Healthcare
In some European countries, 80% of nurses are women. Women, even today, are more likely to combine a job with domestic tasks. The sector is therefore characterised by a lot of part-time positions and individual year-long contracts. This also means individual needs regarding working hours are accommodated more often. In some countries, control over working hours is part of the employee's collective labour agreement. With so much room for individual tailoring of working hours, the healthcare sectore is an ideal environment for self-rostering!
Grip on capacity
Giving employees a say in scheduling could lead to a loss of control and does not automatically lead to optimal patient care. Capacity management - establishing how many healthcare staff are needed, when, and what for - still appears lacking in many healthcare organisations. However, it is also a critical success factor in self-rostering. Accurate workload forecasting and defining of shift types (start times, duration, breaks, tasks, etc.) is fundamental. Only when this is well-excuted can employees be offered more control over their schedule.
Shared responsibility
Often, teams are almost entirely responsible for the quantity and quality of patient care provided. However, it is usually just one staff member - often a supervisor or head nurse - who does the planning. This job involves a high degree of responsibility and is difficult to perform well without adequate preparation and the right tools. With self-rostering, all staff members are required to do their part when it comes to overall team planning. This generally leads to increased commitment and collective responsbility, which ultimately benefits patients.
Cost reduction
Workloads in the healthcare industry can fluctuate for a number of reasons, such as absences or unexpected increases in patient numbers. Self-rostering facilities better alignment of staff capacity with demand by utilising an annualised hours system. Under this system, staff can work fewer hours one month and more hours the next, eventually completing their contracted hours over a period of one year. This means healthcare organisations can easily match capacity with demand, improving workforce utilisation and reducing operating costs.
The benefits of self-rostering
As it is primarily a matter of culture change, self-rostering requires a certain level of maturity among management, planning staff, and employees. An existing “hands-on together” culture better facilitiates the implementation of self-rostering, a superior method in allowing employees to create a personal schedule that fits their work-life balance.
