Qwick connects businesses like restaurants, hotels, catering companies, event venues, and more with freelance talent for front- and back-of-house positions, such as bartenders, food runners, cooks, and dishwashers. Founded in 2017, Qwick was steadily growing to over 50 employees in 2020 – when the pandemic hit. As restaurants struggled or shuttered, Qwick joined the hospitality industry’s lull and cut its team by 50%. But when the world reopened and people began frequenting restaurants again in 2021, demand suddenly surged.
“It was like a light switch went on and we had more demand than we could handle,” says Chief of Staff Rachael Kratz. “With a team of just 19 full-time employees, our revenue doubled.”
To support Qwick’s need to expand their team and keep the employees it worked so hard to hire, Kratz and team needed a tool to help them make smart, fast, and budget-conscious decisions that were right for their stage of growth and funding.
“As a growth stage company, we believe in figuring it out and moving fast. We needed a plan and structure to help us grow quickly and responsibly.”
“OpenComp just resonated with us. The comp data from other options felt so stagnant or low, which didn’t feel fair or helpful to me. With OpenComp, we could easily see data from companies like ours and what it would look like to pay at different percentiles. With that in sight, we figured out what works best for Qwick.”
Initially, OpenComp’s data allowed Qwuick to ensure it extended competitive offers and paid existing employees fairly.
Then, Qwick worked with OpenComp to build a holistic, data-driven comp structure – not only for hiring, but also for career progression, promotions, and commissions. By benchmarking current compensation and creating a corporate pay strategy that would guide the company’s future pay-related decisions, the company was able to move fast, but with the confidence that it was paying fairly and consistently across the board.
“If someone has been historically underpaid, we don’t want to continue that inequity. We bring everyone in at market rate, regardless of what they ask to make during the hiring process. We’re only able to do this because of OpenComp.”
Finally, with OpenComp, Qwick felt informed and confident enough to share their pay strategy with employees, increasing transparency and trust. Managers can show employees concrete examples of why they’ve been placed at their level and the skills they must develop to progress to the next. And armed with this information, employees can set focused goals and envision what a long-term career at the company looks like.
“Sharing job levels and being transparent about pay decisions takes a lot of explaining. With OpenComp, we can build trust with employees by showing we have a strategy and aren’t making random decisions.”
.svg)