The financial impacts of COVID-19 are unprecedented, crippling the operations of most healthcare organizations and leaving leaders to answer serious questions about strategies for stabilization. One of the quickest, most effective solutions is through workforce optimization. Improving performance by enhancing productivity and implementing processes to control labor costs will help hospitals and health systems to rebound in a systematic way that not only meets patient demand but ensures the right resources are in place to provide the best care.
Category: Budget
The Road to the “New Normal”
With the stay-at-home orders beginning to be lifted and life starting to normalize once again, there are many things healthcare leaders need to be cognizant of as the industry enters the recovery phase of this pandemic. Hospital and health system executives need to take stock of what has occurred, identify the impacts, both financially and operationally, and take the necessary steps NOW to prepare for what comes next. Here are a couple of key elements to consider: What waivers and operating flexibilities has your organization taken advantage of over recent months? Though it remains unclear if/when any of the regulatory changes made to create access and ease the delivery of care during this time will expire, plans must be developed to account for all scenarios.
ALTIUS Answers Episode 3: Interview with COO RandiLynn Lukac
Productivity and workforce optimization engagements most often start off with the best of intentions. However, there are common missteps that can lead to undesirable results or negative outcomes. In the latest episode of ALTIUS Answers, CEO Stephanie Dorwart and COO RandiLynn Lukac discuss eight key elements to successful performance improvement! When messaged correctly and managed effectively, productivity engagements can create a positive culture of change focused on accountability and process improvement with a big impact.
Avoiding Productivity Pitfalls
Managing labor has become a delicate balancing act between providing the right level of staff and keeping expenses down. Implementing a meaningful staffing model while maintaining the unique values, beliefs, and overall culture of the organization should be a hospital's primary focus to ensure sustainability. Productivity, however, is a concept that is not fully understood within the healthcare industry.
Hiring More is Becoming Unsustainable!
According to a recent article, the turnover rate in the healthcare industry has increased by 5%, across all job categories, over the last decade, with the average hospital turning over 85.2% of its workforce since 2013 (1). These stats are staggering, considering how time-consuming and costly recruitment efforts can be, especially given the ever-shrinking candidate pool that currently exists.
Happy New Year!
As the world prepares to bid 2019 farewell and embrace the next decade with the start of 2020, people everywhere are spending their time making New Year’s resolutions as they celebrate the holidays and wait for the ball to drop from Time’s Square. Sadly, as we all know too well, those self-promises and good intentions only tend to last weeks, days or even hours before they are abandoned or forgotten. The problem, or loophole that lets so many people off the proverbial hook, lies in how a resolution is actually defined.
Paralysis by Analysis
It’s a condition of information over-load fueled by the strong desire for more knowledge and more data, which is easily satisfied by the touch of a button or the swipe of a finger thanks to today’s technology. Healthcare leaders require greater amounts of evidence to drive their decision-making processes. While it is essential to thoroughly evaluate operations and draw informed conclusions, is this enhanced analytical mindset and strong reliance on data becoming more detrimental than beneficial? Here are three quick tips to make sure that you are not becoming afflicted: First, it is important to make sure you are mining the right data! With access to so much, it is easy to get bogged down and confused by all of the material available.
What Does it Mean to Manage Productivity?
What does it mean to manage productivity? In the third and final installment of our video series on productivity, ALTIUS CEO Stephanie Dorwart discusses the key steps to implementing a successful productivity system and establishing a culture of accountability within an organization. Benchmarking a facility and comparing its performance to that of like hospitals or health systems is the first phase. The next component is using the information gathered to identify opportunities for improvement and establish realistic goals for change.
Why Manage Productivity?
Why manage productivity? In the second segment of our video series spotlight on productivity, ALTIUS CEO Stephanie Dorwart explores the motivating factors behind controlling costs and establishing appropriate staffing levels through performance improvement strategies. Reinvestment back into the organization and its employees along with better service to the community are detailed among the top priorities. Watch now and let ALTIUS help elevate the application of productivity management in your hospital or health system! .
Avoid the “Black Hatters”
We are all familiar with Black Friday and the Mad Hatter, but what about the less popular Black Hatters? Unfortunately, the term "Black Hatter" does not refer to discounted shopping or a whimsical fairy tale character like the others. It carries with it a more negative connotation. Black Hatters are the "change agents," interim executives and outside resources, brought into failing organizations to make quick and dramatic vicissitudes.