How to recruit a baker

In today's blog post we'll be showing you how to recruit a baker!

Much of this will apply to another and many other job vacancies, and having been on the end of some very poor recruitment practices in my time, I thought it would be an interesting blog to post.

Why post this now, you ask? Well, we've just opened recruitment for our Stroud Baker position! Find out more about the vacancy here, and let us know if you're interested in applying to join our merry crowd of home bakers!

How to Recruit a Baker

1. Don't be so nosey as to ask if the applicant has access to a car and a driving license.

Driving isn't necessary when carrying out cake deliveries across Bristol and beyond. Our public transport network is fabulous and there's never a risk of the cake being damaged in transit. Stray elbows never happen!

2. Always Employ a baker without tasting their baking.

You've seen photos of their cakes (which are totally legit, honest!) so why would you want a taste? Presentation is so much more important than taste - who cares if they can follow a recipe?!

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3. Don't bother introducing New team members to your customers - they don't care who works for you.

Faces to a business, that doesn't matter in these days of exploding online commerce. You don't need to put that kind of self-indulgent crap on your blog, taking up the space potential photos of cake could have, and social media is dead now WhatsApp dominates, anyway. Don't post their faces about - your new recruits may be shy!

4. When using indeed as a recruitment portal, Never use their 'filter' questions as part of the process of application.

Before applicants can submit their expression of interest, we asked for three specific questions:

"Do you have a car?"
"Do you have more than five years baking experience?"
"Do you speak English?"

Complete waste of time. This didn't filter the candidate applications AT ALL and we ended up with a real mixed bag of wannabes. If something is essential to the role, why waste your time going into that much detail at the first point of the recruitment process?

5. Once you've recruited, just let them roll with it.

No one likes being babysat - give them access to your orders, recipes and let them go. They're on their own from now on! Who needs someone checking in on them after a week or so of joining the team? They are freelance, they can cope, and they do have your number if they have any questions or emergencies, after all!

If you're recruiting (baker or other) this summer, let me know how you get on. I'd love to hear your feedback on our top 5 tips...

Louise
Owner at 280 Bakes