An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
A less fun one, but get your paperwork in order because it really matters. Big ideas are great, and they are what we specialize in as entrepreneurs, but documentation and paperwork are key to making that idea a sustainable, long-term reality.
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Tom Ellis.
Tom Ellis is the founder and CEO of ShiftKey, a marketplace technology platform transforming the future of work by empowering licensed professionals to choose their pay rate, define when and where to work, and connect directly with facilities looking to fill open workforce needs. After spending more than a decade in healthcare staffing, Ellis recognized the limitations of the traditional agency approach and was inspired to create a solution that wouldn’t just create business efficiencies, but would transform the future of work and empower licensed professionals to embrace independence and flexibility. In 2016, Ellis founded ShiftKey, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Since then, facilities have posted more than 50 million hours of open shifts on the platform, and Hundreds of thousands of licensed professionals have engaged on the platform. In 2022, Ellis was named #1 on the Dallas 100 Fastest-Growing Companies in DFW list and was also a winner for EY’s Central Plains Regional Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you please tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
ShiftKey was created to solve America’s workforce shortages by empowering licensed professionals to choose their pay rate, define when and where to work, and connect directly with facilities looking to fill open workforce needs.
ShiftKey was officially launched in 2016 and has made a significant positive and ongoing impact across the healthcare industry. The platform was built such that the facilities themselves are the ones posting available shifts — creating the first healthcare marketplace for licensed healthcare professionals, rather than simply another tech-enabled staffing company.
Over the years, I continued to add talent to the in-house development team, which worked to streamline and automate the verification process. With the need for manual recruiters and the inefficiencies of paperwork/faxing eliminated, ShiftKey 2.0 came online in 2019. Thanks to these efforts and continued investment in the platform, nurses and CNAs now have access to the ShiftKey App and can view open shifts directly on their phones. The entire ShiftKey experience, from signing up and getting their licenses and credentials verified, to browsing, bidding on, and scheduling shifts (and much more), can all be done within the ShiftKey App. 2.0 happened in 2019 but was a re-write of the entire system to a new development framework along with a ton of new features. We released the self-registration process in 2018 that eliminated the need for emailed & faxed paperwork. We have always been “mobile friendly” but the actual native applications were released in 2020.
Prior to 2020, ShiftKey achieved product-market fit with features such as an intuitive interface and powerful reporting tools that enable facilities to better manage their operations while empowering healthcare professionals with more control regarding where and when they work.
At present, ShiftKey helps managers at top-tier healthcare facilities schedule, manage costs, and maintain compliance within their facility, and ultimately improve patient care with a full schedule of nurses and professionals. Even today, I work tirelessly with the team to continue to find ways to improve and increase the value of the ShiftKey platform as a scalable tool for licensed professionals across many different industries.
Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?
When you see a gap, step in and fill it. In past jobs, whether it was a healthcare staffing agency or a sales job, my brain would immediately jump to the questions: How can we make this more efficient? How can we make this work for more people?
With ShiftKey, that is what I did and continue to do. ShiftKey’s technology platform is driving the future of work, considering all key stakeholders to create business efficiencies, solve major workforce challenges, break down workforce barriers, maximize ROI and ultimately put the focus on patient care.
And at the end of it all, it’s all about people — surround yourself with the right people. The best people will motivate you, drive you and move your business forward — those you work alongside and those you want to help empower. The ShiftKey team works collaboratively and tirelessly to offer the freedom and flexibility that licensed professionals need to allow them to effectively balance their personal priorities and values.
Ok thank you for that. Let’s now move to the main focus of our interview. Can you tell us about your “Big Idea That Might Change The World”?
Simply put, we are leading the way in transforming and expanding the future of work through tech to build a more sustainable, profitable economy. ShiftKey’s marketplace platform enables independent licensed professionals to choose their pay rate, set their availability, and connect directly with healthcare facilities with workforce needs. This approach creates a relief valve for facilities, addresses workforce shortages, and allows facilities and licensed professionals to focus on expanding access to quality patient care.
Every day, we see the headlines — healthcare workers are burning out and leaving the workforce, while workforce gaps persist and patient demand increases. If “traditional employment” was working, we would not currently be in a workforce crisis. ShiftKey addresses a persistent, increasingly relevant challenge — how to offer freedom to licensed healthcare professionals, while balancing 24/7 on-site patient needs — through a highly accessible, user-friendly platform. We are creating and providing a supportive economic environment for independent licensed professionals who value a flexible work schedule so they can prioritize their personal needs and well-being.
How do you think this will change the world?
ShiftKey is transforming the future of work, leveraging technology to empower licensed professionals to define their value, embrace independence, and prioritize their personal health, family and lifestyle needs. We are expanding access to work for licensed professionals who have been shut out of the workforce or forced to make unreasonable decisions about family, finances and well-being to conform to traditional work models.
Most importantly, we are addressing persistent barriers for both the facilities and licensed professionals, and putting the focus back on patient care, driving positive impact for communities and creating a more sustainable, equitable health system. Our technology streamlines facilities’ processes by providing easy access to synthesized, relevant workforce data, including credentials and licensing, budget analyses, and the tools to make strategic scheduling decisions.
As ShiftKey grows, our technology-driven approach provides a scalable solution to address workforce shortages in a number of other industries while empowering licensed professionals to seek the work they want, when they want. ShiftKey’s scalability transcends healthcare and is poised to revolutionize the entire licensed professional workforce. We are embracing and expanding the future of work, empowering people to work on their own terms and reinvesting in the community.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this idea that people should think more deeply about?
