, and necessities. We pack them up into individual bags, drive around Austin on Christmas Day, and hand them out to the homeless. We call this initiative "HotHope." At the holiday party this year, employees had the option of purchasing raffle tickets to bid on any of 16 prizes. Proceeds from the raffle went straight to HotHope, and the employees had a chance to win prizes ranging from a golf ball monogrammer to an iPad mini. As a result of the incredible generosity of everyone in the company, we were able to raise $1,644 – a figure which HotSchedules then matched, bringing this year's HotHope fundraising total to $3,288. That more than doubles the amount raised last year and we still have a week to go! The entire experience has made me proud to be a HotSchedules Hottie. I guess I'm just having one of those "heart grew three times bigger" moments.

Happy Holidays and safe travels everyone!

So… Now what?: Part 1 Evaluating HotSchedules for Your Business

If you’re in the initial stages of looking at an online employee scheduling solution for the first time, you might be thinking, “So… now what? How do I decide if HotSchedules is the right tool for me?” When used correctly, HotSchedules can make your job easier, save you money and time, and make your business (and you) more successful. But it is a robust tool, and there are a lot of things to consider. Below are a few tips to help you in the first stages when you are evaluating HotSchedules for your business:

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On the Job Training

You may not know this, but HotSchedules customers are mostly restaurants. Sure, we also provide service to valet services, healthcare clinics, hotels, golf courses and more, but restaurants gave us our start and what we know the best. Our co-founders hatched the idea of HotSchedules while working together as manager and bartender at P.F. Changs, so it stands to reason that restaurants are in our wheelhouse. Since then, the bulk of our employees also have restaurant experience. We figure, it helps to provide service to restaurants when you really know what it's like to own, run, manage or work in one. Some of us, though, myself included, grew up in another industry, and missed out on all the restaurant industry hoopla. For us, we can only guess what it's like to work in a restaurant based on our own guest experiences. That was, until yesterday... Our awesome customer, Maudie's at the Hill Country Galleria just outside of Austin, TX agreed to let 5 non-restaurant HotSchedules employees come in for a full day of hands-on training to give us a taste (pun intended) of what restaurant life is like.

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Customers that Rock!

On Wednesday of this last week, we closed out our annual User’s Conference, titled Shift 2012. And while the run up to the show had me working long hours, managing last minute changes, and stressing about each customer’s experience, I have to say, it was one of the most fun, enjoyable and exciting events I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of (and, ehem, not because I was part of pulling it off, rather…). Our keynote speakers, Jason Dorsey and Jim Knight, were so inspiring and motivating. Jason spoke to the challenges and opportunities in working on teams that span 4 generations – a new phenomenon for the modern workforce. Jim talked about how to create a culture that rocks and gave 10 very explicit ways of getting there. Our VP of Product Development shared some cool new release features and our product roadmap and got valuable feedback on our current direction. Our breakout sessions were hosted by a handful of our awesome sponsors and shared ideas on ways to further enhance labor management strategies. Our moderator, Fred LeFranc from Results Thru Strategy did an amazing job of tying all the topics together so that the theme and intent was clear.

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They Got It On (Film)

Today marks the close of our 3rd annual video contest and I'm positively amazed at the response. 52 videos came in across the summer, with a big final push late last night. Some are laugh-out-loud funny, some are touching, some demonstrate some awesome musical skills. The production quality varies, but that's not really the point. All are fun, creative and demonstrate a humbling passion for HotSchedules (no doubt the cash prize helps...).

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