PHOENIX -- With five restaurants in four states, Bobby Fitzgerald relies heavily on good, trustworthy employees.
"You're always looking for the best candidates from executive chefs to various management positions," said Fitzgerald while standing in one of his newest restaurants,
The White Chocolate Grill in Phoenix.
With more than 23 years of restaurant experience, Fitzgerald says he's spent tens of thousands of dollars searching for quality employees.
"I've traveled all over the country, when you have restaurants spread throughout the country, you come across a lot of people and you spend a lot of time interviewing people," said Fitzgerald.
Earlier this year, the Phoenix resident started using
Skype to see and talk to his relatives on the east coast.
"And it was then when I realized, this (Skype) is a great tool and I could really save a lot of time and money," said Fitzgerald.
Even though his heart is in the kitchen, it's not uncommon to find Fitzgerald with his back to the action while using his laptop to conduct live job interviews with potential candidates.
For the past few months, Fitzgerald estimates he has interviewed dozens of potential employees via Skype from the comfort of his own office or even restaurant.
Skype is like a face to face meeting through the Internet using a web cam.
Think of it as an internet-based live video phone.
Fitzgerald has encountered several candidates who did not understand Skype, which led him to write his own "How to Skype Guide" along with a book titled, "
Smile or You're Fired."
The guide can be found on the book's website.
"I wrote the paper because we had done a couple of interviews and they were a little bit clunky to say the least," said Fitzgerald.
Many of his employees are recruited from cooking schools and universities.
"Often what happens is, the university is in one state and I'm here in Arizona and the job may be in Denver, Kansas City or Illinois and I don't have to go anywhere," said Fitzgerald.
Using the technology has saved Fitzgerald and his company big bucks and allows him to quickly narrow down candidates to a final two or three before flying to meet with them or bringing the potential employees out to one of his restaurants.
"We've saved thousands and thousands of dollars in airfare, hotels and just travel, not only for us, but the potential candidate as well," said Fitzgerald.
Skype has also helped Fitzgerald and his partners quickly identify candidates that may not fit.
"I've caught some rolling their eyes when I've asked them a question, we also had one with a barking dog that just wouldn't stop. There have been funny ones ones too, a few dorm rooms that weren't as tidy as they should have been in the background," Fitzgerald said.
