Healthcare Staff Scheduling can be a very daunting but vital task. One wrong move and the entire day can quickly become chaotic. Burnout, an increase in medical errors, and turnover are just a few of the possible outcomes of poor staff scheduling in healthcare.
These adverse outcomes result in poor quality of care for patients, low patient retention rates, and an overall decrease in revenue for your organization.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in healthcare occupations will grow 16% from 2020 to 2030, faster than the national average. These jobs will add about 2.6 million to the economy.
With the projected shortage in the healthcare workforce, staffing will continue to be a significant challenge for healthcare organizations. As a manager, you need a way to manage your staff's workload without putting extra pressure on them and adding new full-time staff that you can't afford.
In this article, we provide solutions for you to help you manage your staff's scheduling in healthcare without affecting their productivity and morale, thereby keeping your clinic running smoothly and efficiently.
You can use these tips to manage staff scheduling in healthcare:
Consider The Skills and Availability of Staff
Two of the most important things you must consider with staff scheduling in healthcare are skill and availability. Make sure you balance both. You must ensure that the team members available complement each other in terms of skills.
For instance, consider the experience of each member for different shifts and ensure there is no overlap. Creating a balanced schedule will increase output and reduce the risk of errors and complications.
Know the Staffing Needs of Your Healthcare Facility
Sometimes you may be tempted to go on a recruitment spree because of the increasing demand. While this may be a quick fix, it can help to take some time to understand your team, their needs, and their limits.
At least once a month, evaluate your team's workload to keep a close eye on their performance and learn about any challenges that may arise concerning their ability to deliver.
A staff scheduling app like Float Care will help you have a clear view of your team's performance in terms of availability and productivity. It enables you to make the right decisions and make the most out of your team members.
Understand Your Team
For efficient staff scheduling in healthcare, you must know your team. Understand each team member and their preferences. Do they prefer morning shifts? Are they more open to night shifts or weekends?
These answers will help you avoid overlap and give your team members the work schedule that they prefer.
It is also imperative that your team members are flexible and open to a wide range of work schedules. While some of your staff will have complex, busy schedules, others will be more flexible.
The key to keeping everyone happy is flexibility, communication, and understanding of scheduling. This helps you maintain a healthy work balance and reduce stress levels for both you and your employees.
Avoid Last-minute Scheduling
As much as you can, always avoid last-minute scheduling. Last-minute scheduling can easily backfire and decrease the morale of your team members. It also increases the workload, which results in a great deal of stress.
To make sure everyone has time to prepare, you should make the staff schedule two weeks in advance.
Planning gives your team members a chance to build other plans while giving you time to find replacements and cover shifts.
Allow Your Team to Manage their Availability
When you allow staff members to manage their schedules, you will enable them to take ownership of their time, take responsibility, and keep morale high. A staff scheduling software like Float Care can help you streamline this process.
The scheduling app will also help you reduce administrative tasks by letting your team mark which times and days they are not available and what days and times they like to work.
Make the Schedule Accessible
A staff scheduling app like Float Care is user-friendly and can run on various devices (computer, tablet, or mobile). Your team members can access their schedules from anywhere in real-time.
The result is a company culture that keeps your employees accountable and aware of their responsibilities, consequently keeping them happy, motivated, and productive.
Facilitate Easier Shift Swapping
Shift swapping is an integral part of healthcare scheduling. Communication errors and lack of notice can make such swaps more expensive and problematic.
Your scheduling app is a great way to encourage your staff members to communicate with one another about shift swaps if you're spending a lot of time facilitating shift trades each week.
You will still need to approve any changes, but this is one way to make sure you have enough coverage at the last minute (which they often do).
Review Your Schedule Regularly
Assessing and reviewing your schedule is crucial. Make sure to check your staff schedule at least once a month. This will ensure that it aligns with your and your staff's requirements. It also helps you to uncover any potential scheduling issues in time.
Optimize Your Staff Scheduling in Healthcare with Float Care
Do you need to streamline your staff scheduling in healthcare? Are you looking to save time while increasing productivity?
With Float Care's staff scheduling solution, you will be able to automate the entire process, achieving more in less time.
Our app is user-friendly and can be accessed from anywhere at any time. You can then view it on your computer, tablet, or smartphone as well.
