Cascade Notifications

Cascade notifications automatically notify workers in priority order, giving your trusted staff first opportunity before expanding to the broader market. This guide explains how to configure and use cascade notifications effectively.

What is Cascade Notification?

The Problem It Solves

Traditional shift posting notifies all workers simultaneously:

• Internal staff and unknown workers see shifts at the same time
• Facilities get overwhelmed with applications from unknown workers
• Trusted workers may miss opportunities
• No priority for relationship building

The Cascade Solution

Cascade notifications send shifts to workers in tiers:

1. First: Internal staff (your employees)
2. Then: Float pool (pre-vetted external workers)
3. Finally: Open market (verified but unknown workers)

Each tier gets time to respond before the next tier is notified.

TIMELINE
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────►

   0 min          30 min          60 min
     │               │               │
     ▼               ▼               ▼
┌─────────┐    ┌─────────┐    ┌─────────┐
│Internal │    │ Float   │    │  Open   │
│ Staff   │    │  Pool   │    │ Market  │
└─────────┘    └─────────┘    └─────────┘
 Notified       Notified       Notified

Benefits

How Cascade Works

Notification Flow

1. Shift Posted - You create a shift with cascade enabled
2. Tier 1 Notification - Internal staff notified immediately
3. Wait Period - System waits (e.g., 30 minutes)
4. Tier 2 Notification - Float pool notified (if unfilled)
5. Wait Period - System waits (e.g., 30 more minutes)
6. Tier 3 Notification - Open market notified (if still unfilled)
7. Shift Filled - First accepted worker assigned

Automatic Stopping

The cascade stops immediately when:

• A worker accepts the shift
• You manually cancel the cascade
• You fill the shift another way

No unnecessary notifications are sent once filled.

Configuring Cascade

Default Settings

Set organization-wide defaults:

1. Go to Organization > Settings > Cascade
2. Configure default tier timing:
   • Internal Staff wait: 0 minutes (immediate)
   • Float Pool wait: 30 minutes
   • Open Market wait: 60 minutes
3. Set default worker limits per tier
4. Save as organization default

Facility-Level Overrides

Each facility can customize:

1. Go to Facility > Settings > Cascade
2. Choose to:
   • Use organization defaults
   • Customize for this facility
3. Adjust timing as needed
4. Save facility settings

Per-Shift Configuration

Override defaults when posting:

1. When creating a shift, find Notification Strategy
2. Select:
   • Cascade (Recommended) - Use tier system
   • Notify All Simultaneously - Skip cascade
   • Internal Only - Only notify employees
   • Float Pool Only - Only notify float pool
3. If cascade selected, customize:
   • Wait times between tiers
   • Worker limits per tier

Cascade Options

Timing Options

For urgent shifts:

• Reduce wait times (15/30 min)
• Or bypass cascade entirely

Worker Limits

Control how many workers are notified per tier:

Notification Channels

Workers are notified via:

• Push Notification - Immediate app alert
• SMS - For urgent/important shifts
• In-App - Always included
• Email - Optional summary

Urgent Shift Bypass

When to Skip Cascade

For urgent shifts (under 4 hours notice):

• Internal staff may not be available
• Time is critical
• Need broader reach immediately

Automatic Bypass

Enable automatic bypass:

1. Go to cascade settings
2. Enable Urgent Shift Override
3. Set threshold (e.g., shifts starting within 4 hours)
4. When triggered, all tiers notified simultaneously

Manual Bypass

Skip cascade for specific shifts:

1. When posting, select notification strategy
2. Choose Notify All Simultaneously
3. All qualified workers notified at once

Monitoring Cascade Progress

Real-Time View

Watch your cascade in action:

1. Go to Shifts > click on the shift
2. View Notification Timeline
3. See:
   • Current tier
   • Workers notified per tier
   • Response counts (seen, accepted, declined)
   • Time until next tier

Cascade Status Indicators

Response Tracking

For each tier, see:

• Workers notified count
• Workers who viewed notification
• Workers who declined
• Workers who accepted
• No response count

Manual Escalation

When to Escalate Early

If you're not getting responses:

• Internal staff all declined or unavailable
• Urgent need, can't wait for timer
• Want to expand reach faster

How to Escalate

1. View the shift's cascade timeline
2. Click Escalate Now
3. Select target tier:
   • Escalate to Float Pool
   • Escalate to Open Market
   • Notify All Remaining
4. Confirm escalation

Stopping the Cascade

To cancel the cascade:

1. View the shift
2. Click Stop Cascade
3. Choose:
   • Keep current applications
   • Cancel shift entirely
4. Workers already notified see "No longer available"

Best Practices

Optimal Timing

For Standard Shifts (24+ hours notice):

• Internal: 0 min
• Float Pool: 30 min
• Open Market: 60 min

For Short Notice (8-24 hours):

• Internal: 0 min
• Float Pool: 15 min
• Open Market: 30 min

For Urgent (under 8 hours):

• Consider bypassing cascade
• Or: 0/10/20 min timing

Building Your Float Pool

Cascade encourages float pool growth:

• Workers learn float pool gets early access
• They request to join for priority
• You get more trusted workers over time

After successful shifts with open market workers:

1. Rate their performance
2. Consider adding to float pool
3. They get priority on future shifts

Maintaining Quality

1. Review cascade data - See which tiers fill shifts
2. Adjust timing - If internal rarely fills, shorten wait
3. Grow float pool - Add good workers from open market
4. Prune float pool - Remove inactive or poor performers

Cascade Analytics

Key Metrics

Track cascade effectiveness:

Viewing Analytics

1. Go to Analytics > Cascade Performance
2. See:
   • Fill rate by tier
   • Average time to fill by tier
   • Escalation frequency
   • Bypass frequency

Optimization Suggestions

Analytics may suggest:

• Shorten wait times if filling quickly
• Grow float pool if relying on open market
• Review rates if not getting responses

Troubleshooting

Low Response Rates

If workers aren't responding:

• Check notification delivery
• Review your pay rates
• Verify worker availability
• Consider shorter wait times

Cascade Taking Too Long

If shifts aren't filling quickly:

• Shorten tier wait times
• Grow your float pool
• Check your requirements (too restrictive?)
• Consider competitive rate increases

Too Many Applications

If overwhelmed with applicants:

• Don't bypass cascade unnecessarily
• Limit open market notifications
• Build stronger float pool

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I have different cascade settings per department?

Yes, at the facility level. Different departments within a facility share settings, but facilities can differ.

What if a worker from a later tier is better qualified?

You can still review and select any applicant. Cascade affects notification order, not selection.

Do workers know which tier they're in?

Workers see "Priority" or "Invited" badges for internal/float pool notifications, signaling their status.

Can I disable cascade entirely?

Yes, select "Notify All Simultaneously" to skip cascade for any shift.

Next Steps

• Multi-Facility Setup - Configure your organization
• Tiered Staffing - Understand the tier system