Category Archives: recruitment process outsourcing

The Guiding Principles of Healthcare Software Selection

As healthcare reform gears up for change, hospitals are increasing their efforts to simplify and automate business processes through software applications. The problem hospital administration runs into when looking for software solutions is choosing from the thousands of applications that promise you efficiency and cost savings. Not all healthcare software solutions are developed with you in mind; they’re developed for the revenue they provide.

Not all hospital software vendors have an idea of how a hospital operates. They’ve simply identified an industry undergoing massive change and developed a software application to take advantage of an opportunity. Others are industry insiders that know in detail how hospitals operate and have developed software solutions that automate and simplify routine tasks. The key to selecting the right software is to weed out the players and find the vendor that offers real solutions.

The Guiding Principles for Selecting Hospital Software Solutions

Form a cross functional team. IT shouldn’t be the primary decision maker in choosing hospital software solutions. They may guide the process but the real decision makers should be those that will use the software day-to-day.
Create a needs assessment. Start by modeling current business processes in the areas you’re going to be using the new software application. Next, identify processes that you want the software to automate to improve efficiency. Lastly, map out the output you need from the new system in the form of reporting and analytics.
Evaluate hospital software vendors. Research and choose several potential hospital software providers that appear to meet your needs assessment. Have the chosen few demonstrate their software capabilities to determine which one(s) are closest to fulfilling the needs assessment. Create scenarios or use cases that reflect what you want the software to do and have the vendor run them through the program. Narrow your list to the top two or three vendors.
Ask for references. References provide you with the opportunity to speak with actual system users. If possible, see if there are hospitals in your area that are using the software and arrange for a site visit.
Choose the software that best fits your needs. If one vendor is clearly above the rest and meets your budget, then the choice becomes easy. If they’re close in functionality and cost, you may want to arrange a more detailed presentation with several use cases typical to your organization.
Negotiate the contract. You’ve likely already discussed pricing at this point of the process so there should be no surprises. One caveat is to watch for hidden fees. The 6 key areas of a software contract that you should focus on are:

  1. Software – pricing and performance.
  2. Hardware – do you need to upgrade or will present systems suffice.
  3. Implementation – the scope and time of software implementation.
  4. Training – details on initial training and ongoing support.
  5. System Maintenance – who’s responsible for software maintenance.
  6. Customer Support – hospitals need 24/7 support.

We live in the Digital Age where there is a software solution for nearly every business process. But not all software is created equally. At StayStaffed, we’ve developed a hospital workforce management software based on our 25 years in the healthcare staffing industry. Contact us now for a 15-minute product demonstration and learn how our vendor management solutions can streamline your hiring process by providing low-cost, high-quality talent. Or call us at 1.800.585.1710 and speak to a consultant.

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Date posted: October 21, 2014 in Healthcare Industry | Information Technology | recruitment process outsourcing | Staffing News | vendor management systems | workforce management | Healthcare Selection | Hospital Software Solutions | hospital software vendors | hospital workforce management software |

Labor Force Demographics Changing the Way Employers Manage Their Workforce

Across the country and across all industries, companies are increasingly supplementing their permanent workforce through the use of contingent workers. In fact, the BLS reports that 19 percent of all new U.S. jobs created since the end of the recession were contract workers. Further, a study by Intuit predicts that temporary or contract workers will make up more than 40% of the U.S. workforce by 2020.

And there’s good reason for these rising employment numbers:

  • Contract workers offer staffing flexibility and allow companies to better manage risk in an uncertain economy.
  • The need for mobile contingent workforces in the construction and extraction industries.
  • Cost savings by outsourcing specialized functions such as Information Technology (IT), healthcare specialties, and customer service.
  • The ability to staff special projects with the requisite professionals without hiring full-time employees.
  • Temporary workers are exempt from new healthcare law requirements.

How Organizations Can Prepare for the Increase in Temporary Workers

To effectively manage their permanent and contingent workforces, many organizations are finding VMS software solutions provide the best return-on-investment.

A Vendor Management System (VMS):

  • Automates the sourcing and recruitment function for hiring contingent and permanent staff.
  • Prequalifies candidates, secures documentation, and verifies credentials.
  • Manages employee timekeeping and payroll.
  • Automates vendor invoicing and payments for all parties.

