With sector plagued by employee problems, tech solution to launch in New York
Though the pandemic has hit every sector possible, one has possibly suffered more than any other: healthcare. Amid high rates of COVID-19 infections and increasing mental health issues, healthcare has also been plagued with staffing issues.
Simultaneously, a number of tech solutions have cropped up over the last year as a direct result – and consequence – of the pandemic. Tech solutions may be the future of healthcare, certainly during the pandemic it has been a huge help in delivering care (thinking of telehealth for example).
There are myriad companies out there in this space, one of which is Staffy.
“Staffy started as a solution for absenteeism in the restaurant industry,” says Peter Faist, Founder and CEO, Staffy.
Though the company initially found success, the pandemic changed its plans. Faist says that Staffy lost almost 100 per cent of its business overnight and led Faist and his company to look to other sectors.
“The majority of the traction we got was in retirement long-term care. We were able to take workers that were working in hospitality and repurpose them into retirement long-term care,” he says.
Former hospitality workers found roles as cleaners, housekeepers, dietary aides, greeters, etc.
Once that model gained traction, Staffy re-tooled its platform to further focus on healthcare and clinical staff such as nurses and personal support workers (PSWs).
“We’ve been able to help, I think, very significantly during the pandemic,” says Faist. “Now we’re helping retirement long-term care, hospitals, vaccine clinics, etc. to run more smoothly.”
Faist says that Staffy has a very rigorous vetting process that comprises about 15 steps. The company has a team of HR professionals that go through the resumes to make sure that the workers are in good standing – and are certified and qualified to work in such areas.
“The quality of our workers is what helps define our reputation and creates trust between the customers that we have and our platform,” he says.
Faist says that the feedback from both clients and workers has been great so far, with the latter enjoying the flexibility offered by the app:
“We allow the workers to determine how much they want to work for, where they where they work, when they work,” says Faist.
Before the company re-tooled its approach, it was active in both Canada and the U.S. When Staffy decided to switch to the healthcare sector, it decided to focus on the Canadian market. Now, with the app being such a huge success, the company has decided to re-launch in the U.S. – with New York as its first port of call.
Staffing and healthcare is a major challenge in both Canada and the U.S., says Faist, with staffing levels having a direct impact on the quality of care.
Says Faist: “I never thought that we would be a healthcare company [but] because of the pandemic we were forced to pivot. And it's just a much better. I think [Staffy] is a great fit for the healthcare industry […] and I'm very passionate about what we can do and how we can help.”
