Scheduling with Operator

Last updated: February 13, 2026

Casey is Zingage's AI agent that works alongside your scheduling team to handle coverage issues, call-outs, and shift coordination. This guide will help you understand how to work effectively with Casey to get the best results.

The Mindset Shift

Casey isn't a tool you use—Casey is a team member you manage.

Just like you would give direction to a new scheduler on your team, you'll guide Casey by providing context, correcting course when needed, and helping Casey learn your agency's specific preferences over time.

The most successful agencies treat Casey as a capable teammate who gets better with coaching, not as software that should "just work" without input.

Working with Issues: Two Ways to Collaborate with Casey

When something goes wrong—a caregiver calls out, a confirmation is missed, shift information looks incorrect—your first step should be working with Casey, not around Casey.

1. Comment and Direct

The Customer Comments box is your direct line to Casey. Use it to:

  • Give instructions: "Please try Jennifer first—she lives closest to the client."

  • Provide context: "This caregiver is on our do-not-use list for this client due to a past issue."

  • Correct course: "That shift time is wrong—it should be 2:30-5:30, not 2:00-5:00."

  • Clarify priorities: "This is urgent—client's family requested same-day confirmation."

Casey reads every comment and adjusts accordingly. Think of this as real-time coaching—you're telling Casey what matters and what to do next.

Example:

Issue: Caregiver called out 2 hours before shift
Your comment: "Try Maria or Jennifer—they've both covered this
client before and live nearby. If neither works, escalate to me."
Casey's response: Reaches out to Maria and Jennifer, follows your
priority order, and escalates if neither can cover.

2. Monitor the Timeline

The Issue Timeline shows you everything Casey is doing in real-time:

  • Who Casey called or texted

  • What responses came back

  • What actions Riley took (calls, texts, EMR notes)

  • Casey's reasoning and decision-making process

  • Current status of the issue

Reading the timeline helps you:

  • Build trust by seeing Casey's logic, not just outcomes

  • Catch problems early if Casey is heading in the wrong direction

  • Learn patterns to give better guidance in the future

  • Stay informed without needing to micromanage every step

Pro Tip: Check the timeline when you first see a new issue, especially during your first few weeks with Casey. Over time, you'll learn when you need to intervene and when Casey has it handled.

When Casey Resolves vs. When You Intervene

Casey Can Self-Resolve

  • Routine call-outs where available caregivers are in the system

  • Standard shift confirmations with caregivers who respond reliably

  • Schedule changes that follow your business guidelines

  • Open shifts that match caregiver availability and preferences

You Should Intervene When

  • Sensitive situations require human judgment (client complaints, safety concerns)

  • Complex decisions involve trade-offs Casey can't weigh (budget constraints, relationship dynamics)

  • Missing information in your EMR makes Casey's options incomplete

  • First-time scenarios your business guidelines don't cover yet

The Goal: Over time, Casey should handle more of the routine work, freeing you to focus on the complex situations that truly need your expertise.

Keep Your System Data Fresh

Casey is only as good as the information in your system.

If caregiver availability is outdated, client notes are missing, or preferences aren't recorded, Casey will make decisions based on incomplete information—and outcomes will suffer.

What to Update Regularly

  • Caregiver availability and preferences (time off, preferred clients, scheduling constraints)

  • Client notes and care requirements (special instructions, family preferences, access codes)

  • Relationship flags ("This caregiver works great with this client" or "Do not assign together")

  • Contact information (phone numbers, emergency contacts, preferred communication methods)

When to Update:

  • After every client or caregiver complaint

  • When a caregiver mentions a new preference or constraint

  • After any incident or care issue

  • During regular file reviews (monthly or quarterly)

Why This Matters: Keeping notes current isn't just admin work—it's how you make Casey smarter and more effective. Agencies that invest in data quality see dramatically better outcomes.

Working with Memories

Memories are how Casey learns and improves over time. The system automatically captures important context from interactions—preferences, past issues, relationship dynamics—so Casey can make better decisions in the future.

