However, with so many people claiming to hold bartending licenses, how can you tell if you’re getting someone who is able to deliver the delicious drinks you want at your party? Check out these must-follow rules when choosing bartending services for your event.
1. Ask About Hiring Practices
If you’re working with a staffing company, and you should if you’re planning a large event, learn about their hiring practices. A professional bartender should have at least one year of experience and be able to pass a placement test.Some questions to ask are:
How are candidates interviewed and what percentage gets hired?
An extensive interview process means that the company is more selective about who they employ, which ultimately means that you’ll be hiring the best. A good company will have a 5-10% hiring rate and will feature questions about behavior, experience, and education in their interview process.
Minimum Required Experience
A professional bartender should have at least one year of experience. However, we all have to start somewhere, so some companies may hire people before the one-year mark.
A bartender with six months of experience may be great at what they do, but if you want a professional, you’ll want to ensure that they have at least a year of experience.
How are candidates’ skills tested?
You want to make sure that the staffing company has verified the bartender’s skill. The last thing you want is to find a bartender for hire, only to find out this bartender doesn’t know how to make the drinks you want to be featured at your party.
2. Learn About Training
For some bartenders, formal training ends after they obtain their bartender’s license. However, some event agencies ensure that their employees receive continuous training in order to ensure optimal performance. You’ll want to ask about:What type of training the staffing company provides?
The type of training can vary, by the company and even by the position that the employee holds in the company, so you’ll want as many details as possible.
3. Find Out About Insurance
Most people make the mistake of forgetting about insurance when looking for a bartender for hire. NYC and other cities do require that either staffing agencies or event organizers accept some responsibility for individuals during an event, so this is definitely something to consider. You’ll want to ask:Does the company carry insurance?
Some do, but not all!
What does the insurance cover?
You’ll want to make sure that you know what is and is not covered.
Type of employees
Many party bartenders for hire work as independent contractors, which can be quite a headache for event organizers. However, some agencies do hire their bartenders as W-2 employees, which means that you don’t have to worry about that paperwork.
4. Consider Company Uniforms
If you’re hiring a bartender and other staff for your event, you’ll want them to look a certain way.Some staffing companies do have a set uniform for their employees, while others do not, which means that you may have to specify the desired look. Asking about the company’s uniform policy can help you figure out what type of aesthetic you’ll be working with on the day of your event.
5. Account Executives are a great sign
A great staffing agency will have an account executive who can guide you through the staffing process and answer your questions.When you take the time to choose the right bartender hiring service, you are helping guarantee a smoothly executed and successful event.
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