Data insight that empowers better care, a more human experience
By Tom Ellis, President & CEO, ShiftKey
In my more than 20 years of experience in industries ranging from retail to healthcare and beyond, a common challenge all industries face is scaling the business or organization while balancing a workforce strategy that both preserves quality and continuity of service. Complex challenges were consistently met with static traditional solutions. Entrepreneurial and fresh thinking, grounded in technology and data, was long overdue, especially in the healthcare industry among licensed professionals and facilities. I started ShiftKey to be the intersection of technology, data, and business strategy to solve broader economic, workforce, and business challenges.
The ShiftKey model is bold, yet practical – providing facilities access to a marketplace of independent professionals that would allow them to make short and long-term workforce decisions without passing through a go-between or third-party that drains resources and time. Our platform gives licensed professionals independence and flexibility – every shift is a choice. The licensed professionals provide services to facilities because they care deeply about patients and providing quality care.
Over the last year, we’ve made major strides through a strategic investment in OnShift, and now the launch of the Schedule Automation Marketplace Integration (SAMI). SAMI is a first-of-its-kind system that combines the full power of ShiftKey’s workforce marketplace and OnShift’s schedule view and analytics, presenting facilities with the resources and insights to make strategic workforce decisions in the short and long-term.
SAMI uses a tech-forward approach that equips facilities with workforce patterns, information and analytics to make informed decisions that have an impact on their business – but ultimately driving more effective and consistent patient care.
We’ve tested SAMI at Tutera Senior Living & Health Care, among many others in post-acute care and senior living. Tutera has been a strong partner in this, showing compelling results and providing honest feedback.
With Tutera, here’s what we discovered:
7% Increase in Resident Occupancy Rate
Tutera focuses on getting to know residents and team members on a personal level, leaning into their unique preferences and personalities to inform care and actions. This is precisely what SAMI is meant to elevate: Getting facilities out of survival mode, back into growth mode, with a focus on attentive patient care and relief as needed for facility employees.
Ultimately, the goal is to be able to serve as many patients as possible with quality of care that they deserve. For years, we’ve heard from facilities that the balance between workforce and resident levels remains elusive. While the aging population in need of care grows, facilities have been forced to make the difficult decision to turn away residents due to inadequate workforce levels. With SAMI, those days are over.
90% Reduction in Unfilled Shifts
With all the tools to proactively build a comprehensive schedule, SAMI has given Tutera the ability to view employees and independent healthcare professionals in a single system. Paired with SAMI’s consolidated real-time reporting, Tutera has been able to make strategic decisions and tap into a network of licensed professionals any time they need it. Dynamic access to independent care professionals reduces burnout among your current team and complements them with individuals who are not only qualified, but who also want to be there. Every shift they pick up is based on their choice – when and where they want to work.
20% Increase in Employee Shift Requests
Yes, at Tutera, full-time facility employees are requesting more shifts after the integration than ever before. This is a theme I’ve seen consistently across different facilities using the technology. Facilities are using SAMI’s comprehensive data to forecast available shifts and facility employees can now plan ahead and tap into future schedules. However, when additional workers are required to support occupancy growth and fill openings, SAMI provides automated access to the ShiftKey marketplace, leveraging a vast, licensed talent pool to fill select shifts. This seamless integration and consistent shift coverage provides relief for scheduling directors and facility employees.
100% Total Workforce Transparency
Across the board, SAMI provides total workforce visibility, optimization and cost savings – all in one system. Tutera has been able to leverage SAMI to achieve complete workforce transparency, building employee trust, reducing burnout, meeting staffing ratios and delivering high-quality care. Joe Schiller, Tutera’s Vice President of Human Resources, will tell you himself that SAMI has elevated the way they do business: “The way SAMI seamlessly integrates ShiftKey’s robust marketplace with OnShift’s scheduling capabilities has completely transformed our workforce strategy. We now have access to workforce coverage paired with key data insights to help us strategically grow our business, take great care of our residents, and put us in a prime position for our hospital referral partnerships.”
At ShiftKey, we will never stop developing and leveraging tech solutions to efficiently solve workforce needs. We’ll continue to transform and expand empowered work through tech to meet strategic business, resource and workforce needs for licensed industries. The SAMI tech integration is just the tip of the iceberg as we continue to serve as a trusted business partner for facilities who share our core values in solving workforce challenges, unlocking the full potential of technology, and keeping people – patients and the licensed professionals that care for them – at the center.
