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Selecting Pros for your shift

How to request Pros from your roster for future shifts

Updated yesterday

Instawork makes it easy for you to find and retain reliable workers you love, and as you build your network, you can choose what workers get the opportunity to work your shifts.

To get started, click "Book Instawork Pros" on the top right-hand corner of the dashboard.

Book Pros button

You'll fill out the start of the booking form with the details for your shift, such as location and position information. Learn more about booking a shift.

In the third step, you'll see 3 options for choosing your staff.

How to choose staff

If it’s your first time booking a shift, you will only have access to the “Auto assign” option. Once you start working with Pros and adding them to your roster, “Request Pros from Roster” and “Open to all” will become available.

Auto assign Pros

This option means that Instawork sends notifications to workers who match well with the requirements for your shift, starting with top performing Pros. Notifications that your shift is available are sent to workers in a tiered fashion:

  1. Pros you have saved on your roster (if applicable)

  2. Top Pros who are matched as a good fit for your business and the position you posted for

  3. Non-Top Pros who are matched as a good fit for your business and the position you posted for

  4. All Pros in your area who are qualified for the position you posted for

We optimize when we send notifications to these different tiers based on multiple factors, including time-to-shift, geography, and Pro availability.

Request Pros from Roster

For this option, you will need to have a roster built. Learn more about how to build your roster

When you request specific Pros, you can:

  • Hand-pick Pros for critical shifts or special events where experience and familiarity are essential.

  • Reduce the uncertainty of last-minute staffing by relying on Pros who have a proven track record with your business.

When you select "Book from roster" you can select specific Pros you want to request. You can filter Pros by name, position or roster type. Click "Done" at the bottom to continue.

This shift availability will be sent to all the Pros you selected. The first Pro(s) to pick up the shift will get the spot. Note, we can’t guarantee Pros' availability.

Rostered pros unavailable option

After you select your Pros, you will see a toggle that states "If roster Pros are unavailable, let other qualified pros book the shift.” This toggle is turned on by default. This means your shift will be offered to the specific Pros you selected first, but if they’re not available or don't pick up the shift, Instawork will then offer the shift to other qualified Pros.

If you want the shift to be offered to the selected Pros only, turn this toggle off. Please note, when you turn this toggle off, your shift will go unfilled if the Pros you have selected do not accept your shift.

As a best practice, we recommend posting a shift at least 10 days in advance if you want to request specific Pros. The best Pros book their schedule about a week ahead of time.

Open to all

When you choose the Open to all option, this skips the tiered notification process and jumps right to sending notifications to all qualified Pros in your area. While Top Pros and Rostered Pros are still sent the notifications, they will not get priority.

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