anytime caring

The Implementation

According to what the users were looking for at the ATC, we had to create several user-roles:

The functionality of the system differs depending on the user.

Guests

Before registering at the system users need to understand what they are offered to use, so we made the website easy to access and the navigation user-friendly.

Users can search for the Carer even in the Guest mode using “Basic criteria” (choose general services, gender, location and rate range) or “Advanced criteria” (specific services, indication of smoker/non-smoker and compatibility with pets, spoken language). In the results the system shows all the Carers who fit the chosen criteria, gives the ability to watch their profile with qualifications and skills information.

If the users decide to keep using the system and register as a Carer or a Care Seeker they have 2 ways of doing it – through the registration system or via the contact form. The registration system is integrated with the Facebook API, Google+ API and Linkedin API which gives guest users the opportunity to register through the existing accounts.

After the users register as Carers or Care Seekers they receive a range of different functionalities that gives them the opportunity to find the appropriate person in several clicks.

Carers and Care Seekers

The platform is, first of all, a tool for search of specific services and establishment of C2C relations, so both types of users had to be presented in the system. Each user has a personal account with a range of options that are indicated on the side panel, where Messaging is the main mean of communication between Users. Functionalities that are common for both types of users include:

• Personal profile – user can view and edit;
• Dashboard – collects your messages, appointments, statistics etc in one place;
• Notifications – sent to your profile, e-mail, and phone;
• Communication – messaging between Carers and Care Seekers;
• Appointments – scheduling of work through agreements and contracts;
• My Clients / My Carers menu – to see who you work with;
• Feedback – left in user’s profile with the ability to respond;
• Disputes – created by or against user in case of any misunderstandings or troubles;
• Finances – easy-to-use payment system.

The personal profile contains the most detailed information that other users may require.
The Carer profile has certain sections: Personal information, Services Offered, Qualifications and Experience, Availability, About me. Carers can edit, add or delete the information any-time they want.

Differences

However, there were of course differences between the profiles, that would ensure the usability and security of the platform.

Only the Care Seeker can start the conversation with the Carer and not visa versa. This prevents Carers from spamming other clients.

The Carers can additionally optimize their profiles by adding photos, verifications, qualifications and adding all the information that might be requested.

The Care Seekers have the Shortlist page – here they can save the profiles of the Carers they might later contact.

The new Time Sheet can be created only by the Carer after both parties have agreed on the details. The Carer sends the Time Sheet to the Care Seeker for the review and approval.

In the Feedback section the Carer has two buttons: “By Me” and “By Care Seeker”.

One of the best created features is the Appointments page. It shows both types of users their schedule, providing the ability to give different statuses to the appointments, separate them by colours, choose the view by the day, week or month, edit, select by filters, send messages etc.

Communication

Another important feature is the Communication panel. Here users can not only message each other, but send contracts and approve or decline them. When the Care Seekers accept the offer they can see the personal details of the Carer and visa versa. Both parties can settle all the important questions via this Message board without the need for personal meeting or tons of paper documentation.

Dispute

The Dispute process has several steps:

Step 1: The dispute is created by Carer or Care Seeker for certain Job with the indication of the reason for this dispute. The limited time is given to solve the dispute without any third parties.

Step 2: If not solved, the agent from ATC processes the request, sets up the meeting (phone call) for all the parties, analyzes the statements, announces ATC decision. If both parties find the decision for their issue and do not need to engage ATC agent, then the person who opened the dispute can close it.

Step 3: If not approved by both parties, the request goes to one of the arbitration centers and is reviewed and discussed by their representative.

Dispute system affects the invoices. If the dispute is closed, upcoming invoice status becomes ‘On hold’ (no matter what status it had previously) and Care Seeker approves invoice according to standard flow. If there already is an upcoming invoice and dispute is created, ‘Approve’ button is disabled. If dispute on the engagement is created, the status of the offer in the chat changes from ‘Accepted’ to ‘Disputed’. When dispute closes, status changes back to ‘Accepted’.