How the Shift Matcher decides
Every shift runs through the same funnel. The first two stages and the last are fixed rules; the ranking in the middle is the AI's judgement. Here's the whole path, top to bottom.
The wall — who's even allowed
Fixed rules. Every line must pass. One fail = out, or shown-but-blocked.
- • We handle this shift — it's still open, it's a care role, and the live data is trustworthy
- • On the books and active · not suspended at this home · no clashing booking
- • Meets the client's hard rules (gender / driver / medication)
- • Right to work valid · nurse PIN if it's a nurse shift · under the 20-hour visa cap
- • Lives within range — 30 miles, or 50 with a car (favourites always allowed)
Fail an eligibility rule → never shown. Fail a compliance rule (e.g. training, DBS) → still shown, marked Blocked, with the quickest fix.
The shortlist — who the AI gets to see
Fixed priority. About 27 seats, filled top-to-bottom — the strongest routes get first pick.
- 1. Has done this exact shift at this home before
- 2. Works at this home a lot
- 3. Proven at sister homes
- 4. Reliably takes emergency cover
- 5. Promising newcomer
- 6. Already booked around this date
- 7. Clean new starter who lives close by
- 8. Best of the blocked-but-strong
- 9. Best all-rounders
The fixed rules stop here — from now on, the AI decides
One AI judge reads all the shortlisted people — anonymised, and shuffled so their order gives nothing away — and ranks them in a single pass, writing the reason for each.
It has one steer: a strong, recent record of this exact shift at this home should usually lead — but it's a starting point, not an automatic winner. Everything else — loyalty, reliability, workload, distance, track record against competition, how to reach them — it weighs together, with no fixed order. That flexibility is deliberate: it's what lets the system use judgement instead of a rigid points system.
When the top few are genuinely close, the honest answer is “these are level — pick by who answers first,” and the aim is for it to say exactly that rather than fake a clear winner.
The guardrails — the rules check the AI's answer
Fixed rules again, applied to the AI's list.
- • A brand-new candidate can never sit above #3 over a proven one
- • The call order puts people you can book now first, then blocked-but-fixable by quickest fix
- • Every fact the AI cited is re-checked against the record — if anything doesn't hold up, it falls back to a plain, safe ordering rather than trust it
In one line: fixed rules decide who's allowed and who's seen; the AI decides the order; fixed rules then check its work.