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Wonolo employers

The Employers Guide to Hiring on Wonolo

Wonolo is an app similar to Shiftgig or Gigwalk in that it allows individuals to pick up shifts on demand based on their schedule and skillset. This can be an excellent tool for businesses that need additional help throughout the year but aren’t ready to hire someone full-time.

In this guide, we’ll explain how Wonolo works and how it can help your business fill in the gaps when you need extra help. We’ll also provide you with the basics of how to find help on Wonolo and some tips for getting the most out of the app.

How Does Wonolo Work?

Wonolo promises to make on-demand staffing simple with an easy three-step process for employers. The employer or “requestor” can start posting a job in a matter of minutes:

  • The requestor creates and posts the job using a clear description.
  • The Wonoloer accepts the job when they are available and are the right fit for the job.
  • The Wonoler completes the job, and the requestor approves the job by giving the Wonoler a rating.

It’s that easy! Wonolo also takes care of all payment processing after the job has been approved. There are no employment contracts necessary. The Wonoler’s relationship to the employer is that of an independent contractor. After the shift is over and the work has been approved, there are no further agreements between the two.

Benefits of Using Wonolo for Your Business

There are many benefits to using Wonolo to hire temporary staff for your business. The platform is built around the principle of helping match employers with effective, on-demand workers qualified to help meet the business’ needs. While a temporary staffing agency may take time to find the right hire, Wonolo gives you access to a pool of pre-qualified, vetted, and reliable workers who are motivated to help your business with little notice.

Not only can Wonolo help find your business temporary staff quickly, but the app also boasts a 90% average fill rate for all positions, while traditional temporary and contract staffing companies have a fill rate averaging 34%. Additionally, Wonolo is cost-effective, costing business an average of 40% less than working with a staffing agency. Wonolo allows you to set the rates for each position, giving you more control over your budget.

All Wonoloers undergo a qualification process before they can start accepting shifts, which means companies can feel secure in knowing they are working with pre-screened and vetted workers. Every Wonoler must agree to Wonolo’s temporary worker contract, which outlines all worker expectations. They also must undergo a background check, tests, and screening calls.

How to Hire Temporary Workers on Wonolo

When you’re ready to start hiring temporary workers on Wonolo, the job posting process is pretty simple. First, you’ll need to work on your job description. The jobs that fill up quickly tend to have concise descriptions that include the following information:

  • Description of the company
  • Description of the main job tasks
  • Any preparation that’s required, such as reading material
  • Any specific job requirements, like dress code or knowledge of technology
  • Any tools required, like a smartphone or certain shoes or clothing
  • Logistical information, like how to find the building, who to contact on arrival, etc.

Once you have created a description for the job, you’ll need to decide on a pay rate. This is entirely up to you, but consider making the hourly pay rate competitive with market rates if you want a Wonoloer to accept the job. Once you’ve chosen a pay rate, you will post the job and wait for a Wonoloer to accept it.

Wonoloers only accept jobs they are available and qualified for. Once they accept the job, you can expect to see them on site for the specified shift. After you have found specific Wonoloers you like working with, you can add them to your Preferred Wonoloers list and invite them to more jobs in the future. If you find some Wonoloers that are not a good fit, you can also block them from seeing future ad postings in the app.

Wonolo Payments & Fees

Once the requestor has approved the Wonoloer’s job, Wonolo will pay the worker directly on the next day. Wonolo will charge the requestor’s card on file immediately after they have rated the Wonoloer’s performance, so it’s important that the requestor makes any necessary payment adjustments before approving the job.

Wonolo charges a 45% service fee, which is applied after the requestor has approved the job and rated the Wonoloer’s performance. Wonolo will send an invoice after job approval with both worker payment and service fee – both of which are charged immediately after approval.

