Healthcare and educational institutions face unique staffing challenges. Skill shortages, fluctuating demand, and the need for specialized expertise make find staffing through an agency or managed service provider an increasingly attractive option. But how do you ensure that your staffing program is truly delivering results? In this blog we are exploring how your organization can measure staffing success to ensure that your workforce management strategy is paying off.
General Metrics to Track
Successful staffing programs share certain quantifiable results. Here are some of the most important metrics to track to determine if you are achieving your desired staffing outcomes:
- Time-to-fill: This is the average time between a job opening surfacing and the moment a suitable candidate fills the role. A shorter time-to-fill indicates a swift and efficient recruitment process, minimizing project delays.
- Cost-per-hire: This encompasses the total expenses incurred to hire a new employee, including advertising, recruiter fees, interviewing costs, background checks, and onboarding. A lower cost-per-hire indicates a more successful staffing program.
- Retention rate: This measures the percentage of employees who stay with your organization over a specific time period. A high retention rate signifies a positive work environment and effective long-term staffing. High retention also helps you build a more experienced, consistent workforce and reduce costs associated with turnover.
- Quality of hire: This can be difficult to quantify, but is essential to examine. To get a better picture of the quality of your hires you can track performance reviews, client/student feedback, project completion rates, and a new hire’s ability to contribute positively to your work environment.
- Candidate experience: Top-tier candidates have options when it comes to finding a job. By collecting feedback through surveys you can gauge candidate satisfaction, and how well your process attracts qualified talent. Positive experiences attract higher-quality talent.
- Employee satisfaction: Conduct regular surveys or interviews to understand the happiness and fulfillment levels of the employees. Engaged employees are more productive and likely to stay longer.
Measuring Healthcare Staffing Success
Healthcare institutions have unique metrics tied directly to the quality of staffing. In addition to the metrics above, consider tracking these factors to understand if your staffing program is improving healthcare outcomes:
- Patient outcomes: While complex, positive trends in patient outcomes can be partially attributed to adequate staffing with the right skill sets. Positive trends in metrics like readmission rates, infection rates, and patient satisfaction surveys could signal that you have adequate staffing levels and professionals with the appropriate skillsets.
- Staffing ratios: It is vital for the health and safety of patients, that healthcare facilities consistently meet adequate nurse-to-patient ratios. Ensuring you are meeting the ratio indicates that you have proper staffing levels, helping you provide quality patient care and stay compliant with regulations where staffing ratios are mandated.
- Credentialing and compliance: Tracking the timeliness of your credentialing processes can help ensure smooth operations and reduce risk. Being able to quickly credential professionals, while also helping them stay compliant throughout their time at your facility, can help to avoid regulatory issues and improve patient outcomes.
Success Factors in Education Staffing
For schools and educational organizations, the results of a successful staffing program are often reflected in student outcomes and the overall health of the teaching staff. Pay close attention to these factors:
- Student achievement: While influenced by many factors, improvements in standardized test scores, graduation rates, or success in advanced coursework could be partially attributed to the consistent presence of qualified school staff members.
- Substitute teacher fill rate: Schools require a deep pool of qualified substitute educators to provide seamless coverage. Having a large and diverse pool of substitute candidates, who you can quickly call on when needed, minimizes disruptions to students learning.
- Specialized skill matching: Does your school or district have a pool of staff with specific certifications or expertise, such as special education or behavioral management? Meeting niche staffing needs effectively translates to better educational experiences for your students.
- Teacher satisfaction: Positive feedback from your educators regarding the quality and support of your school-based professionals indicates successful staffing collaboration, and a better work environment that benefits everyone involved.
Other Considerations for Staffing Success
While the metrics outlined above provide critical insights, it’s important to look beyond the numbers for a holistic assessment of your staffing program. Consider these additional factors:
- Cost-effectiveness: Analyze the overall costs of your staffing process, including fees associated with recruiting, screening, interviewing, credentialing, and background checking. If your costs are too high, it may be best for your school or district to consider alternate staffing methods.
- Responsiveness: Healthcare and education often face fluctuating demand. Is your school or district able to find and deploy additional staff during peak periods or unexpected surges? Maintaining this type of agility is crucial to avoid learning disruptions.
- Adaptability: The school-based professionals you staff should be able to learn new technologies, processes, and skills quickly. This adaptability is particularly important in the educational field where learning methods are constantly evolving.
- Cultural fit: Ensure your school staff deeply understands your institution’s mission, values, and the population you serve, to help provide a better experience for students and their families. Assess this qualitatively with feedback from your team or students.
Find Staffing Success with Sunburst Workforce Advisors
Analyzing whether your facility is utilizing the right staffing program doesn’t just mean tracking how fast you fill open positions – it’s about ensuring whether your process can find you the high-quality staffing that your patients and students deserve. By tracking the metrics listed in this blog, your facility can measure the success of your workforce strategy, and how well it empowers you to deliver the best healthcare or learning environments possible.
Partner with Sunburst Workforce Advisors for your staffing needs and gain access to strategic vendor staffing solutions that support your healthcare or educational facility’s core mission.
