Understanding Over-hiring
For businesses new to the gig economy, hiring temporary workers can feel uncertain. You’re bringing on people without prior working relationships, relying instead on factors like ratings, reviews, and past experience. Despite careful selection, there’s always a chance that some workers won’t show up—commonly known as "No Call, No Show" or "No Show" scenarios.
To mitigate this risk, many businesses adopt over-hiring—bringing on more workers than initially needed. This strategy ensures your job gets done while also helping you build a reliable talent pool for future opportunities.
When using Jobble automation, over-hiring is built into the process. Our system calculates the expected number of no-shows based on historical data and automatically adjusts hiring levels accordingly. This means you don’t have to manually over-hire—we do it for you.
What Does "No Call, No Show" or "No Show" Mean for You?
One of the biggest advantages of gig work is flexibility, but that same flexibility means workers’ schedules can change unexpectedly. In traditional employment, companies have policies in place to address unexcused absences. However, in the gig economy, enforcing attendance policies is more challenging since these workers are not full-time employees.
Gig workers may miss a shift for various reasons, such as transportation issues, last-minute childcare conflicts, or accepting a better-paying job elsewhere. Whatever the cause, a no-show can leave you understaffed.
Why Over-Hiring for Gigs Makes Sense
Since no-shows are an unavoidable reality, the best way to ensure full coverage is to over-hire. Based on industry trends, Jobble recommends over-hiring by 30% to 40% to maintain proper staffing levels.
For smaller teams, over-hiring may not be necessary if you have strong communication and trust in your workers. However, for larger groups, it can be a crucial safeguard. The more roles you need to fill, the higher the chance of unexpected absences. Over-hiring ensures that even with some no-shows, your workforce remains at the required capacity.
What Happens If Too Many Workers Show Up?
A common concern with over-hiring is having too many workers available. Fortunately, there are ways to manage this:
- Reallocate extra workers to other departments or tasks as needed.
- Prioritize punctuality—workers who arrive on time get priority over latecomers.
- Send excess workers home—if you don’t have tasks for them, you can establish a fair cut-off policy.
Jobble's Show Fee Policy for Overstaffing
If you turn away workers that Jobble sent beyond your original request, no Show Fee will be charged. This means that if Jobble overhired to account for potential no-shows, but everyone arrives, you are only responsible for accommodating the original requested quantity of workers.
However, if you turn away a requested worker—one that falls within the number of workers you originally requested—you will be charged a 50% payout for the scheduled shift to compensate them for their time and travel.
Examples of When You Won’t Be Charged a Show Fee:
✅ You requested 10 Jobblers, but Jobble sent 12 to ensure coverage. If all 12 arrive, you can turn away 2 without a fee.
✅ You requested 5 Jobblers, Jobble overhired, and all workers showed up. You can turn away the extras without penalty.
✅ You understand Jobble may send extra workers but are only responsible for paying the number you originally requested.
Example of When You Will Be Charged a Show Fee:
❌ You requested 10 Jobblers, and only 10 showed up, but you turn away a few because your needs changed last-minute. In this case, you would pay a 50% fee for the turned-away workers.
If you choose to keep the extra workers and use their services, you will be responsible for paying them.
The Bottom Line
Over-hiring acts as a safety net, ensuring that staffing shortages don’t disrupt your operations. By proactively planning for no-shows, you maintain productivity while also refining your talent pool.
If you’re relying on Jobble’s automation to hire, over-hiring will be handled for you based on real-time application data and our calculated show rates for each Jobbler. This means you can focus on running your business while Jobble ensures you have the right number of workers for the job.
If you have any questions about over-hiring or Show Fees, reach out to our Customer Success team at community@jobble.com.