How Fast Can You Find Workers with On-Demand Labor?

A big question many managers have when they hear of on-demand labor is if it really means workers will show up at the push of a button. 

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We can’t say it’s that fast, but businesses using Veryable’s on-demand labor platform can typically find workers ready to show up for work the next day. This depends on when the business posts and how big their need is, among other factors. We’ve learned from watching our platform what affects success and how quickly on-demand labor works for those who use it well, so we wrote this article to share what we found.

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In this article, you’ll learn how quickly on-demand labor can get you workers, how reliable they are, and the factors that decide how quickly you can expect results.

What’s the fastest you can find workers?

You can typically find workers for the next day’s work if you post during the morning of the day before. Our data shows that this is the best time to post for single-day opportunities, because workers on the platform are most active on the app in the mid-morning. For multi-day work opportunities, post at least two days in advance for the best response.

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Sometimes it takes longer than this to find workers, especially when you first start using on-demand labor. This is because your business is new to the marketplace, so it will take time to establish your presence and build trust among workers. Once you have received a few ratings and cycled a few on-demand workers through your operation, you should start to see more consistency in your results.

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There are times when businesses have found workers more quickly than one day's lead time, but attendance rate is the best when workers have at least 12-hours notice. This is because workers might have to arrange transportation and childcare, or otherwise plan their day around working.

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Posting for the next day’s work and going one day at a time is how we encourage most businesses to use our platform, because it allows them maximum flexibility to adapt to their actual labor needs in real time. Combined with a labor pool, this creates potential for improvements to key operational metrics.

How quickly do workers bid on opportunities?

On our platform, we see that workers typically bid within minutes of a posting. This means that businesses quickly get a clear picture of who’s available to work with them. Businesses also have the option to automatically accept workers based on certain conditions the business selects. That means you could post your work opportunities, set the system to accept workers automatically, and trust that workers will show up the next day ready to work.

How reliable is on-demand labor on short notice?

For opportunities posted between one and four days in advance, on-demand workers bid most frequently and have the highest attendance rate. It seems that workers prefer a shorter timeline, because they’re looking for what’s available here and now.

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On-demand workers show a preference for flexible work arrangements and quick payment. A big feature of our on-demand labor platform to workers is how quickly they can find work and get paid. Speed is a big part of the appeal for them. They are likely to be looking for work they can do within the week, so they can get paid quickly.

How on-demand labor can work for your company

Now that you know how quickly you can find workers using an on-demand labor platform, you might be wondering the best way they can help your business. 

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With on-demand labor, you can create something called a labor pool, which is a flexible extension of your workforce that lets you ramp operations up and down as needed. The workers you bring in from an on-demand labor platform can be added to your labor pool so that you have a pool of workers familiar with your operation and ready to work when needed.

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To learn more about how a labor pool works and what it’s good for, read our blog post exploring the concept of a labor pool.