Northwell Health Streamlines Temporary Staffing with Flexible Workforce Platform
Like many hospitals and health systems, Northwell Health — New York’s largest health system and private employer — has struggled with persistent staff shortages, high labor costs and reliance on temporary workers at its 22 hospitals.
To address these issues, Northwell Health successfully implemented an internal staffing pool called FlexStaff, which fills temporary positions with internal staffing resources whenever possible.
THE PROBLEM
However, a challenge was the lack of an integrated system that could provide a complete picture of all temporary labor utilization for both FlexStaff’s internal resource pool and the agency’s resources. Reliance on disparate systems and manual processes led to inefficiencies and increased administrative burdens, making it difficult to effectively manage labor costs.
“Northwell leadership wanted to integrate their internal resource pool with their temporary contract worker management into a single, unified workforce platform. This allowed us to streamline the recruitment and deployment of all temporary resources into one seamless workflow,” said Carolyn Doyle, Northwell Health System Vice President and CEO of Northwell Health FlexStaff.
“We also needed centralized management tools that would provide visibility into the entire contingent workforce so Northwell could deploy the most cost-effective resources and efficiently manage qualifications and performance,” she added.
PROPOSAL
Supplier Prolucent proposed a comprehensive flexible workforce platform with a vendor-neutral managed service provider and a modern supplier management system that would transform Northwell’s contingent workforce model across the enterprise.
“A standout feature was the company’s vendor neutrality for staffing agency contract staff,” Doyle explained. “Unlike other vendor solutions that are tied to one specific staffing agency, Prolucent’s platform would allow us to source talent from a wide range of agencies, ensuring the best rates and most transparent pricing.
“Additionally, the platform would integrate seamlessly with FlexStaff, allowing Northwell to implement a unified system to more efficiently manage our entire flexible workforce,” she continued.
The proposal emphasized streamlined candidate acquisition, implementation and compliance, and credential management through a centralized system. Automated workflows would ensure that Northwell prioritized its internal FlexStaff resources and tapped outside staffing agencies when needed. Advanced analytics and reporting tools promised real-time insight into workforce data trends, enabling Northwell to make informed, data-driven decisions.
TOOK UP THE CHALLENGE
The implementation of Prolucent’s flexible workforce platform was a collaborative effort between several teams at Northwell Health.
“Our HRIT team and FlexStaff management were key users of the technology,” Doyle noted. “The platform was integrated with FlexStaff’s own web application to ensure smooth data flow and automate various labor management processes.
“Integration with the existing solution helped reduce implementation time through a simplified data transfer process,” she continued. “Close collaboration between technology teams ensured a successful implementation.”
Users can manage everything from candidate sourcing and credentialing to onboarding and compliance management. Using the centralized platform, users have real-time visibility into all open positions across the healthcare system, helping them make faster, more informed hiring decisions.
Thanks to the automated workflows, internal FlexStaff employees were always given priority over external options.
“The advanced analytics and reporting tools were game changers,” Doyle said. “Our teams could now monitor trends in workforce data, hiring competition and compensation data in real time to optimize staffing strategies. The platform also streamlined billing and payment processes, reducing administrative tasks and improving efficiency.”
RESULTS
The vendor provided the technology and tools Northwell needed for end-to-end order and workforce management, fulfillment, compliance, billing and reporting, so all flexible labor could be managed on one unified platform.
“We’ve significantly streamlined Northwell Health’s approach to managing contingent workforce resources,” Doyle reported. “For the first time, the health system now has a consolidated enterprise-wide platform to view and manage all open contingent positions to maximize efficiency and labor cost savings.
“In addition, the automated accreditation and compliance processes have ensured that all healthcare professionals meet the required standards, reducing the risk of non-compliance and improving the quality of care,” she continued. “We can also better manage risks associated with agency relationships by monitoring agency performance and adherence to compliance requirements.”
The platform’s advanced analytics and reporting capabilities provide Northwell with real-time insight into workforce trends, occupancy rates, fill rates, lead times, candidate quality, customer satisfaction and labor costs.
“With standardized dashboards and automated reporting, we can now make more informed workforce decisions faster,” she said. “This data-driven approach has not only helped us manage labor costs more effectively, but has also improved our resource allocation strategies.”
ADVICE FOR OTHERS
“When evaluating flexible workforce platform technology, selecting a system that offers a vendor-neutral MSP should be a priority, allowing healthcare organizations to source external talent from a diverse pool of staffing providers at competitive rates and transparent pricing,” Doyle advised. “Supplier neutrality also eliminates lock-in to a single staffing provider and provides greater flexibility and diversity to adapt to changing labor market conditions.
“Also, choose a platform with robust analytics and reporting capabilities,” she concluded. “Real-time data insights are invaluable for making data-driven decisions, monitoring workforce trends, and optimizing labor costs. Standardized dashboards and automated reporting can transform your approach to workforce management, making it more strategic and proactive.”
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