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Solution · Shift fillUpdated September 20268-minute read

Last-minute shift fill, without the phone tree.

An open shift is a race against the clock, and the phone-tree approach loses it. HeyHomeCare texts the shift to the client’s preferred caregivers, then to every caregiver free for the whole shift — each group at once — holds the first yes for your on-call manager to approve, and tells anyone who says yes later that it’s taken.

By the HeyHomeCare team. Shift fill connects to AxisCare today and runs on HeyHomeCare’s own schedule; HHAeXchange isn’t connected today.

The short version
The fastest way to fill an open shift is to ask many eligible caregivers at once and take the first qualified yes — not to dial them one at a time. HeyHomeCare does that by text, in waves, leaving out anyone who isn’t eligible (blocked for the client, the wrong license, gender or pets that don’t fit, or not free for the whole shift). The first yes is held for your on-call manager to approve, so nobody is double-booked, and every offer and reply is on the record.
01 / The problem

The phone tree loses the race.

Open shifts have a short half-life. The longer one sits unfilled, the more likely it becomes a missed visit — a care gap for the client, lost revenue for the agency, and a scramble for the team. Yet the default way to fill one is the slowest possible: call caregivers one at a time, leave voicemails, wait for callbacks, and hope the first person you reach is actually eligible and available.

The common “fix” — blasting a group text to the whole roster — trades one problem for three: two caregivers show up for the same shift, ineligible aides accept shifts they can’t legally work, and there’s no record of who was asked or who said no. Speed without targeting just creates a different mess.

The goal isn’t to text more people. It’s to ask exactly the right people, all at once, and lock the first real yes.
02 / How it works

Parallel offers, one clean acceptance.

The moment a shift opens, HeyHomeCare runs the fill as a controlled process:

  • Identify eligibilityPicks the caregivers who can take that shift — leaving out anyone blocked for the client, without the RN or LPN license the visit needs, whose gender or pets answer doesn’t fit the home, or whose availability doesn’t cover the whole shift — and puts the best skill matches first.
  • Offer in wavesTexts the client’s preferred caregivers all at once, then, after a wait, every other available caregiver — with your pickup rate on every offer. Waves wait for caregiver quiet hours unless the shift starts within 12 hours.
  • Lock the first yesHolds the first yes for your on-call manager to approve (a reply of APPROVE or DECLINE); anyone who says yes after that hears the shift is taken, so no two aides show up.
  • Write back & confirmOnce approved, tells the caregiver and assigns the visit — in AxisCare when that switch is on, or on HeyHomeCare’s own schedule — and records every offer and reply.
  • Escalate if emptyIf no eligible caregiver accepts, your on-call manager hears it again, with who was asked and who said no — a decision, not a cold start.
03 / Where shifts come from

Every kind of open shift, one engine.

Call-out replacements

A caregiver calls out and the visit needs coverage now. Shift fill is the second half of call-out management — the same engine, run by your call-off rules.

New clients and added hours

A visit with nobody assigned is an open shift: your business rules decide whether to ask on-call first or offer it right away. On HeyHomeCare’s own schedule, caregivers see it in the app and say they can take it; the office assigns it.

No-shows & late cancels

When a missed clock-in turns into “I can’t make it,” a call-off opens and the visit is offered again while there is still time to cover it.

Open recurring shifts

On HeyHomeCare's own schedule, a recurring visit whose caregiver can't work a date becomes an open shift, with the reason, so it's offered instead of missed.

04 / On your platform

Fills shifts where you already schedule.

On AxisCare, HeyHomeCare reads visits and your roster through AxisCare’s API and, when that switch in your business rules is on, reassigns the covered visit — so the filled shift shows up in the schedule your coordinators already trust. Agencies that run on HeyHomeCare get the assignment on HeyHomeCare’s own schedule.

AxisCare is connected today. HHAeXchange, PointClickCare, and Axxess aren’t connected today: the after-hours line still answers by forwarding, and your on-call manager gets the facts to act in their own system — ask us before planning around a connection. It pairs naturally with call-out management and after-hours answering.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Q.01
How does automated shift filling work?
When a shift opens — a call-off, or a visit with nobody assigned — HeyHomeCare finds the eligible caregivers on your roster and texts them the shift in two groups: the client’s preferred caregivers first, then every caregiver whose availability covers the whole shift. Each group is texted at once, best skill matches first, with a wait between the two. The first yes is held for your on-call manager to approve; on AxisCare the visit is reassigned when that switch is on. On HeyHomeCare’s own schedule, a caregiver who says they can take an open shift — in the app or on the phone — is noted on it, and the office assigns it from the Schedule.
Choose your setup

Fill the next open shift before lunch.

See how HeyHomeCare would offer your next open shift to your eligible caregivers, hold the first yes for on-call, and put it all on the record — against your roster. Scheduling connections require sales setup, authorized vendor access and validation before calls are forwarded.

Start your CRMCaregiver call-out management