From 35 Minutes to 3: How Andgo's Smart Call Transforms Shift Scheduling

Staffing a hospital is a lot like managing a winning sports team—success depends on having the right players in the right positions at the right time. But what happens when a key player calls in sick or a last-minute gap needs to be filled? Without a solid game plan, the team risks being left shorthanded, and the whole operation can stumble.

Automation steps in as the ultimate MVP, ensuring hospitals maintain peak performance by simplifying even the most complex staffing scenarios. 

Automated shift-filling tools, specifically Andgo’s Smart Call, can streamline the process. It enables schedulers and nursing leaders to fill shifts quickly so healthcare providers can focus on delivering top-notch patient care with maximum efficiency.

Why Filling Shifts is a Problem for Hospitals

Schedulers in hospitals face numerous challenges daily—and managing open shifts is only a growing pain point. The process of filling shifts manually by sorting through schedules and calling staff members is inherently slow, disruptive, and draining. 

With critical staffing levels on the line, schedulers—often nursing leaders—can quickly feel overwhelmed as they work to fill gaps and keep operations running smoothly.

Here’s a closer look at the major hurdles hospitals are currently facing with filling shifts:

• Time-Consuming Manual Processes:
  Manually filling shifts is often tedious and prone to errors. Schedulers spend an average of 35 minutes trying to fill a single shift. This not only drains valuable time but also diverts attention from other critical tasks.
• Last-Minute Absences:
  Sick calls or unexpected emergencies from employees force schedulers to scramble for replacements. These situations can lead to shifts going unfilled or being inconsistently staffed.
• Lack of Visibility: 
  Without tools that provide real-time updates, schedulers are left to piece together staff schedules manually. This results in delays, missed opportunities to fill shifts quickly, and potential errors in assigning staff.
• Stress and Pressure: 
  Balancing employee availability and compliance with union or operational rules places significant administrative stress on schedulers, who in some settings may also be nursing leaders. Worse yet, errors in shift filling can reverberate through patient care and staff morale.
• Staffing Shortages: 
  Many hospitals face chronic staffing shortages. This issue is compounded when disparate shift coverage relies heavily on temporary or agency workers.

These pain points underscore the need for an effective solution that saves time while reducing the burden on schedulers.

How Smart Call Improves Shift Fill Rates

Healthcare shift management software brings a smarter, faster approach to employee shift management, allowing healthcare organizations to streamline workflows and eliminate manual inefficiencies. 

Notably, Andgo’s Smart Call replaces the need for schedulers to contact employees individually, sending notifications to hundreds of eligible staff at once (or even more, if needed). This speeds up response times and greatly reduces the time and effort required from scheduling teams.

Automated systems operate on rule-based frameworks, ensuring only eligible employees are notified about open shifts. This prevents errors and supports compliance with organizational or union requirements. By removing the guesswork associated with manual processes, automation reduces delays and enhances decision-making.

Finally, automation plays a role in empowering employees. Self-service capabilities allow staff to view and select available shifts themselves. This not only accelerates the shift-filling process but also encourages greater engagement and workforce satisfaction.

How Andgo Helps

Manually filling shifts can take an average of 35 minutes, leaving scheduling staff overwhelmed and stretched thin. With Andgo’s Smart Call, scheduling staff fill 7X more shifts, dramatically reducing the time required to just 3 minutes or less per shift. Its automated workflows streamline the entire process, freeing schedulers—often nursing leaders—to focus on sustaining critical staffing levels and ensuring seamless operations without the burden of repetitive tasks.

This unmatched efficiency allows scheduling teams to successfully fill seven times the number of shifts they typically would, which revolutionizes shift fill rates.

Nurse shift scheduling automation isn’t just about speed—it ensures accuracy and reduces grievances. Smart Call’s transparent and consistent processes have helped hospitals reduce scheduling-related grievances by up to 80%. This fosters trust and improves communication within the team.

Smart Call also goes beyond basic notifications, offering end-to-end intelligent workflow automation. Vacancies are identified, eligible staff are notified, bids are collected, and shifts are awarded—all within a single streamlined process. 

Overall, these enhancements not only address pressing scheduling challenges but also create a better experience for hospital staff, schedulers, and decision-makers alike.

The Future of Shift Management

The challenges of filling shifts in hospitals can feel overwhelming, but automation changes the game. By streamlining processes, eliminating manual errors, and empowering both schedulers and staff, healthcare shift management software like Andgo’s Smart Call is transforming how hospitals handle scheduling.

With features like real-time notifications, self-service shift selection, and dynamic scheduling, Smart Call allows hospitals to always be properly staffed with minimal effort.

Improving shift fill rates isn’t just about saving time—it’s about delivering superior care, reducing administrative burden, and creating a responsive workplace. If you’re ready to leave manual processes behind with nurse shift scheduling automation like Smart Call, schedule a demo with Andgo today.