How to solve workforce coverage problems

The best way to solve workforce coverage problems isn't scheduling - it's the Per Diem Model.  Here are 5 KEY tactics you can learn and leverage with Per Diem:

1️⃣ Per-Diem staffing creates deliberate overcapacity

Healthcare facilities try to maintain qualified talent pools 150-200% larger than their daily needs. 💥

Simple Math: Maintaining a flexible talent bench costs less than understaffing or unfilled absences.   The real cost lies in the work that isn’t getting done when you can’t fill an absence.

2️⃣ Per-Diem leverages “Pre-Qualification” at scale

Per Diem is not just about having “extra people”, it is critical that those “extra people” must be verified, ready-to-deploy talent.

Healthcare per diem agencies:
- Complete all credentialing upfront
- Verify skills and certifications beforehand
- Handle regulatory compliance proactively

📌 Imagine your manufacturing operation with a pool of 50 pre-trained assemblers, fully onboarded, ready to work with one tap on an app.  Sounds pretty good, right?

3️⃣ The best Per-Diem staffers are masters of Technology-Enabled Deployment

Modern per diem platforms allow healthcare facilities to fill 15 unexpected vacancies in minutes.

It's mobile-first infrastructure that:
- Instantly broadcasts shift needs to qualified workers
- Enables one-click acceptance
- Verifies arrivals in real-time
- Automates payment processes

📌 Question for you: Why is your facility still making 25 panic calls when people don't show up when an app could solve this for you?

4️⃣ Per-Diem leverages incentive alignment

Per diem models create win-win scenarios:  Three wins actually.

a) Workers get genuine flexibility and premium rates.
b) Facilities pay slightly more but eliminate coverage gaps
c) Quality improves because workers choose shifts they want

5️⃣ Per Diem is based on Market-Based Pricing

📌 Critical shifts fill faster because the market determines appropriate compensation rather than basing rates on arbitrary pay bands.

The best Per Diem staffing platforms use dynamic pricing based on:
- Urgency
- Difficulty
- Historical fill rates

TLDR: Every industry with shift-based operations can implement the Per Diem model (or some hybrid version of it) tomorrow.

And be better for it!
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Hey there, I’m Bryan. Head of Product at StaffUpApp. If you need help building an app for your staffing agency to get started with the Per Diem model - let’s talk.