Scheduled and supervised
You set the shift, the location and how the work is done. That is control, and control is the first thing every classification test looks at.
Hourly service and event crews
Your crews come and go every week. The payroll shouldn't.
Sampling shifts, brand activations, field teams, seasonal floors. WorkGenius employs your hourly crew as W-2 staff, onboards new people within 24 hours, pays them weekly and offboards them cleanly, in every state you work in.
Bring your own crew, or fill the gaps from ours. One weekly invoice.
This weekWeek 463 states · 35 people
- Sat Austin · in-store sampling 12 people Onboarded
- Sat Phoenix · in-store sampling 9 people Onboarded
- Sun Denver · brand activation 14 people 3 new · offers out
- Mon Last week's hours 35 people Approved
Fri · one invoice35 people · 3 states
Classification
Paid per shift as a freelancer? In most states, that's an employee.
Say you run a drinks brand with 50 people at headquarters and 300 in-store sampling shifts a month across three states. Every shift paid as a freelancer is back taxes, penalties and a workers' comp gap waiting to be found. Here is why the label does not hold.
Core to the business
The crew is the product in the store, at the activation or on the floor. Agencies and courts treat that as employment, not a business of its own.
Paid by the hour
Hourly pay with no chance of profit or loss points to an employee. A shift rate on an invoice does not change what the shift was.
Not sure about your crew? Take the contractor-or-employee test.
A week on WorkGenius
Roster on Monday. Everyone paid on Friday.
Hiring, onboarding, hours, pay and offboarding run on the same weekly cycle as your shifts. Nothing piles up for month end.
- Mon
Roster in
Your crew lead adds the weekend shifts: names, locations, hours. New people get an offer the same day.
- Tue
New people onboarded
Offer signed, I-9, E-Verify, tax forms and workers' comp done. Within 24 hours of the signed offer.
- Sat + Sun
Shifts run
Hours are logged per person, shift and location, in the application.
- Mon
Hours approved
Your manager approves last week's hours in one click, by location or by event.
- Fri
Everyone paid
We pay the crew. You get one weekly invoice. Anyone who is done is offboarded, with final pay on time.
Walk through a week with your own roster.
Onboarding
Added to the roster today. On payroll tomorrow.
New crew members are onboarded within 24 hours of a signed offer: I-9, E-Verify, tax forms and workers' comp included. Last-minute staffing without last-minute risk.
How Employer of Record works24hours From signed offer to payroll
Where the crew comes from
Bring your crew, or fill the gaps.
Whoever found the person, they land on the same roster, with the same classification and the same invoice.
Bring them
Your own people
The regulars you have worked with for years. We employ them, you keep the relationship, and they stay on your roster for the next season.
Fill the gaps
The WorkGenius network
Vetted brand ambassadors, food and beverage staff and field crews when the roster comes up short. Matched by AI, checked by our recruiters.
Keep them
Your agencies
Already working with an agency in some markets? They submit into the same pipeline and land on the same invoice.
The difference
Per-shift freelancers vs. WorkGenius
Per-shift freelancers
WorkGenius
Classification
Per-shift freelancers
1099 by default, whatever the shift looks like
WorkGenius
W-2 by default. 1099 only where it is the correct call, with the risk on us
Onboarding
Per-shift freelancers
A W-9 and a handshake
WorkGenius
Offer, I-9, E-Verify and tax forms, within 24 hours of a signed offer
Workers' comp
Per-shift freelancers
Not covered. A fall on site is your problem
WorkGenius
Covered, in every state
Hours
Per-shift freelancers
Forty invoices from forty people
WorkGenius
Logged per shift, approved in one click
Payment
Per-shift freelancers
Forty transfers now, forty 1099s in January
WorkGenius
We pay everyone weekly. You get one invoice
A new state
Per-shift freelancers
Nothing changes, which is the problem
WorkGenius
Already registered there. Same application, same invoice
Offboarding
Per-shift freelancers
You just stop calling
WorkGenius
Clean end, final pay on time, and a roster to rehire from next season
An audit
Per-shift freelancers
You explain forty contractors
WorkGenius
W-2 records for every shift
What about a staffing agency? It can employ the crew too, with its markup on top and your regulars on its roster, not yours. WorkGenius employs the people you bring, at one all-in markup, and they stay your crew. Employer of Record vs. staffing agency.
Move the crew to W-2 before the next season.
Is this for you?
Fits if you have hourly staff now, or a crew coming up.
An upcoming event, a pop-up, a season or a standing weekend roster. One state is enough. One crew is enough.
Crews we employ
- In-store sampling and demo teams
- Brand ambassadors and activation crews
- Food and beverage staff for events
- Field, merchandising and roadshow teams
- Seasonal floor, warehouse and pop-up staff
Hourly or per shift, W-2 in all 50 states. Where someone genuinely is a contractor, we engage them as one.
FAQ
Questions crew operators ask
Do we have to use your people?
No. Bring your own crew and we employ them. Fill gaps from the WorkGenius network when you want to, and keep any agency that works for you. Everyone lands on the same roster and the same invoice.
Someone only works one shift a month. Still an employee?
If you schedule and supervise the shift, yes, for that shift. They are onboarded once and paid for the hours they work. Nothing to set up again next time.
How fast can a new person start?
They are on payroll within 24 hours of a signed offer. A name added to Monday's roster can work Saturday.
Who approves hours?
Your crew lead or manager, in the application, per shift and location. One click for the whole weekend, or line by line if you prefer.
What about overtime, breaks and sick leave?
State and city rules apply and we apply them: overtime, paid sick leave where the state requires it, final pay deadlines. That is part of being the employer.
Can some people stay contractors?
Where 1099 is the correct classification, yes. We engage them through Agent of Record, with the paperwork and the misclassification risk on us. We tell you which shifts do not qualify.
We work in three states. Does that matter?
Not to you. WorkGenius is already the registered employer in all 50 states, with workers' comp, unemployment insurance and withholding in place. Three states or thirty is the same application and the same invoice.
What does it cost?
One all-in markup on the hourly pay, covering employer taxes, workers' comp, unemployment insurance, payroll and compliance, on one weekly invoice. Benefits are billed separately where people are eligible. Talk to us for a quote on your crew.
Can you also find people for us?
Yes. Our event staffing team sources vetted brand ambassadors, event operations and food and beverage staff across the US. See the event staffing page or talk to the team directly.
Is this the same as a staffing agency?
An agency can employ a crew too, with its markup on top and your regulars on its roster, not yours. WorkGenius employs the people you bring, at one all-in markup, and they stay your crew.
Put the crew on payroll. Keep the week moving.
Bring your roster. We employ, pay and offboard your hourly crew, every week, in every state.
Free consultation, no commitment.