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The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing economic downturn have been nothing short of catastrophic for restaurant, bar, hotel and other service industry workers.
InsideOut, a rapidly growing St. Petersburg startup that specializes in sales strategy, has thrown out a lifeline to displaced service industry personnel. Thanks to deals it recently signed with some tech industry giants, including telecom leader T-Mobile, the firm has openings for 150 sales technology personnel over the next six months and has created an online hiring portal for conducting virtual interviews right away.
“I have personally seen friends and family impacted by lost wages and tips, creating a personal financial crisis in the short term, and possibly in the future given the advent of the coronavirus pandemic,” InsideOut Chief Revenue Officer Chad Nuss writes in an email to Coffee Talk. “The reality is that these issues will continue to affect a variety of industries; this is our new reality.”
T-Mobile, Nuss says, has chosen InsideOut to build a national business-to-business sales center in St. Pete, creating a perfect opportunity for service workers to find gainful employment. He says the jobs will pay between $40,000 and $120,000 per year and will be full-time, permanent positions that carry full benefits.
“The service industry has had a disruption, and that disruption is forcing them to rethink their business model,” Nuss says. “People drift between industries in times of crisis, and this is an opportunity to leave an industry that will be impacted over the next few months, and this won’t be the last time this happens. It’s to make a shift in careers; it’s time to find something new.”
Nuss tells Coffee Talk he isn’t concerned about poaching service workers who might have jobs waiting for them when former employers get back on their feet. In fact, he sees InsideOut’s recruiting push as a service to the local economy, in that it will keep people employed, spending money and paying taxes.
“Local [service] industry people I’ve spoken with can’t promise anything to their employees right now, outside of a promise to hire them back — when this is over,” he says. “Truth is, nobody knows when this is over, and it’s selfish to their laid-off workers to make promises they can’t keep. Our business is thriving, our people are thriving, and we have a completely different conversation happening in our relationship with our employees. When one industry goes through a challenge, there is another one that can step in and fill the void. It’s called recession-proofing our economy.”
InsideOut’s virtual hiring portal is located at InsideOutLab.com/T-Mobile.
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