Organizations that utilize vendor management software to manage their contingent workforce find they are able to:

  • Build deeper talent pools through centralized access to hundreds of qualified staffing agencies nationwide.
  • Create a more efficient, streamlined hiring process resulting in improved fill-rates, reduced overtime, fewer staff shortages and the ability to find specialty workers faster.
  • Improve candidate quality through a comprehensive job-to-candidate matching process.
  • Achieve 100% compliance outcomes through automated credentialing and electronic document management system.
  • Adapt quickly to changing conditions through the centralized management of permanent and contingent staffing needs.
  • Receive more favorable labor rates through increased agency competition resulting in annual savings of several thousand dollars per employee.
  • Enhance management oversight through VMS dashboard analytics and reporting, including hiring manager approval, budget cost analysis, and vendor performance/costs/risks. Plus electronic notifications to your management team with updates on important staffing decisions and alerts

Changing workforce demographics must be met with innovative and strategic staffing solutions. With over 20 years of staffing experience, Stay Staffed has provided workforce management solutions and vendor management system expertise to small, medium, and large organizations nationwide.

StayStaffed workforce management software accesses The Candidate Direct Marketplace ® offering industry an all-encompassing contingent staffing solution. Contact a StayStaffed representative today, online or at 800-585-1710, to arrange a free, no-obligation online VMS product demonstration.

Source: www.anneloehr.com/workforce-demographic-trend-temporary-and-contract-employees-growing-as-need-for-flexibility-rises/

Date posted: July 11, 2013 in Construction Industry | contingent staffing | Extraction Industry | Financial Industry | Healthcare Industry | Information Technology | Oil and Gas Industry | recruitment process outsourcing | vendor management systems | workforce management | BLS | construction industry | contingent workers | Extraction Industry | Healthcare Industry | Information Technology Industry | Labor Force | rising employment | staffing solutions | Temporary Workers | Workforce |

67% of Healthcare Providers Struggle with IT Recruiting

Sixty-seven percent is a large number and it jumps to 73% for healthcare employers that are recruiting Epic-certified healthcare IT professionals in order to comply with EMR requirements.

The survey, “Closing the IT Talent Gap in Health Care” by consulting firm Towers Watson, profiled more than 100 healthcare employers and found that the majority are having problems with both the retention and recruitment of healthcare IT workers. Of the respondents, 52 percent are hospital systems and 67 percent have more than 5,000 employees.

Closing IT Talent Gaps for Healthcare Recruitment

In the short term, health systems and medical providers need information technology professionals in order to comply with EHR “meaningful use” requirements which take effect in 2014. But in the long term and according to the study, “the real payoff of an effective and fully compliant IT system is its role in aiding clinical decision making. Many healthcare leaders are already seeing how real savings can accrue from using evidence-based medicine to help redesign the way services are delivered. And IT systems, instead of only supporting clinical services, can now help determine what clinical services will be provided.”

The challenge for hospital IT recruiters is to better understand the current state of talent gaps and balance both short- and long-term challenges in healthcare into an effective information technology workforce recruitment solution. Health systems that are better able to balance the practical needs of healthcare IT workers – such as competitive pay and job security – with the long-term goal of helping an industry transform technologically, will win out going forward.

In order to effectively staff their IT departments, healthcare recruiters need to close the gap between what they think is important to IT professionals and what is actually important to them. After a thorough analysis, you can then tailor your incentive package and employee value proposition to attract top-quality healthcare IT personnel for both the short- and long-term.

Healthcare information technology staffing can be resolved with workforce management system and an enhanced job-to-candidate skill-matching process. With a full range of recruitment services including our Candidate Direct Marketplace® Vendor Management Systems (VMS), Managed Service Provider (MSP), and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), employers have the ability to optimize their IT staffing in partnership with a dedicated StayStaffed Client Account Manager. Our contingent IT workforce management systems combined with our reputable staffing agencies nationwide, will help you to source, recruit, hire or optimize your contingent IT industry jobs quickly and efficiently.

By providing IT staffing agencies with detailed information about the job, skills required, long term career path and benefits, they will be able to source the most qualified person that matches what employers need as well as matching the candidate’s expectations. Our Client Account Managers are skilled at analyzing your needs and getting it to the right agencies using our comprehensive Vendor Management System to simplify and expedite the entire process.“ Said Sue Higgins, Stay Staffed Director of Product Development.

Contact a StayStaffed representative now for a 20-minute VMS demonstration to learn how we can streamline your IT staffing. Phone (800) 585-1710 to talk to learn more.

Source: Closing the IT Talent Gap in Health Care

Date posted: July 1, 2013 in contingent staffing | Information Technology | recruitment process outsourcing | vendor management systems | workforce management | EHR | Healthcare Recruitment | IT industry jobs | IT Recruiting | IT talent gap | Managed Service Provider | Recruitment Process Outsourcing | Vendor Management Systems | VMS solutions for healthcare employers | workforce recruitment solution |