Checklist for launch
This page lists the five requirements we believe are essential for a smooth launch of your Slivers-of-Time market.
They are:
1) Access to potential sellers
Experience so far suggests this is the easy bit. All sorts of people want to sell their spare hours. But you probably need to be picky when your market starts. Don't fill it on day one with "hard to help" individuals who will need a lot of support before being work ready. Ensure your buyers learn what the market can do for them with some initial eager-to-work sellers who you can rely on. As the market deepens it can start to work effectively for more cautious individuals.
2) Access to spending
This can be the tough part. Employers want to see the new market working before they start to buy through it. But how do you show it working if no-one is buying through it? So, you need an organization that will allocate spending to go through the marketplace to get it going.
You need to be sure you have enough spending power to get off the ground. The worst-case scenario for your launch is: a pool of motivated sellers register and list their availability for work day-by-day. But there isn't enough relevant buying power to purchase their hours. So they stop listing; then go and bad mouth the "useless" service to all their mates.
To avoid this you need to ensure: (a) there is enough buying power committed when you launch to get you through the first months of operation (b) you don't put more sellers into the market than the buying power will support (c) either the work to be done requires no training or you have plans for inducting your sellers in how to do the work (more on this in the how to launch section). Our launch planning tools can help you model these variables.
For a truly effortless launch that can keep 100 or so sellers engaged through your first year, we recommend ensuring £100,000 is committed to purchase the hours of local people. The spending can come from a variety of local organizations.
Finally, the spending has to pass two tests:
- the money is to be spent on people doing the kind of work that your proposed sellers are willing and able to do. It may be that they need to be inducted in how to do the work. If so, can this be done en masse, say 25 sellers at a time? See our page about What kind of work?
- the place of work is within travelable distance of where your sellers live. "Travelable distance" varies. In a small town with poor transport links the work all has to be within the town, particularly if sellers are expected to do it at short notice (for an extra payment if that's what they need). In a city where your sellers are happy to travel it is the distance they are willing to go. (Sellers can charge extra for bookings based on the mileage they will have to cover to get there from home.)
3) An agency
Someone will have to (a) vet sellers to ensure they are legally entitled to work in the UK (b) decide which buyers to allow into the market (c) payroll sellers for work done and invoice buyers. This has to be an operation complying with the Guidance on the conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses 2003.. The easiest way to get this done is to work with an existing recruitment agency in your area that offers a Slivers-of-Time marketplace.
If there isn't one,it is possible to start an agency yourselves. But we strongly advise against this unless you have enormous resources available.
Either way, the agency will need T&C's (Terms and Conditions) with both buyers and sellers. We can provide a generic suggested version.
4) Internet access for users
All users will need to have regular access to your Slivers-of-Time website (we set that up for you at no cost). The benefits of selling or buying spare hours can be a powerful motivation to get online for techno-virgins but they will need a terminal within a short distance, that could be a public access point in the library, Ideas Store or community centre.
A government advice line can help you find free internet access in any given area. Call 0800 015 8815. Alternatively, you can search for local UK Online Centres.
5) A project owner
A Slivers-of-Time marketplace can unleash opportunities that contribute to multiple targets within your organisation. But it will take focus and effort to get it going. Who will champion the cause internally?
