menu
See demo

"I needed them yesterday" is not a phrase for modern staffing coordinators

in Vendor Performance

Nurse Sitting and Working at her ComputerThere are three phrases that every staffing coordinator learns on day one of the job to communicate with their supplier and staff pools: “I have a need,” “When can you start?” and “I needed them yesterday.”

Fill rates and time-to-fill ratios are the concern of every healthcare staffing department because they have such a direct impact on patient outcomes that are increasingly being tied to the bottom line. Poor fill rates have dire consequences, such as:

  • Poor patient experiences from understaffed units
  • Financial penalties for bad patient outcomes
  • Decreases in employee satisfaction and retention

A recent report (requires membership to read) released by Staffing Industry Analysts shows that healthcare has a 63% overall fill rate for contract employees.

Yikes.

That remaining 37% is how my bullets above become a healthcare system’s reality — a reality that can, and should, be changed.

One ShiftWise client we recently analyzed has consistently shown rates at or above 94% in long term placements. So what’s their secret? Like any well-run contingent staffing operation, they’ve followed some best practices en route to fill rate success.

  • Automate contingent staffing processes. Allowing instant visibility and efficient communication of shift vacancies is critical to reacting to and filling openings quickly.
  • Quickly advertise needs across multiple resources. Cast a wide net to increase the chances of getting your need met.
  • Decrease the time it takes to fill a shift. Modern communication tools coupled with increased resources from internal flex pools, full time staff, and outside staffing partners maximizes all avenues to get the need filled.
  • Increase visibility into cost savings and staff quality. Gone are the days where the shift should simply be filled by the first responder. Using a system to sort the staff by cost and past performance allows the facility to make the best staffing decision for their organization.
  • Strategize, analyze and revamp. Having real-time reports available at anytime allows insight into hard-to-fill needs, staffing trends and fill rate percentages to help organizations better understand their strengths and weaknesses so that they can plan and prepare for upcoming needs.

Remember those three phrases from the opening paragraph?

“I have a need,” “When can you start?” and “I needed them yesterday.”

These are the words of a bygone era in healthcare. The value-based model demands better from contingent staffing operations and the ones that do it right will be saying only that, “I had a need,” She already started” and “I filled that yesterday.”

Request a demo

See how ShiftWise can work for you. Schedule your demo today.

Request Demo Now

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *