13 December 2025 · Runtime Linkhub team
Deployment Without Ghost Shifts
Matching headcount to traffic and fixture space so paid hours show up where shoppers do.
Ghost shifts happen when a roster looks full but the store cannot host the work — no demo space, no sampling permit window, or a quiet Tuesday morning with a weekend-sized team.
Ask for fixture photos and retailer rules before you lock names. A promoter standing in an aisle with nowhere to set a table is not activation; it is payroll burn.
Build backup coverage as a named rule, not a hopeful chat message. Who covers which cluster when someone is ill should be written once and reused.
Share the same roster view with brand and agency leads. When both teams see the same map, last-minute adds stop colliding with existing routes.