Sit Down with Healthcare Leaders: 10 Questions on Facilitating Staffing Conversations

Disclaimer: For privacy reasons, names and identifying details of interviewees have been changed. 

We had the opportunity to sit down with a Senior Account Director, "Robert", at a large healthcare organization and discuss the staffing needs within the healthcare industry that he has witnessed during his career. Andgo's very own, Christina Palmer, asked the director a series of questions about his day-to-day pain points, priorities, and challenges. Together, they talked about critical topics relating to budgeting, employee satisfaction, patient care and other priorities for healthcare leaders. This discussion sheds light on the key factors affecting workforce management today, offering valuable perspectives that can inform future practices and solutions in the industry. 

With that context in mind, we turned to ask Robert about what keeps healthcare leaders up at night. 

1. What future challenges do you anticipate healthcare leaders will face in scheduling? How can scheduling resources evolve to meet those needs?

Robert expressed his concerns about the ongoing nursing shortage. Christina noted, “I think in this day in age we will always be in a nursing shortage ” She observed that many of her nursing friends have moved away from bedside roles, often advancing to positions like Nurse Practitioners or CRNAs.

Robert emphasized that new nurses frequently view their positions as temporary. “It’s like a dying breed; they just get their one year of critical care experience before moving on.”

This perspective indicates the need for healthcare leadership to rethink how they attract and retain nursing talent. There is a clear need for better incentives to engage the next generation of nurses. Addressing these needs will enable healthcare systems to meet their staffing demands while maintaining quality care now and in the future.

Robert also recalled his experiences at the bedside, stating, “In a critical care unit, I’d often have three or four patients, when you should really have one to two. It’s just not a safe environment.”

This highlights the need for improved staffing standards that prioritize nurse safety and well-being which will help drive retention. Ensuring a supportive workplace is essential for retaining nursing talent and fostering a high-quality healthcare environment.

2. What keeps healthcare leaders up at night when it comes to scheduling and resource allocation?

In talking to Robert about what keeps healthcare leaders up at night, one of the most pressing issues is a lack of experience and awareness. Robert said “many are not trained in managing labor and staffing needs. The reliance on contingent labor often leads to a lack of familiarity with hospital protocols, which can affect care quality.”

Robert also mentioned the concept of ‘Community Connectivity,’ noting that nurses who understand their local hospital's processes and reside in the surrounding neighborhoods provide better care in those settings.

Robert brings up an interesting point that nurses who provide care in their own communities are likely to provide better care than a nurse who is not familiar with the community. The reliance on contract labor means many nurses are working in unfamiliar hospitals. Ultimately, the fear of compromising patient care due to shortages or inefficient scheduling is a challenge that many leaders struggle with. 

3. What factors are most important to healthcare leaders when selecting scheduling automation software? 

Robert expressed that the most important component is customer support and service quality. 

Hospitals are seeking a partner that will work alongside them and help them best utilize the software. Robert reported that the “supplier's ability to provide a thorough education to the customer on what they/we are doing, why we are doing and how we are going to get there” can make or break a solution. Hence, the one with the best support team is most likely to win.

4. What are the biggest challenges clinical leaders face when managing schedules and ensuring compliance with regulations across multiple departments or facilities?

Ensuring compliance around regulations within multiple departments is a taxing responsibility. According to Robert, “the biggest challenge clinical leaders face would be managing high staff turnover rates.”

High turnover rates make scheduling and compliance a real headache for clinical leaders, as changing staff can create knowledge gaps and instability in teams. This not only affects daily operations but also puts pressure on leaders to meet regulatory standards. When turnover is constant, it gets tough to maintain continuity of care across departments, which can impact patient outcomes and efficiency. Addressing turnover with effective staffing solutions and a supportive work environment is crucial to overcoming these challenges.

5. Have you reviewed any other automated scheduling solutions/ resources? If yes, what did their software offer that positively or negatively swayed your decision on whether you would purchase it or not?

Robert was intrigued by this question. Even though he worked with thousands of suppliers, an automated staffing solution never crossed his desk. Robert noted that “although the need is there, I think it needs more empowerment. Clinicians have to be empowered to make good decisions. There is a lack of knowledge on resources like this existing. You accept the way things are working because you don’t know there’s something better.”

This highlights a common issue in the industry: the gap in awareness regarding available solutions. Despite working with numerous suppliers, the interviewee has not encountered automated scheduling tools, suggesting a need for greater education and advocacy for such technologies. Empowering clinicians to explore and adopt innovative scheduling solutions can improve operational efficiency and better patient care. Healthcare organizations should actively communicate the benefits of these resources, so decision-makers are aware and can transform the way they manage staffing challenges.

6. What are the three features that would make scheduling solutions indispensable for health care leaders, even in the face of budget constraints?

