Product Announcement

Empowering customers to find the care workers that meet their needs.

Tate Johnson

CTO at The Lookout Way

We believe supporting customers to live life on their own terms is based on long and collaborative partnerships with their care workers. We want customers to enjoy the company of their care workers, and we want care workers to enjoy the honour of supporting their customers. Customers and care workers who are in it together are happier and have better outcomes.

That's why we put a premium on matching. When we say matching we don't just mean the right service at the right time. That's the minimum. When we say matching we mean understanding the kinds of people the customer wants to welcome into their home every week.

Getting the match right takes a little time. There might even be false starts. But we've been told by customers and care workers that taking a little time to get it right is worth it over the long haul.

Lookout already has tooling for your team to build rosters and to build support networks by matching customers and care workers together. With match requests you can now bring matching directly to customers and their families while your team collaborates on tickets in the background to gently support them.

We think match requests are great for customers and families who want to hire their own supports, like those who are self-managing. Here we take a deep dive into how match requests work.

Customers begin matching by describing their ideal partnership.

An ideal partnership is based on mutual respect. Taking the time to understand who a customer wants to be with gives us the best chance of surfacing ideal candidates so they can form long and collaborative partnerships.

Customers can go People > "+" to create a new match request. They pick the services, they pick the times, and they pick the preferences most important to them. Do they have a pet they love? Pick pets. Do they speak Polish? Pick Polish. Do they enjoy cooking? Pick cooking. The more specific their match request is, the better we can surface ideal candidates from your Marketplace.

Customers can have more than one match request. Each one can be personalised to suit the support they're hiring. If they're seeking companionship they might emphasise hobbies and interests. If they're seeking personal care they might emphasise gender and qualifications. Matching is personal so our match requests are personal.

After they create their first match request the "About you" information they've entered is remembered so they don't need to enter it again. As they figure out their ideal partnership they can change their match request to suit.

Once a day, customers review and shortlist their best candidates.

Great long-term partnerships are nuanced and take time to form. We don't want customers to be overwhelmed with too many options, and we don't want customers to wait too long. Up to once a day at 7am we'll send 3 ideal candidates from your Marketplace for them to review and shortlist. Customers control who they shortlist and they control whether they get another round of candidates the next day.

Candidates are surfaced one-at-a-time, from most ideal to least. The most ideal means they are the closest match based on the preferences outlined in the request and live closer to the customer. When viewing the candidates, the customer can choose to shortlist candidates by sending a request to match or skip to view the next best candidate.

Candidates are presented anonymously so no personal information is shared and customers shortlist their best candidates. Customers won't see the candidate's name, photo, age, or location. They will see the candidate's bio, qualifications, rates, and driving time. When a customer is considering a candidate we emphasise what they have in common and we emphasise how they're qualified to support them. We want this to be the start of a long and collaborative partnership.

Your team gets looped in when customers shortlist candidates so you can support them to safely meet.

Customers can curate their own shortlist, but they need the support of your team to be revealed to each other so they can safely meet for the first time.

When a match request is created it opens a ticket to loop your team in. You can customise which of your team is assigned the ticket by their role in the customer’s community (e.g. care worker co-ordinator), or to a specific member of your team.

Your team will be able to see the entire matching request, including which candidates have been surfaced, shortlisted, and rejected. Likewise, they'll also see when no candidates have been surfaced. Either way, they'll be in a great position to provide gentle support to customers.

You decide which services and matching preferences are available to match on in your Marketplace.

Services which are marked as "public" and preferences which are "checked" can be picked by customers when they create a match request. Services which are marked as "internal" and preferences which are "unchecked" are hidden. Hidden services and hidden preferences are only available to your team.

Care workers write a bio to show their strengths and values to potential customers.

Care workers are presented anonymously to potential customers so writing a bio is a great way for them to express themselves without revealing their name, photo, or location. Care workers can go Account > Show Profile > Edit Profile > About to write their bio. Some people struggle to write positively about themselves so we've structured the bio by getting them to answer a series of guided questions.

Care workers can choose to opt-out of being matched altogether if they're already happy with the customers they're supporting. Care workers can go Account > Availability to opt-in or opt-out of being matched. Care workers who opt-out won't be surfaced as candidates in your Marketplace.

Care workers can specify the maximum number of hours per week they're seeking. Care workers who are seeking more hours per week will be prioritised over care workers who already have the hours they want in your Marketplace. Care workers can go Account > Availability to specify the maximum hours per week they're seeking.

FAQ

Can Auth Reps create a match request?

Yes, either the customer or their Auth Rep can create a match request, edit a match request, and shortlist candidates.

How are candidates surfaced?

Customers who use a computer will get email. Customers who use a smart phone will get a push notification. Notification preferences can be customised at any time from inside their account.

When are candidates surfaced?

Up to once a day at 7am beginning the day after the match request is created. This cannot be customised.

Could surfacing once a day be too noisy?

Yes, that's why don't automatically surface the next round of candidates. Customers are prompted to get another round after they've shortlisted the previous round.

What happens if no candidates are surfaced?

Customers will be told they are no ideal candidates and a comment will posted on the ticket to loop in your team.

Are candidates really presented anonymously?

Yes, and for good reason. We want customers to make their judgement on shortlisting the best candidates. The candidates who have common qualities. The candidates who are the most qualified.

We also want to protect the privacy of customers and care workers by keeping their personal information hidden. Customers should learn a candidate's name and face before they meet them. They're only presented anonymously to review and shortlist.