Crowdsourcing Model Eliminates Middle Man
From Airbnb to Uber, crowdsourcing has revolutionized the way Americans live, work and play.
Today, healthcare recruitment is no exception thanks to the innovative team at Brentwood-based Relode. Launched in 2015, the tech-savvy startup is helping more than 30,000 agents and 300 employers find the best candidates to hire while saving time and money.
A New Niche
"Relode was born by questioning why the healthcare industry needs buildings full of recruiters all over the country when there are already good people connected to other good people in local markets nationwide," said Relode founder Matt Tant. "Why does the middle man need to exist?"
Healthcare staffing comprises a $23 billion industry, making it one of the largest labor expenses of any healthcare organization. By eliminating the need for a staffing agency, Relode has managed to successfully disrupt the paradigm by using technology and crowdsourcing.
The user-friendly website offers visitors the option to connect as an agent, nurse, physician, healthcare IT professional or employer. Referral agents earn money by referring friends or colleagues and receive customized, geo-targeted alerts for crowdsourcing candidates. Anyone can discover jobs and refer friends using Relode's simple platform.
Relode account managers qualify and coordinate all candidates to ensure the pool meets client expectations, and clients utilize a simple dashboard to track job metrics, view candidates, and communicate with Relode account managers. As interest continues to skyrocket, the company is preparing to roll out a new app to help build the freelance clinical workforce by allowing providers to pick up additional shifts at area hospitals.
A relative newcomer to healthcare, Relode believes there is a good reason the crowdsourcing model has taken the world by storm. "Airbnb puts the power in the hands of users and hosts, allowing them to manage their own time and locations," Tant said of the popular crowdsourcing site. "Similarly, healthcare facilities should allow nurses, who may be gainfully employed elsewhere or perhaps even retired, to manage their own time and schedules. Rather than having one group of nurses at one facility, allow nurses to cover multiple shifts in multiple locations across the city and multiple employers."
A Promising Investment
While the company was founded in 2015, it wasn't until the end of 2017 that Relode received its first strategic financing round through Heritage Group and Frist Cressey Ventures, LLC. The investment helped the company aggressively expand its marketing strategy and sales efforts, as well as broaden and accelerate product development.
"The response has been amazing, and I've never been a part of something that's received so much interest and excitement from customers," Tant said. "Customers are thirsty for innovation around traditional staffing agencies, which have limited recruiters and bandwidth in a local market."
By the Numbers
The proof is in the numbers. In June 2018, Relode signed up 2,100 agents and 30 employers and received more than 4,000 referrals. While the refreshingly simple model may seem like a no-brainer, Tant said healthcare has lagged behind other industries due to certain complexities.
"Everyone's doing it the same way, but we're one of only two or three companies doing this in a modern, consumer-branded, technology-driven way," he said. "We're delivering key resources at a better price point."
Spreading Hope & Healing
Tant also views Relode as a catalyst to promote Christian values by delivering care to those in dire need of hope and healing. A percentage of Relode's profit helps fund medical staff for Mercy Ships, a floating hospital that provides free surgery and medical care to the millions of people living off the coast of Africa. The nurses, doctors and staff members are dedicated to caring for marginalized people who might be ostracized from their communities due to physical deformities.
"Doctors and nurses are in the business because they care about others enough to take on years of education and risks, and to bless and save others," Tant said. "We want to give back by sponsoring them to serve in other countries," he continued, "and I wanted a brand with the same mission as so many of our clients while disrupting big business."
WEB:
