So you’ve decided to try on-demand staffing, but now you need to decide who’s actually going to help you find those workers. It’s hard to choose with so many options emerging. Just like with any new concept, you probably want to know how you can get the most bang for your buck.
Although our on-demand labor platform is different, because of its focus on being an operational tool for the manufacturing and logistics space, Veryable’s experience has given us a deep understanding of the many factors that contribute to any effective on-demand labor or on-demand staffing solution.
To investigate all of these on-demand staffing companies yourself would be very time-consuming. So we’ve done the heavy lifting for you and compiled a list of the best companies on the market and a rundown of their offerings. You’ll also find a direct comparison that will allow you to see how these companies compete head to head.
By the end of this article, you will know enough to make an informed decision about which on-demand staffing company is right for you.
On-demand staffing companies offer many of the same services, but with subtly impactful differences. We chose to compare these companies based on the qualifications below because they give a good indication as to which of the most important features these companies come with, as well as commonly asked questions from businesses that are deciding between them.
We found answers to common questions if you, like many other users of on-demand work, want to know whether your company can be rated, whether you can rate workers, if the workers will be background checked, whether the platform will pay them as employees or independent contractors, whether you or the workers will receive insurance, and if you will have to pay to hire the workers on these platforms.
The table below answers these questions for each business, and you will find more commentary on each individual business in the rest of the article.
Founded: 2016
Headquarters (US): Austin, TX
Website: https://adia.works/
Adia offers an on-demand staffing solution for companies in many different industries, including those with customer-facing roles. The company provides access to workers who are employed by Adia as W-2 employees.
The business interface allows you to post work opportunities for daily or weekly recurring jobs. Adia also offers further customization for business postings. The wage you offer the worker and corresponding billed price are visible within the platform to give transparency into what you will pay Adia.
After your job is posted, the platform enables you to view the work history, skills, and ratings of available workers. By default, workers will be matched to your posting automatically. However, you can like or reject workers who have been matched to your posting.
Adia has a feature that will assign workers they have designated as either “standard,” “plus,” or “premium,” based on how much pay you offer for the job. Adia interviews employees to classify them in one of these groups based on their experience level. Ratings from other businesses also factor into which group these workers are placed in.
The platform also offers timesheet functionality and the ability to report no-shows, approve timecards, and rate workers. The platform shows the hours worked for each employee and the worker app includes a clock in and clock out feature, meaning you will need to approve a timecard for each worker.
Adia mainly operates in the metropolitan areas of Dallas and Chicago, although the company recently began working with select businesses in California, Arizona, Washington, and New York.
Adia’s pricing model is a markup based on how much money you offer to workers. They charge you the “billing rate” based on the “pay rate” you input for the worker to receive.
Founded: 2015
Headquartered: Chicago, IL
Website: https://www.bluecrewjobs.com/
Bluecrew offers an on-demand staffing solution for various industries, including transportation, and industries with customer-facing roles. Bluecrew employs workers on its platform as W-2 employees.
You must contact Bluecrew before setting up your account. Once you have an account, you can post work opportunities for short-term or long-term positions and find workers within days. Bluecrew provides templates, or you can create custom postings.
Bluecrew’s platform will automatically match workers to your job posting. You can view bios and reviews of workers before they arrive to work. You also have access to timesheets and a roster of workers you’ve paid before.
Bluecrew currently operates in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Oakland, Orange County, Reno, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Saint Louis, and Washington D.C.
Bluecrew typically charges a 40% markup on worker pay, but this price can change based on factors like your location, workers comp rates, and the jobs you want workers for.
Founded: 2015
Headquartered (US): San Francisco, CA
Website: https://www.instawork.com/
Instawork offers an on-demand staffing solution for front-of-house and back-of house positions, much like the other on-demand staffing solutions listed here. Instawork employs some of its workers as W-2 employees and some of them are independent workers.
You can post work opportunities for one-time work or repeated shifts. Instawork matches candidates to your posting.
Instawork shows skills and previous ratings and reviews for each worker. The company tracks workers by GPS to give insight into their attendance and arrival time. You can add workers you like to your roster of employees you’ve worked with.
Instawork operates in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Tampa, Tucson, and Washington D.C.
Instawork charges a fee based on the amount offered to the worker. Fees may change based on demand for workers, the type of work requested, and your location.
Founded: 2014
Headquartered: San Francisco, CA
Website: https://www.wonolo.com/
Wonolo offers an on-demand staffing solution for a variety of industries and roles. Its platform lets companies post jobs for employees or independent contractors to accept.
Wonolo lets you post work, add details, and save posts as templates for future postings.
You can see skills, ratings, and a profile picture for workers on the platform. Workers are pre-screened, although you will have to indicate if you require a background check because Wonolo does not conduct background checks on workers unless requested.
Wonolo is currently available in Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Worth, Grand Rapids, Los Angeles, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Nashville, New Jersey, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburg, Raleigh/Durham, Reno, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Tampa Bay, and Washington DC.
Wonolo charges 45% markup on the worker’s pay, according to the latest publicly available information.
When you’re ready to start, you can brush up on the best uses for on-demand labor in our article on how to start on-demand labor the right way.
While these are great general solutions above, if you have a manufacturing and logistics operation, you might benefit from a solution more tailored to your vertical. At Veryable, we’ve helped thousands of businesses ramp up production, cut lead times, and grow profits through the use of our on-demand labor solution for manufacturing and logistics companies. Not only do we provide you access to a marketplace of on-demand labor, we give you tools to provide the intelligence you need to work more efficiently. We are a company built by operations people, and our tool is an operational tool first and foremost.
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