Get Up And Go Kayaking
"Indeed has contributed 95%+ of all our hires."
Justin Buzzi, Founder
A clear kayak tour company needed to staff up quickly after going viral on social media. While opening 15 new franchise locations, the company’s founder turned to Indeed to make quick hires and keep up with overwhelming demand.
Background: Guided kayak tours in Florida with a twist
Founded by outdoor enthusiast Justin Buzzi, Get Up And Go Kayaking offers guided kayak tours in Florida — but it’s not just the waters that are clear. The kayaks are completely clear, too, allowing people to get a 360-degree view of all their surroundings. From getting up close to Florida’s natural mangroves to seeing a wide array of wildlife like manatees, turtles and small alligators, the goal is to showcase Florida’s unique ecosystems and support land conservation efforts.
Justin started Get Up And Go Kayaking on the side while he was at his corporate job, then left and took a risk to expand it. What started as a few locations in 2016 has grown to 15 franchised locations throughout Florida’s iconic waterways.
Challenge: Staffing up quickly to meet unexpected demand
After getting picked up by several news outlets, Get Up and Go Kayaking went viral on social media (200M+ views). To meet this sudden new demand, Justin used Indeed to hire a few extra tour guides. But as the business started growing, and locals and tourists wanted excursions in more locations around Florida, he decided to turn the company into a franchise. “We went from having good demand to having overwhelming demand,” Justin explains.
A tour guide Justin originally hired through Indeed opened the first franchised Get Up and Go Kayaking location in Crystal River, FL in 2018. Soon after, the business quickly expanded.
Starting a franchise meant Justin had to come up with a hiring plan and resources to help franchise owners succeed. Since he had a positive experience using Indeed to hire tour guides, he decided to continue using Indeed to help franchisees staff up quickly.
"I tried out several different hiring sites but always found that Indeed’s candidates were more qualified and better suited for the roles that we were looking for."
Justin Buzzi, Founder
Get Up And Go Kayaking
Solution: Time-saving features to hire quality candidates, faster
Justin knew franchise owners would be juggling many responsibilities and have little time to focus on hiring, so he decided to recommend Indeed to help them find quality candidates, fast. “It’s built into our [franchise] operations manuals to hire people through Indeed just because of the quality of candidates that they bring,” he explains.
He says the reach and quality of applicants he gets on Indeed, combined with Indeed’s other recruiting automation tools, helps him and franchise owners save time and focus on growing the business. For example, Justin uses Indeed’s templated responses for back-and-forth communication between hiring managers and applicants — which takes a lot of manual effort out of the hiring process.
To get better visibility and hire the right people quicker, Justin and his team also sponsor jobs on Indeed. With Sponsored Jobs, he’s been able to find quality candidates with biology and environmental backgrounds, as well as people who share a love of the outdoors. “Using Sponsored Job posts on Indeed has really helped Get Up and Go Kayaking to be more efficient,” he says. Indeed data shows that Sponsored Jobs are
Like many small business owners, Justin and his franchise owners often don’t have a lot of time to review job applications. That’s why they use Indeed Assessments to make sure candidates meet the role’s criteria before even giving them a phone call. These pre-employment tests let you see a candidate’s skills and experience in practice, helping you make better, faster hiring decisions. In fact, using Indeed Assessments reduces an employer’s time to hire by
“[Sponsored Jobs and Indeed Assessments] have just helped us save so much time,” Justin says.
Results: 40+ new hires across 15 locations
So far, Justin says Indeed has helped Get Up and Go Kayaking hire at least 40-60 people. “Indeed brought us 95% of all of our hires really quickly,” he explains. “And being able to save time allows me to grow the business more.”
With Indeed’s help, Justin is confident that he’ll be ready to take on whatever comes next. “Indeed has really prepared us for these moments, because now we’re able to harness that and grow our business units a lot faster,” he says.
Indeed compensated this small business professional for sharing their Indeed hiring story.
Indeed helps businesses like Get Up And Go Kayaking find the right candidates by providing tools that help employers manage hiring from start to finish — post your job, interview candidates and make offers all on Indeed.
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