Patient expectations have never been higher. And it is up to you to create an effective workforce management strategy that will help you meet or exceed these expectations. While plans may vary according to hospital type, they all focus on the strategic utilization of physicians and other hospital employees to meet or exceed customer expectations.
In order to become a workforce optimization market share leader, you need to start by asking yourself some key questions that will help you in your efforts to restructure your human resources. Here are some of the questions that will help develop your workforce optimization strategy:
1) What are your hospital's pain points?
Uncovering your hospital's deficiencies is the first step on the path to workforce optimization. One of the best ways to identify your hospital's pain points is to review patient survey data or read online reviews about your hospital. Here are some examples of common pain points for hospitals:
-
Lengthy patient wait times in the Emergency Room
-
Poor communication between physicians, patients, and family members
-
Unclean hospital rooms
-
Lost personal belongings
2) Are your compensation rates competitive versus regional and local markets?
"Keeping pay competitive with your local pay market can help you recruit and retain talent, and market pricing can help you ensure that you're not over-paying or under-paying your employees relative to your competitors for talent." - Christopher Fusco, CCP, GRP, SPHR, Salary.com
Diving into your compensation rates is essential to identifying any salary deficiencies or overcompensation that need to be corrected. Failure to take this step can cause you to miss out on the area's most talented physicians and hospital staff.
3) Are you paying too much for contingent labor?
Many hospital administrators and executives are not aware that they are being charged special fees related to contingent labor. These fees can add up quickly. But reducing your contingent labor spending is not always easy. Here are three ways to achieve this goal:
-
Resolve to monitor your contingent labor program spending much more closely
-
Choose a managed service provider who is not incentivized to fill positions at a higher rate
-
Make a point to maintain familiarity with market rates, re-evaluating them at least twice each year
4) Is contingent labor being underutilized?
Bridging the gap between your hospital and your competitors will be even more challenging if you are not using contingent workers to complete special projects and maintain a high level of patient care during holidays and staffing shortages.
5) Would it make more sense to work with one staffing agency or multiple agencies?
While working with multiple staffing agencies expands your talent pool, there are benefits to working with a single agency that offers VMS/MSP technology. One of the best ways to approach this question and manage your contingency workforce is to introduce staffing technology to your hospital.
How can value-based care help you increase your hospital market share?
Hospitals and healthcare providers across the globe are turning to value-based healthcare (VBHC) to improve the patient experience while minimizing costs. The end results are a more efficient utilization of existing resources and an expanded scope of service. Here are four ways value-based healthcare can help you increase your hospital market share.
1) Ensure that physicians and specialist providers are allocated as needed within a hospital
"Many studies and surveys conducted over the past few years have helped observers of the medical profession conclude that there is – and will continue to be – a shortage of physicians in this country...One survey of hospital CEOs conducted recently indicated that those executives are bracing for an existing (and worsening) shortage of physicians in hospitals..." - American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS)
The current shortage of physicians in the U.S. is expected to continue, creating greater challenges for hospitals that are already stretched thin. Value-based care enables hospitals to identify exactly where specialist providers are needed most in your hospital and allocate their services accordingly.
2) Deliver a higher quality patient experience
Patients at your hospital deserve to know that you are making every effort to deliver the highest quality patient experience. This means putting patients first by making them feel welcome and important from the moment they walk through the door of your hospital. From an increased focus on preventive care and wellness to using the patient's preferred mode of communication to deliver information, your patients will appreciate the special touches.
3) Devote more time and money to market expansion
"Many health systems have embarked on integration efforts of their own to expand their networks, often across a broad geographic area. The goals are to compete with new entrants, achieve scale, succeed in APMs, and deliver value to payers, patients, and participating providers." - Susan DeVore, Health Affairs
Value-based care frees up resources that you can devote to expanding the service scope of your hospital. For example, you may wish to expand your hours of coverage for key specialties and introduce an entirely new specialty at your hospital.
4) Improve alignment between physicians and executives
Alignment between physicians and your executive team can help you increase market share through higher revenue and a larger number of in-network referrals. Most importantly, there is marked improvement in the overall relationship between physicians and general healthcare systems.
What is the best way to enhance the patient experience and increase patient referrals?
As outlined above, today's hospital landscape is rapidly evolving. In order to maintain your hospital's competitive edge, you must use your existing resources more efficiently. The single best way to achieve this goal is to introduce workforce optimization to your hospital team. This measure enables your team to make data-driven decisions instead of basing actions on "gut feelings" or the latest industry trends.
Workforce Optimization Reviews Are Free
As the nation's most trusted provider of workforce optimization services, VISTA Staffing Solutions can put your hospital on the fast track to improved patient experience and increased referrals. VISTA offers a complimentary workforce optimization assessment designed to help you identify opportunities for improvement and enlarge your market share. To discover how your hospital can become a workforce optimization market share leader, contact the VISTA Staffing team today.
