maximizing fill rate for
multi-day requests
status: MVP shipped, V2 in design
role: design lead
challenge
all or nothing
The one to one relationship between request and substitute leads to a $400K revenue loss due to unfilled days within multi-day requests. There are two scenarios that lead to unfilled days in multi-day requests:
scenario
If a substitute cannot work every day of a multi-day request, they disregard it altogether.
scenario
If a substitute can’t make an upcoming day in a multi-day request, they must cancel all the remaining days.
crawl, walk, run
User research confirmed that subs valued flexibility and school admins valued coverage over consistency. In order to achieve our vision we would need to make significant changes to the admin and sub apps. We tactically cut scope to focus on the sub side first and leaned on the customer support team to confirm subs into days within the multi-day request.
MVP outcome
no fills
There was an overwhelming number of subs who showed interest in this feature. Subs were opting to take some of the days, but by the time the support team got to their request, another substitute had already taken the full assignment - resulting in no fills through the “flexible fill” feature.
fast follow
To reduce the burden on the customer support team, we added a delay. Most requests are filled within 4 hours so after that, any unfilled requests became “flexible”. We still saw users willing to sign up for the entire assignment which allowed us fine tune how and when we would allow multiple subs to fill a single request.
tackling scenario
If a substitute cannot work every day of a multi-day request, they disregard it altogether.
auto-adjusting
Before, when the start time of a multi-day request had passed and the request was unfilled, the entire request would get automatically canceled.
Now, when the start time of a multi-day request has passed and the request is unfilled, we adjust the start date to the next date. We continue doing this until the request is filled by a sub or canceled by the admin.
Since its launch in March 2025 to May 2025, it directly contributed to a 0.6% increase in net revenue ($450K).
tackling scenario
If a substitute can’t make an upcoming day in a multi-day request, they must cancel all the remaining days.
flexible cancellation
When the start time of a multi-day request has passed and the sub can no longer make a day, they are now presented with the option to cancel some or all of the remaining days.
We think this will increase fill rate because currently subs cancel midway through a multi-day or long-term request at a rate of 23%. Roughly half of the mid-request cancel reasons cite temporary reasons (doctor’s appointment, car broke down, etc.)
A key part of nailing this next iteration will be scoping how we present multiple subs linked to a single request on the admin side.
