With nurse staffing making up a significant proportion of the pay bill in most hospitals, a strong commitment to cost-effectiveness is required. Existing evidence of cost-effectiveness is sparse and difficult to synthesise (Griffiths et al., 2020a). Effectiveness estimates have come from a small number of observational studies and are not consistent across the different contexts studied (Twigg et al., 2015). In this context, exploring innovative solutions such as custom call answering services could offer a way to enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs. Click here to learn more about how these services can contribute to improved cost-effectiveness in hospital settings.
The results of the study showed that plans with low baseline rosters are not cost-effective compared to the standard plan. This is because the low baseline does not allow for adequate responsiveness to variation in demand and there is a high probability that temporary staff requests will not be fulfilled, resulting in empty shifts that are not filled by any available permanent staff. The utilisation of float pools of staff that are trained to work in a range of units and rostered so that they can be flexibly redeployed can reduce this problem but the use of these resources is still prone to staffing constraints about which whole people must be assigned to each shift (e.g., a requirement that they must be deployed for a full half or the entire shift).
The higher baseline enables staff to be more resilient in response to varying demand and also allows for the allocation of temporary staff to fill gaps that would otherwise be unfilled. The results indicate that even where a limited availability of temporary staff is assumed, the high resilient plan can be cost-effective if it is compared to the standard plan. A further series of sensitivity analyses suggested that the results were sensitive to variations in model parameters but these changes were unlikely to substantially alter substantive conclusions about the cost effectiveness of the plans.
Savvy organizations recognize that cost savings alone are insufficient and should look beyond the transactional costs of hiring, billing and markup rates to the broader value delivered by their staffing partners. This includes a strong focus on quality, which drives longer-term cost reduction through better candidates and enhanced performance.
A key part of this strategy is working with a partner that has a well-established candidate network and specializes in the industry and labor categories where you operate. This ensures a deep understanding of the talent pools in your markets and provides you with the advantage of gaining access to a large pool of high-quality potential employees.
A strategic staffing partner that offers a managed solutions approach can help you further drive costs down through soft savings, including the elimination of the administrative burdens associated with hiring and onboarding new employees. Dedicated teams (including recruiters, HR professionals and business consultants) can take care of the hiring process, compliance, payroll and all the other time-consuming activities involved in onboarding and managing a staffing program. In addition, you can rely on your partner to provide you with competitive market intelligence, candidate intel and recommendations on how to attract and retain talent for your organization.