What if team members actually bid for their shifts each month or week or even day?

By Steve Moran

This is what happens when you wake up before the crack of dawn and can’t go back to sleep. 

I came across this quote about drivers and Uber:

For sure working in senior living takes more training and unlike Uber or Lyft, personal relationships are critical in senior living. Yet I find myself wondering if one of the ways we solve our human capital problem is to work on more of a hyper-local (meaning time and place) supply and demand economy. Imagine for a moment that a single large community or perhaps a company like Brookdale or a smaller regional operator had a cluster of communities in an area.

And rather than team members just getting a schedule, they actually bid for their shifts each week or month or even day. There are already several companies that have cloud-based scheduling software that team members can tap into, so the technology would not be that hard to figure out.

What It Might Look Like

Yeah, I know you think I am nuts, but here are some scenarios where it might work:

  • I am a caregiver and I want work the day shift to be home with my kids. I might very well accept a lower rate.

  • I am a young single saving to go on a vacation to Las Vegas, I would be willing to work Friday or Saturday night knowing I am going to get surge pricing.

  • I love caring for Mrs. Johnson and would be willing to take less pay to have her as part of my daily assignment.

  • I think Steve is a jerk to care for, but if I am paid enough it is easier to tolerate him.

  • If I am trying to fill a spot on the schedule. I can simply go into a surge mode pricing until I can find someone who finds working that shift that day for that price attractive.

It is Like This Anyway

Dumb idea right? Maybe not so dumb because it is what we actually more or less do today. If can’t fill positions I raise the pay rate or add perks. I then call around and beg for help. If desperate I might offer extra paid time off, or a bonus or even a gift card. It is very inefficient.

Worse perhaps, it never really gives you, the operator, any advantage for giving plum days, shifts and assignments to people.  

Tell me what you think . . .