Hints & Tips for Using Wonolo as a Requestor

Here are some additional tips for getting the most out of the Wonolo app as an employer:

  • If you want to get in touch with Wonoloers, use the in-app messenger. Once the worker has picked up the job, you’ll be able to see their profile page, including any pertinent contact information.
  • If you want to invite a specific Wonoloer to a job posting, click on the button “Preferred Wonoloers” at the bottom of the job posting page and click on the name of the Wonoloer you’d like to add to the list. After you click “Post Job,” the notification will be sent.
  • To save time, you can create teams of Wonoloers within your account, making it easy to invite them to a specific job opportunity later. Just add the team to the job before posting to notify them.
  • Be sure to choose your preferred method of receiving notifications so you don’t miss a message. In addition to in-app notifications, you can also get text and email notifications.

Overall, Wonolo is a great option for businesses who need to fill in the employment gaps during busy times of the year. Whether you need servers, event staff, cashiers, administrative personnel, or warehouse workers, you can find the temporary help you need on Wonolo.

 

Wonolo vs. Shiftgig

Wonolo vs. Shiftgig: Hiring Workers for Your Business

The gig economy is booming, and for many companies this means options. So. Many. Options. Wading through all of your choices isn’t always sunshine and roses. Knowing which direction to go can be daunting, if not confusing. It is for this precise reason that we have compared two of the strongest competitors in the temp work space: Wonolo and Shiftgig.

Location, Location, Location

Let’s start with the most obvious. Where is your company located? Shiftgig has some glaring omissions in the market, namely Los Angeles and San Francisco, so if your company is located in either of those hubs, Wonolo is definitely your best option. Check out the full lists of locations below.

Wonolo currently operates the following areas:

  • Atlanta
  • Chicago
  • Columbus, Ohio, and its suburbs
  • Dallas/Fort Worth
  • Los Angeles
  • Nashville
  • New York City (Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and New Jersey)
  • Philadelphia and its suburbs
  • San Antonio
  • San Francisco Bay area
  • Seattle
  • Tampa

Shiftgig currently operates in

  • Atlanta
  • Chicago
  • Dallas
  • Houston
  • Memphis
  • Miami
  • Milwaukee
  • Nashville
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Philadelphia
  • Phoenix
  • Tampa

It’s a Numbers Game… or Is It?

Wonolo claims to have around 300,000 users registered on the platform. In comparison, Shiftgig has 15,000 registered workers (and 1,500 companies and employers) as of its last funding round.

You can look at this data two different ways. The first is to assume that Wonolo has more employees and will always have more options for you. The second is to assume that Shiftgig has less registered users because it is more stringent in its hiring and onboarding process.

It’s important to consider that Wonolo’s number of users could be higher due to its market share in Los Angeles. The city is a massive hub for gig workers looking to pick up extra shifts when they aren’t busy with creative work.

Both companies have posted quick intro videos that explain how they work. Here’s the Shiftgig explainer.

And here’s the intro video from Wonolo.

 

Shiftgig Vs. Wonolo: Different Features

Pay Schedules

Shiftgig sticks to a traditional weekly pay schedule. It also offers DailyPay on specific jobs to employees in New York and Chicago.

On the other hand, Wonolo pays all its employees on a daily basis. As an employer, you are expected to pay the day after the gig is finished and provide a rating for the employee’s performance. (We’ll cover more on this later.)

The Hiring Process

Wonolo conducts all screening tests and interviews on the phone, which could be a major reason why it has so many registered users. The company’s site boasts: “At Wonolo, we conduct all screening and vetting via phone, meaning you don’t need to take time out to travel to an in-person interview. That means you’ll be up and running – and ready to start accepting jobs – faster.”

Call Shiftgig old-fashioned, but it still prefers to hold in-person interviews after receiving applicants’ information.

Pay Rates

For the most part, Wonoloers (yes that is the company’s nickname for its workers) appear to make higher hourly wages than Shiftgig employees (nicknamed Specialists).

This is due to Wonolo adding its service fee to the company’s invoice rather than deducting it from the worker’s pay. Good for employees. Not so good for employers, unless you take into consideration that happier employees almost always perform better.

