Can uberization put these hands to work?
“Uberization” — to identify and mobilize disparate assets and coordinate them to utilize them as part of a far bigger machine that can move literally anything faster and more efficiently.
I’ve been fortunate to work with a technology and design company Finlabs that is operating in the crossroads of geolocation, data, and mobility.
It’s no surprise that they think that now, if ever, is time to expand the reaches of uberization.
If there’s an urgent job waiting for a skilled professional to complete it, wouldn’t it be nice to find that individual the same way we now find our rides?
As an employer, I may need someone to quickly cover for a sick employee, or need seasonal or other temporary help. Wouldn’t it be nice to source individuals close by that fit my need to fill that need quickly?
The Finlabs vision is a location-based marketplace where temporary work needs are paired with its disparate workforce. A platform that automatically covers the terms of work, as well as salaries and other statutory payments. A marketplace where job seekers are pre-certified and legally compliant to be ready to work on anything with little or no notice.
One can envision an ecosystem that brings together needs with their solutions by connecting businesses and services with a remote workforce, to truly leverage the human capital on offer all around them.
As an individual with a specific set of skills, I can envision an app that shows me job opportunities that match my criteria and preferences. One that enables applying instantly and, if selected, produces an employment agreement and facilitates the handling of all payments and reports in the background. One where I can receive work and begin immediately.
In fact, Finlabs has already envisioned a system like this, and it’s already up and running.
CareConnect is a New York-based company providing management tools for home healthcare agencies. The CareConnect platform gives the agencies constant access to a remote workforce of nurses and home health aides to offer up in-home care opportunities.
Through the CareConnect app, agencies can nudge matching caregivers to offer up new available work that they can then request through the app. The agencies can then review all requests and select the best candidate to service a shift and assign it.
By sending out “invitations” to available shifts with nearby patients, the CareConnect system facilitates shift requests being delivered back to issuing agencies whereby they can select the best candidate and assign them to that patient confidently.
In addition, agencies have traditionally been tasked with maintaining the readiness to work of the caregivers they staff on shifts. The CareConnect system also facilitates this maintenance of caregiver compliance covering everything from state-specific certification, criminal background checks, ongoing medical assessments and vaccinations, and even the ongoing annual training required for every caregiver through e-learning within the platform.
CareConnect facilitates the agency relationship with its remote workforce from pre-hire through to employee compliance management ensuring their team is always ready-to-work.
The benefits of this system to the agency employer are nothing short of revolutionary:
- The agencies have real-time access to an ever-increasing pool of caregivers that are available across many geographic locations.
- They can reach caregivers in real-time to offer up opportunities based on their skills, availability, and location.
- Improved shift management optimizes the amount of work each caregiver receives to reduce agency penalty costs.
- The time to staff shifts is vastly reduced allowing the volume to increase without cost impact.
- Onboarding and compliance management is facilitated reducing the base cost per employee for the agency.
- Most importantly, the overall level of care improves. Quicker care, less stressed caregivers, and improved reliability of the system benefits the most important piece of the puzzle, the patient.
The benefits of this system to the caregiver are equally impressive:
- A constant supply of working opportunities specifically targeted to skills and preferences.
- The optimized spread of work to reduce spikes and lulls in productivity.
- Ability to stay on top of your own working compliance to never be unavailable or denied work.
- The ability to manage their own working time on your terms by accepting only the work that fits their needs.
I believe caregivers are just the tip of the uberization iceberg of pre-certified professionals looking for temporary work.
Just think about those millions of electricians, general contractors and like who are now looking for their next project. Even in software development where specific skills are needed on a piecemeal basis and companies want to find the right person to fill a very specific technical need.
The opportunities for applying a marketplace of mobilized professionals are all around us.
With that in mind, uberization can transform the staffing industry the same way it did in transportation. Those willing to ride the wave now will flourish!
For more of our thoughts, visit finlabsgroup.com or contact the author.
About the Author:
Timo Korpela is Finlabs U.S. Sales Lead and Executive Advisor. His career has spanned 20+ years where he has been leading technology-driven companies to substantial growth.
Timo has a keen instinct when it comes to connecting a companies problems to technology solutions and finding beneficial applications for new and emerging technologies that create opportunity and growth for clients.
At Finlabs, his focus is on building a U.S. team that relishes any challenge, looks beyond their boundaries and grows the collaborative relationships we desire with our clients.
