How a Dunkin' franchisee accelerated hiring and improved the applicant experience

OM Group, a Dunkin’ franchisee, was losing applicants to the competition because its hiring process was too slow and manual. With Workstream, they were able to automate tedious hiring tasks and free up time to personalize the applicant experience and make staffing a breeze.

"If we had known it was going to be as easy and user-friendly and really help drive the applicant flow in our restaurants, we would’ve started with all our restaurants from the beginning.”

Aaron Piper

Director of Operations, OM Group

The problem

Slow hiring processes forced applicants to look elsewhere

Like many quick-service restaurant operators in 2023, OM Group was struggling with an ongoing labor shortage and high turnover rates. Trying to solve its recruiting and retention problems felt overwhelming. In an industry where 38 days is the average time it takes to hire new employees, OM Group needed a more efficient and reliable method to recruit, interview, and hire hourly workers.

Aaron Piper, Director of Operations for OM Group, had tried a few different platforms to source applicants, including sites offering free ads. But it required a lot of manual sifting through resumes, finding qualified applicants, and scheduling interviews—which often fell on one person, Amanda Ristic, Dunkin franchisee and Operating Partner with OM Group. The manual nature of this hiring process usually meant applicants were waiting too long for a response to their application and often moved on to other opportunities.

the solution

Smarter ways to attract and engage applicants

When OM Group discovered Workstream, they were able to transform their hiring process. Amanda immediately was able to empower her managers to take an active role in hiring, freeing her up to support all OM Group's locations from the top down. From the start, several features proved helpful for getting applicants in the door faster.

Sourcing tools

Workstream makes it easy to post open positions all at the same time on multiple job boards. OM Group also loves the ability to create text-to-apply and QR-code posters. This mobile-friendly approach was ideal for capturing the attention of younger job seekers as they were visiting their local Dunkin’. Because these posters were so easy to create, Aaron’s team would test them to see what worked throughout the hiring process.

Customizable hiring

With Workstream, the job application itself became another thing for OM Group to test and optimize. Instead of a one-size-fits-all form, the amount (and type) of questions could easily be customized and switched out from a posting for a crew member to one for a district manager.

Team Communication

The ability to text applicants (rather than call them) resulted in faster responses and a better turnout from both younger millennial and Gen Z job seekers.

Automated scheduling

The tendency for people to ghost interviews also decreased once applicants could set up their own interview dates and times, based on the availability of the hiring manager, via text message.

built for the hourly workforce

A faster, more personal applicant experience

Workstream has become an integral part of the recruitment, hiring, and onboarding process for OM Group. It’s helped them elevate the job seeker experience, from customizing what questions to ask to having an applicant’s favorite Dunkin’ drink ready at their interview.

Andy enjoys seeing how active his restaurant and district managers are on the platform. If things are getting too busy or overwhelming at a franchise location, he knows he can always step in to help, keep things moving forward, and make sure staffing needs are met.