In the San Francisco Bay area, Wonolo workers earned:

  • between $10 and $16 an hour for warehouse and order fulfillment gigs
  • between $15 and $35 an hour for delivery jobs
  • between $15 and $25 an hour for clerical and data entry jobs
  • between $15 and $25 for general labor and moving jobs
  • between $13 and $30 an hour for brand ambassador and event work

Shiftgig workers report a whopping difference in their average hourly wages, including:

  • $11.61 per hour for a server
  • $11.33 per hour for a cook
  • $11.75 per hour for a server/bartender
  • $13 per hour for an event specialist
  • between $9 and 10 an hour for a warehouse worker

Wonolo Vs. Shiftgig – Career Trajectory

It appears Wonolo isn’t opposed to its workforce accepting full-time jobs with companies they are introduced to via the app, and may even encourage it.

Shiftgig, on the other hand, has a section on its user agreement that reads:

Other than connecting with users for the purpose of receiving or providing a position in the service industry, individuals and companies are prohibited from using the Site and Services for the purpose of recruiting for another website or soliciting, advertising to, or contracting users for employment, contracting, or any other purpose for a business not affiliated with Shiftgig without the express written consent of Shiftgig.

This is in direct contrast to a Fast Company article published in 2017 that stated “Shiftgig does not keep numbers on how many of its employees get full-time work at the places where they pick up shifts, though it does happen often enough that Eddie Lou (Executive Chairman and co-founder of Shiftgig) sees it as another avenue for the company to grow.

‘We allow businesses to test someone before they hire someone full-time,’ he points out.

 

In the future, Shiftgig hopes to create a mobile app for workers looking to find full-time work and change careers as well as providing career coaching, though don’t expect the company to hire human resources staff to facilitate the service. As Lou noted, “In a staffing agency it is someone’s brain; at Shiftgig, it is technology”.

The moral of the story here is that in any tech-driven economy, the landscape, and the rules can change at a moment’s notice. Stay up to date with press releases and articles about all companies while considering your staffing needs.

Technology

Let’s address the concerns with Wonolo’s higher registered user numbers and the potential for a watered-down pool of workers.

The company claims to use AI technology, which creates data-driven staffing with the help of ratings from both employees and employers after every single job. This helps Wonolo identify top performers and provide them with more opportunities (potentially becoming a Preferred Wonoloer). It also phases out poor performers and undesirable companies. While there are a massive number of registered users, the company only gives regular work to a small amount of those that are registered.

Shiftgig tends to showcase all available jobs to workers via GPS and keyword filters.

This is nice because while AI is impressive, it can sometimes miss things. A job that perfectly fits a potential employee’s work experience may somehow be missed in the application period.

Automating systems is great, but nothing beats human connection, especially for gig economy jobs that require strong customer service and marketing skills.

Over and Out

While these two companies are relatively new, they offer different solutions to the same problem faced by many employers. Trying out both services may be what makes the most sense for you. Or maybe you’ve already made up your mind based on the company practices listed here.

Bottom line: if you’re looking for a more personal, hands-on approach, we recommend Shiftgig. If you’re impressed by evolving technology, go with Wonolo.

 

Shiftgig Sign Up Guide

Should I Sign Up for a Shiftgig?

Shiftgig is a mobile technology company that connects gig economy employees with clients in the food, hospitality, warehouse, retail, sporting event, banquet, travel, education, and experiential marketing industries.

ShiftgigX is for those interested in experiential marketing, promotions, and brand ambassador gigs. These shifts are highly coveted and only for those with previous experience. If you’re one of the lucky chosen few, you can expect to work at special conventions and events.

Shift Gig Benefit Concert

 

Overall, the app is for anyone interested in a side hustle and located in one of Shiftgig’s live markets, which currently include Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Tampa.

Using the Shiftgig app is perfect for those who value flexibility, or for those who just can’t deal with the horrors of a nine to five desk job.

Shiftgig’s Big Plans

In November 2017, Shiftgig was ranked 62 on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, and energy tech companies in North America.

This is pretty impressive when you consider that Shiftgig was originally just a jobs board for Chicago-based restaurants.

The app began to evolve as the word spread about its value – filling shifts at a rapid pace with reliable, vetted workers.

