“I founded Bacon so companies could offer hourly jobs when they need it, and let people work those shifts when they want it. Employers now have more opportunities to find more workers who are talented, educated, and capable. The trick is flexibility.”

The “Aha Moment”

Hunter Sebresos came up with the idea for Bacon after arriving at a simple conclusion: some people are left out of the workforce because of antiquated hiring practices. 

This became clear after a conversation with his mother who sought employment on a very limited basis. After retirement, she wanted to remain in the workforce, but only for a few days a week – essentially to have extra money for birthday gifts for her grandchildren.

For people who fit this description, they still need to attempt to find work as if they are seeking full-time employment. Even staffing agencies prioritize employees seeking standard schedules and a path to full-time employment. Meanwhile, warehouse managers, hiring managers, and store owners, still have a hard time finding people to satisfy certain shifts. If there was a way to match these available workers with these understaffed small teams, teams could quickly hire reliable staff to fill these vacancies. By creating a technology platform to make these shifts visible to job seekers, Bacon started to make a difference in the gig-work space in 2018. 

Workers can see shifts and jobs that meet their preferences and qualifications. We also let the companies decide the hourly wage and who to select. There is the greater degree of choice and accountability that happens on our platform that creates a different style of relationship, and contract between these two entities (workers and employers) that I think is more of what companies were actually looking for.

_{Source - Hunter’s conversation with Kashyap Deorah and Gaurav Deshpande for the leader’s journey meeting for the Top 50 Leaders nomination, March 20, 2024}

Bacon’s personalized approach stands out for workers and businesses using the platform. Workers can see shifts and jobs that meet their preferences and qualifications. Workers who have flexible or non-traditional schedules can use Bacon’s platform to find and secure on-demand jobs in their area. 

This transparency is also valuable to businesses as they find workers who meet wage and skill requirements. Additionally, businesses that use Bacon can benefit from client success managers who know each company’s goals, hiring profile, and success factors for each project. Throughout the engagement, company managers and employees can easily communicate with the team at Bacon to ensure all parties are aligned on successful staffing projects. 

The platform itself is unique for a variety of reasons. Companies can identify and select workers who are the right fit for each shift within the platform. After a shift is completed, workers receive payment quickly, and businesses and workers rate each other. Businesses can invite high-rated individuals back to complete future shifts. This marketplace approach allows Bacon to find workers instantaneously and match them with available shifts, allowing workers to secure roles in a short period of time and receive payment quickly.

The smartest thing companies can do is totally rethink how they hire. We've got a bunch of clients who have rebuilt their whole process for hourly workers around this idea of temporary staffing.  See, they figured out that having a workforce you can adjust on the fly, depending on the dynamic demand – that's a huge advantage.
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‍_{Source - Hunter’s conversation with Kashyap Deorah and Gaurav Deshpande for the leader’s journey meeting for the Top 50 Leaders nomination, March 20, 2024}

Since COVID the changes in how people think about work have been rapidly evolving. People are open to something new regarding work and we see this trend continuing. Flexibility is the primary concern for workers – office workers have incorporated work-from-home policies; in industries such as warehouse, catering, hospitality, and general labor flexibility has been embraced in the form of on-demand job assignments and non-standard schedules. 

Hiring managers and warehouse managers need more than one way to hire, building out processes to bring in gig workers alongside their permanent employee base. Workers in all areas of the workforce are looking for more flexibility including variable shifts and roles that leverage their skills and experience in the best setting. Bacon is on a path to be that bridge between workers and managers, helping companies build the teams that will take them to the next level, and supporting workers with the jobs they deserve.