How Casey Uses Memories

  • "Last time this caregiver called out, it was a Friday evening—always check availability for weekend coverage first."

  • "This client's daughter prefers text updates over calls."

  • "This caregiver pair works particularly well together on complex cases."

How You Can Contribute

You can review, edit, or add memories through the portal. Good memories include:

  • Specific preferences: "Maria prefers morning shifts and avoids overnight"

  • Relationship context: "Client's family has concerns about punctuality—always confirm 2 hours before"

  • Patterns: "This caregiver is reliable but needs reminder calls for early AM shifts"

Bad Memories:

  • Vague statements: "Caregiver is good"

  • Outdated information: "Caregiver unavailable in January" (when it's now March)

  • Subjective judgments without context: "Client is difficult"

Why This Matters: Agencies that build rich memory banks see Casey perform better on nuanced situations because there's more context to draw from. This is a long-term investment that compounds over time.

Hand-Offs: What Needs Your Attention

Not every issue resolves automatically. When Casey encounters something that requires human judgment, it creates a hand-off in your daily report.

What a Hand-Off Looks Like

  • What Casey decided: The actions Casey took and why

  • What Riley communicated: What was said in calls or texts

  • What couldn't be resolved: The blocker or missing piece

  • What you need to do next: The specific action required

How to Close the Loop

  1. Read the full context in the timeline before taking action

  2. Complete the required action (make a call, update a schedule, escalate to leadership)

  3. Update the issue status so Casey knows it's handled

  4. Consider updating business guidelines if this scenario should be handled differently next time

Prioritization

  • Urgent: Safety concerns, client complaints, shift gaps within 2 hours

  • High: Call-outs with no coverage found, caregiver disputes, EMR failures

  • Normal: Follow-ups, data cleanup, preference updates

  • Informational: Successfully resolved issues that needed your awareness

Pro Tip: Set aside time each morning to review hand-offs from the overnight period. Addressing them early prevents small issues from becoming bigger problems.

Using Search to Investigate and Learn

The AI Search tool in the portal is your window into Casey's work. Use it to:

  • Find specific issues: "Show me all call-outs from last week involving Jennifer"

  • Identify patterns: "How many times did we have coverage issues on Friday evenings?"

  • Investigate incidents: "What happened with the Martinez client on February 10th?"

  • Understand Casey's reasoning: "Why did Casey choose this caregiver over that one?"

Search pulls data from your entire history of issues and activities. It's especially useful when:

  • A client asks "How many times has X happened?"

  • You're preparing for a review or audit

  • You want to understand trends to improve operations

  • You need to explain Casey's logic to your team or a client

Example Searches:

  • "Find all unresolved issues from this week"

  • "Show me issues where Casey requested operator help"

  • "What were the call-out resolution times in January?"

  • "Pull up communications with caregiver Maria"

The Partnership Gets Stronger Over Time

In your first week, you might feel like you're watching Casey closely and intervening often. That's normal and expected.

As you:

  • Update your business guidelines based on what you observe

  • Keep caregiver and client data current

  • Build up memories from real interactions

  • Learn Casey's patterns and capabilities

...Casey will handle more situations independently, and you'll focus on higher-value work: relationship management, complex cases, and strategic improvements to your operation.

The best schedulers don't eliminate Casey's involvement—they learn how to amplify Casey's strengths and step in where human judgment adds the most value.

Quick Reference

| When you want to... | Do this... |

|---|---|

| Tell Casey what to do | Add a customer comment with clear instructions |

| See what Casey is doing | Check the issue timeline |

| Understand why Casey made a choice | Review the timeline and tool invocations |

| Make Casey smarter for next time | Update caregiver/client notes and memories |

| Find patterns or past issues | Use AI Search |

| Handle an escalation | Complete the hand-off action and close the loop |

| Improve future outcomes | Update your business guidelines |

Questions or need help? Use the help button in the portal or reach out to your Zingage support team.