Now the company is rapidly expanding and licensing its platform out to markets that have a high demand for gig economy workers.

EZgig was Shiftgig’s charter customer, using its technology to provide fast solutions for its clients. Since then, Shiftgig hasn’t looked back.

So, what makes Shiftgig so successful? According to Vikki Caruso, Shiftgig’s VP of Human Resources: “Our marketplace gives employers access to workers they couldn’t normally reach. If you’re a small-business owner in need of additional help, you typically need to spend a lot of time finding and vetting people. With us, all you need to do is put your openings on the app.”

In 2018, Shiftgig Got Big

In December 2017, Shiftgig was chosen as Innovator of the Year by HR Dive, a leading industry news publisher. “A whole new ecosystem of jobs and job-doers is emerging. Shiftgig, our winner of Innovator of the Year, saw the potential in this new paradigm and ran with it,” said Kathryn Moody, Editor for HR Dive.

This marks the first win for Shiftgig in the HR Dive awards and shows the impact the company has made. Last year, Shiftgig hit several important milestones:

  • Shiftgig Specialists have now worked more than 500,000 shifts, including coveted events like the World Series and at major retailers across the U.S.
  • More than 40,000 Specialists have been pre-vetted by the Shiftgig team and are available today for one-time shifts and longer engagements.
  • More than 2,600 businesses use Shiftgig today, including leading companies across food service, hospitality, retail, warehouse, and experiential marketing.

Okay, You’re Sold. So How Does Shiftgig Work?

Let’s start with the relatively simple application process. Download the app on your Apple or Android device and follow the prompts to complete your application.

The Shiftgig Application Process And Interview

From there, if your experience lines up with its current hiring needs, you’ll receive a request for either a group, phone, or video interview.

After the interview, if you are approved, you will receive… more paperwork!

Don’t worry, it’s the good kind: your onboarding paperwork, which you can fill out online. In the meantime, you’ll submit information for the company to process a background check. If all goes well, and you are approved at that point—voila! You will soon receive a welcome email.

Congratulations, you are now free to start browsing jobs on the mobile app.

Shiftgig Available Jobs

 

Shiftgig Requirements

You’ll need a bit of industry experience (especially if you are applying for the ShiftgigX section).

You must live near one of their supported markets, be at least 18 years old, and be legally authorized to work in the U.S.

Plus, you’ll need an iPhone or Android phone to conduct business and accept jobs within the application.

Earnings On Shift

When using Shiftgig, you are paid weekly via direct deposits.

They also partner with DailyPay, a financial tech company that allows you to withdraw payments the day after your hours are confirmed—up to nine days before payday.

It is worth noting that gigs booked through ShiftgigX are not eligible for DailyPay. The majority of the gigs offer competitive hourly rates with respect to each individual market; however, rates differ per venue, client, and the position you are booked for. There is no maximum or minimum. You control how many shifts you take on per week.

Is Working For Shiftgig For You?

These gigs are best for those who are looking for supplemental income.

Like most of the gig economy, it is difficult (but not impossible) to rely on one app or company to make a decent living – or to expect weekly stability. With that said, if you have any experience in the gig economy, you already know that these companies often reward those workers that pick up the most shifts (and pick them up quickly).

So, if you plan to subsidize a freelance career in which you work frequently, then congratulations are in order. The downside is that you may be passed over for some Shiftgig jobs as the app awards those who complete the most work for it. This, unfortunately, can create a bit of a catch-22.

In terms of personality and experience, these gigs are great for those who have worked in customer service or anything client facing, particularly the coveted ShiftgigX shifts.

This is also a wonderful career move for those who enjoy seasonal work, or variety and change. In a single week, you may work a catering gig, at a retail convention, and at a sporting event!

This is also a market that truly values those who have a wide range of experience that can be applied to multiple industries, which is a breath of fresh air in a world where we see so many specialized and pigeonholed careers.

Shiftgig Iphone App

 

So, what do you think? Do you value the freedom to control your schedule and environment? If so, give Shiftgig a try!