In response to the question, Robert identified several key features that healthcare leaders prioritize in scheduling solutions:

1.  An increase in positive patient outcomes and a reduction in hospital-acquired conditions/never events.

2. Customizable reporting and analytics.

3. Robust security and data protection features.

With Robert’s first choice being a focus on clinical outcomes, it highlights the relationship between budgeting and the need for tools that directly affect patient care. Even in challenging financial times, decision-makers are committed to maintaining quality outcomes for their patients. 

In his second and third response, Robert highlighted robust security and data protection features followed by a user-friendly interface/ease of use. Given the sensitivity of personal patient data, robust security measures ensure their data stays confidential. Plus, a user-friendly interface enables staff to easily navigate the system, helping them provide better patient care.

7. How do healthcare leaders evaluate ROI when considering scheduling solutions?

During this discussion, Christina and Robert emphasized the need to clearly define what ROI means to healthcare leaders. Does it refer to saving money? Driving satisfaction? or Ensuring fully staffed units? Robert stressed the importance of "highlighting cost savings" when proving the value of scheduling solutions. 

A tangible example of this is the issue of missed surgeries—if a new surgeon is hired but insufficient staffing prevents them from scheduling any procedures, the hospital faces significant financial loss. A substantial investment is made to recruit the surgeon, yet they can't perform surgeries due to a lack of nurses, technicians, and other essential support staff. This situation creates a chain reaction where the nursing shortage impacts not only bedside care but also other specialties reliant on nursing support. As a result, this highlights the importance of involving clinical representation early in the selling process, enabling that individual to advocate for nurses and articulate the broader implications of staffing challenges.

Decision-makers constantly prioritize how a solution is going to impact the bottom line. In Robert’s experience he found that improving clinical/hospital quality metrics followed by improvement in staffing productivity/ employee satisfaction is second. Robert said, “it’s the supplier's job to create that story and present the outcome/ performance review for the health care leader. If you’re talking to a CNO, they’re very educated and they have a million things on their plate. They will likely not take the time to create a storyline for ROI to present to the board in order to push an opportunity like this forward. Their job is to challenge it, not create it.” Understanding this dynamic can help suppliers better support healthcare leaders in driving meaningful change. 

8. What unique benefits of scheduling software do you believe resonate most with healthcare leaders?

The most important would definitely be operational savings/ reduction in premium labor spend. Prior to COVID-19, Robert managed a healthcare system where the contingent labor spend was $62 million. Before he left, he worked on changing their managed service provider. The last 12 months prior to leaving, their total spend came out to $98 million, close to doubling in 3-4 years. 

This insight highlights the need for effective scheduling software that not only addresses cost concerns but also enhances overall operational efficiency in healthcare organizations. The increase in contingent labor spend emphasizes the financial pressures that healthcare leaders face and the critical need for innovative solutions. By investing in advanced scheduling software, healthcare leaders can take significant strides toward optimizing operations, ensuring they have the resources needed to meet the demands of both patients and staff.

9. What language or terminology do healthcare leaders use when discussing scheduling and resource management?

In our discussion, Robert highlighted key phrases that resonate in the industry recalling that healthcare organizations are always striving to manage their resources more effectively. He explained, “In discussions about staffing technology, the focus was really on productivity and benchmarking.” This emphasizes how leaders assess their performance and resources in relation to similar facilities. For instance, while benchmarking productivity at 'X Hospital', they found that it had 15 RNs per unit, compared to only 10 at similar hospitals for comparable patient populations and acuity. Robert added that despite heavy spending on external labor, 'Y Hospital' remained understaffed, affecting their ability to complete surgical cases. “We recommended reallocating internal resources, but if they can't safely implement this model, it may indicate a need to reassess their staffing strategy,” said Robert.

Another interesting point he made was about Adjusted Patient Days (APD), which includes both inpatient and observation patients. “Observation patients often make up 15-20% of hospital populations and still require care,” he explained, highlighting the need to consider them when evaluating staffing needs. These factor into Safe Staffing Metrics, by affecting the number of patients nurses can safely look after while maintaining quality of care.

10. What risk and compliance concerns are most critical for health through leaders when it comes to scheduling and resource management?

Robert revealed that the most critical concern is “ensuring data privacy and security.” As data security affects everyone, this resonates throughout all departments and levels of the organization right now. Robert recalled a recent situation, saying “I’ve got a customer that just had an attack, and it shut down phones, email—everything—for about a month and a half. It’s a big deal.”

As Robert pointed out, safeguarding sensitive patient information is paramount, especially in an era where cyberattacks are increasingly common. The episode he referenced demonstrates how a security breach can disrupt not only operations but also communication across the organization, hindering care delivery. By investing in comprehensive solutions that protect data privacy, organizations can build trust with patients and stakeholders, ensuring seamless resource management in a secure environment.