“I looked at HigherMe, and the last thing I wanted was another username and password, but it’s absolutely changed the game for us.”
Client Experience & Support
After working at Tim Hortons’ head office for 15 years, Mike Sheridan left his corporate role four years ago for a job that better suited his lifestyle – managing a multi-unit franchise. One of the first conversations he had with his new team was around the tools they were using to run their business. To manage tasks and track maintenance requests, Sheridan brought in Owl Ops, who first introduced him to HigherMe.
Sheridan and his team operate nine Tim Hortons locations in the Niagara Peninsula, with Sheridan overseeing hiring at each location. Prior to using HigherMe, Sheridan describes their business’ hiring process as being “all over the map.”
“We’d have a hiring need, but we couldn’t find anybody. We were using Indeed. Managing everything with Indeed and an email inbox,” says Sheridan.
Seeing HigherMe for the first time during a demo was a “lightbulb moment”, and Sheridan knew it was exactly the solution he needed for his franchise to streamline their hiring.
Increasing interview show rates
Sheridan and his team were previously hiring with Indeed. After posting jobs, the team would read through applications from an email inbox, figure out which candidates would be the best fit, and then send invitations for an interview. After all that work, “The [interview show] rate with Indeed was one in ten candidates,” recalls Sheridan. “I would book ten [interviews] and I’d be surprised if one or two would show up.”
HigherMe’s interview scheduling software has increased Tim Hortons’ interview show rate to at least 80%. As Sheridan says, “I book ten [interviews] with HigherMe and eight show up.”
“I book ten [interviews] with HigherMe and eight show up.”
HigherMe’s automated interview scheduling lets managers set their schedule and then invites candidates to easily choose the interview time slot they want from their phone. Prior to the interview, candidates get automated reminders by text and email, making them less likely to ghost.
Increased operations efficiency
For Sheridan and his team, hiring was a manual and tedious activity that they did every month or 90 days. Leaving such a long time between recruiting meant they were losing out on being the first to hire top talent.
With HigherMe’s all-in-one hiring software, Sheridan and his team can now efficiently review candidates from one simple dashboard and get in touch with top talent faster. “My assistant and I have a daily checklist and HigherMe is on the daily checklist,” he says. Reviewing the previous day’s sales is just as important as tracking recruitment.
For Sheridan, having an easy solution to manage hiring has helped him stay organised. “Here’s what HigherMe did for me: discipline. With hiring, it’s not every month or every 90 days anymore. HigherMe allows me to recruit every day. I’m on it every day.”
“Here’s what HigherMe did for me: discipline. With hiring, it’s not every month or every 90 days anymore. HigherMe allows me to recruit every day. I’m on it every day.”
Better applicant quality
In addition to boosting interview show rates, HigherMe has also helped Tim Hortons find better quality candidates.
“With HigherMe, I’ll have eight people show up [to interview] and it’s not unusual to hire five. The quality has exponentially increased,” says Sheridan.
It isn’t just the front line members of staff that Sheridan has had an easier time recruiting, he’s also found some of his best managers by using HigherMe and being able to connect with top talent before the competition.
“I’m not so sure if I would have these people in my business if I didn’t have the tools and renewed discipline around hiring. That’s really all it is,” says Sheridan.
“I’m not so sure if I would have these people in my business if I didn’t have the tools and renewed discipline around hiring.”
Tim Hortons and HigherMe
Sheridan’s advice for current franchisees is to look at the channels they’re currently using for hiring and consider their cost and effectiveness. It may be worth spending part of your hiring budget to try something new.
Sheridan recalls a conversation he had with one owner who was primarily sourcing applicants by advertising in the local newspaper. “I asked her, what does it cost for a newspaper ad? Try HigherMe for three months and it’s less than a newspaper ad. It’s not a huge burden. Divert your cost from an antiquated method and try this.”
As an operations manager, Sheridan says he’s always thinking about which tools are essential and key to helping grow the business. HigherMe is one tool he knows is essential for his franchise.
In conclusion, Sheridan says, “I looked at HigherMe, and the last thing I wanted was another username and password, but it’s absolutely changed the game for us.”
Cut interview ghosting, automate your hiring, and improve your restaurant operations with HigherMe. See our all-in-one hiring software by watching a free demo now or contact our sales team.