Up until this point, I think technology has largely been used to help people work remotely, but the innovation has stopped there — and that leaves out a significant portion of our workforce. The main issue I see is what could happen if we don’t move forward and embrace truly unique and different ways of approaching work that address these barriers that have persisted for decades.
We certainly hear the fear from people “What if everyone moves to a platform like ShiftKey and facilities have no full-time staff?”, but that’s just not going to happen. In fact, we’ve seen the opposite happen with facilities that we partner with — because ShiftKey acts as a relief valve for facilities experiencing workforce needs, facilities can avoid overscheduling and burning out their existing teams, alleviating pressures and improving retention. We’re providing a solution to long-existing workforce challenges in order to focus on the things that really matter like licensed professionals’ mental and physical well-being, and a focus on patient care. We believe that licensed professionals should have a choice about how to work — whether that’s traditional employment or a more flexible model.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this idea? Can you tell us that story?
In 2012, while running a healthcare staffing company, I realized that the traditional agency model was broken and in desperate need of change. The legacy method of making phone calls to find licensed professionals to work was time-consuming, inefficient and ineffective for both the professional and facility. Even more modernized, tech-enabled staffing agencies presented many of these same challenges, introducing third parties and limiting visibility into potential opportunities. I even approached an independent software platform about posting available shifts online. I waited to see if nurses would be willing to log in to pick them up, and they did. However, the third-party platform had limitations — there was no feasible way to ensure each nurse had proper credentials.
Dreaming of a solution that would eliminate the endless games of “phone tag,” while also slashing costs associated with traditional agencies, I set out to create a true marketplace platform, one that would connect healthcare facilities directly with independent, verifiably licensed healthcare professionals. The idea for ShiftKey was born.
What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?
We need people to buy into the vision for a very different workforce strategy in the future. We’re literally working against decades of traditional hiring and corporate structure.
The future of work is independence, freedom and choice, affirming the value of the individual and addressing systemic workforce barriers. If “traditional employment” was working, we would not currently be in a workforce crisis. ShiftKey is a solution to workforce shortages, and is addressing the needs and wants of licensed professionals and facilities to help people and advance the future of work.
We must recognize that the solution is forward-looking and based in technology, and in order for us to move towards the next phase of work, we must embrace that. The future of work is now and ShiftKey is meeting the market’s need while innovating and evolving to ensure licensed professionals are prioritized and facilities are able to care for patients. As we continue to grow, supportive, proactive, and progressive policies are needed to support independence for licensed professionals and build a more sustainable workforce for the future.
And if we get the continued support and adoption of our workforce solution, we will be able to scale our technology and solve workforce gaps across industries.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why.
Too much business
Something no one tells you as a start-up is that’s actually possible to have too much business. It’s really important to have a realistic, data-based assessment of your bandwidth, resources and the business you can take on — that way, instead of setting yourself up for failure, you set yourself up for strategic growth.
Paperwork!
A less fun one, but get your paperwork in order because it really matters. Big ideas are great, and they are what we specialize in as entrepreneurs, but documentation and paperwork are key to making that idea a sustainable, long-term reality.
People
It’s all about people — surround yourself with the right people. Ultimately, they are what will motivate you, drive you and move your business forward.
Top-Down Team Build
There’s a lot of debate about how to hire and who to hire first. What I’ve learned is, when you’re starting out, hire the best leader you can and let them build their team in alignment with their vision and priorities.
Bank evaluation
Interview your bank and other partners to make sure they truly understand your vision for your business and what you’re trying to do — otherwise, you could get taken to market with inaccurate positioning, which can not only hurt prospects in the short term, but can disrupt your positioning strategy in the long term.
Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?
- Intentional growth mindset: Something no one tells you as a start-up is that’s actually possible to have too much business. It’s really important to have a realistic, data-based assessment of your bandwidth, resources and the business you can take on — that way, instead of setting yourself up for failure, you set yourself up for strategic growth.
- Get used to paperwork: A less fun one, but get your paperwork in order because it really matters. Big ideas are great and they are what we specialize in as entrepreneurs, but documentation and paperwork are key to making that idea a sustainable, long-term reality.
- Find your people: It’s all about people — surround yourself with the right people. Ultimate, they are what will motivate you, drive you and move your business forward.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
ShiftKey is positioned to be the leader driving workforce solutions and economic empowerment through technology, impacting industries and communities across the globe.
By investing in ShiftKey’s marketplace platform, you can be part of transforming the future of work and creating more equitable access to critical services. Addressing persistent barriers for both the facilities and licensed professionals, ShiftKey’s marketplace platform is putting the focus back on patient care, driving positive impact for communities and creating a more sustainable, equitable health system.
ShiftKey’s scalability transcends healthcare and is poised to revolutionize the entire licensed professional workforce. We are embracing and expanding the future of work, empowering people to work on their own terms and reinvesting in the community.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
They can follow my personal profile Tom Ellis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-ellis-27117539/
They can also follow along with ShiftKey’s most recent business updates on LinkedIn, Twitter & Instagram:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/myshiftkey/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyShiftKey
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myshiftkey/
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
ShiftKey: Tom Ellis ’s Big Idea That Might Change The World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
