Poor Scheduling and Inefficient Workforce Management Leads to High Nurse Turnover

August 26, 2022

Healthcare delivery is a challenging profession, and high turnover rates in nursing are complicating things even further. As staffing shortages continue to increase, retaining highly qualified nurses is more important than ever before.

A contributing factor to nurse turnover rates is inefficient staff scheduling practices. Inefficient scheduling contributes to overworked staff and burnout and is consistently listed as one of the top reasons why nurses are looking elsewhere for employment. The right staff scheduling software can eliminate many of the scheduling challenges that lead to an overworked/under-appreciated scenario.

Schedule360’s configurable, scalable nurse scheduling software solution can help retain your skilled nursing staff through efficient, standardized scheduling processes. When nursing staff feel in control of their schedules, appreciated, and valued in a transparent working environment, morale goes up, retention rates soar, and patients receive better care.

Complete Schedule Transparency

Nurse scheduling software provides administrators and nurses complete schedule transparency by giving them full access to their schedule anytime, anywhere. Schedules can be viewed remotely, 24/7 from any device with internet access. A transparent schedule posted in advance requires fewer shift changes, allows time for shift swaps, and nurses who are looking for additional hours can do so easily through a predictable, standardized process.

Self-Scheduling

Schedule360 provides a configurable, rules-based self-scheduling feature. After the scheduler releases shifts for the upcoming schedule and immediate booking of set-schedule shifts, the remaining open shifts can be claimed through self-scheduling by unit-based staff. To prevent gaps in qualified staff, only those with comparable skills and licensure can pick up open shifts. Through this automated feature, you never have to worry about your resources being spread too thin. Rules-based Self-scheduling provides your staff with a sense of flexibility and independence, while still ensuring individual work targets are met and safe staffing levels are always occurring.

Shift Swaps

Much like rules-based self-scheduling, shift swapping allows nurses to swap shifts within a set of rules set by management. Employees can swap shifts with a qualified colleague. Since credentials are stored in employee profiles, open shifts and shift swaps are matched according to skills. If a nurse isn’t qualified to self-schedule or swap shifts, they won’t have the ability to schedule themselves into the opening. Self-scheduling and shift swaps make every shift easier to balance, and nurses gain some control over their work schedule which can help improve morale.

Credential Tracking

Nurse scheduling software makes keeping track of employee licensure and credentials effortless. Credentials are conveniently stored in employee profiles. When creating a schedule, shifts can be broken down by shift type and required credentials to ensure that only those qualified to work the shift are being scheduled or allowed to pick up open shifts. Optimizing and streamlining the way you oversee staff credentials allows schedulers to create balanced shifts with ease.

OT Thresholds

Outdated, manual scheduling practices make it impossible to see the big picture for more effective schedule management. Implementing nurse scheduling software allows management to instantly view and set overtime thresholds for available employees 24/7 from any device. Reduce overtime costs through integrated reporting that displays who has attained target hours, who is close to their OT threshold, and who has the capacity to work additional hours before hitting the OT threshold.

Optimized Staff

Our nurse scheduling software can help you streamline your staff schedule based on target work hours. With robust, configurable reporting features, admins can optimize their current staff first and fill any open shifts with non-optimized staff before assigning overtime to employees that have already met their target work hours and OT thresholds. Appropriate staffing levels result in less agency labor dependance because you can easily fill scheduling gaps with staff nurses who are under their target hours first.

Shift Preferences

Improve employee morale by honoring individual shift preferences. Employee logins are configured to capture scheduling preferences or requests in addition to submitting time off requests for admin approval. Preferences can be configured to capture prefer on, prefer off, or both. Tab is controlled by the employee’s profile using a yes/no setup. This can be configured to align with your facility’s needs in relation to time off codes, hour calculations, and restrictions.

Accurate Shift Forecasting

Schedule360 provides accurate shift forecasting of upcoming shift demands to decrease last-minute overtime requests or gaps in coverage. Nurse scheduling software can uncover daily, weekly, and shift level patterns in patient flow, helping nurse schedulers better forecast upcoming needs.

Fair and Balanced Coverage

Nurse scheduling software allows for fair and balanced scheduling practices. With scheduling guidelines and processes to follow for balanced shift coverage, everyone is on the same page and scheduling is distributed fairly and evenly based on rules, target work hours, and patient demand.

Reduce Nurse Turnover with Schedule360

Scheduling problems are a huge contributing factor to low staff morale and burnout. This can occur when employees are repeatedly asked to pick-up extra shifts, cover shifts at the last minute, or be asked to stay late to keep operations moving smoothly. Don’t let poor scheduling practices plague your unit. Nurse scheduling software from Schedule360 helps solve your common nurse scheduling dilemmas and improve workplace morale, leading to less burnout which will help you retain your qualified, reliable nursing staff. To learn more about our innovative features, you can schedule a configured demo to see exactly how easy and useful our software can be. We Know Scheduling™. Contact Schedule360 today.