5 Ways to Seriously Screw Up Your Staff Schedule in Senior Care

Scheduling in senior care can be complicated. If it’s not staff turnover getting you down, it’s call-offs or an avalanche of PTO requests. When scheduling is done correctly, it can save your organization money and help with staff engagement and resident care. But there are plenty of things you DON’T want to do when it comes to staffing. Here are some common ways senior care communities screw up their schedule and how to avoid being one of them. 

1. Schedule overtime into your master schedule.

It’s easy for overtime to sneak into your master schedule when you are looking at each shift in a vacuum. But overtime is eating away at your bottom line and it is preventable. The best way to overcome this challenge is to look holistically at your schedule 2-weeks to a month in advance. Scheduling technology can help you identify where overtime is coming from and then take steps to stop it before it happens.

2. Don’t worry about clock riders.

Clock riders are those that punch-in early or punch-out late in order to get paid for an extra few minutes per shift. While it may not seem like a big deal and that you don’t need to address it, the cost of clock riding can actually add up quickly. Besides paying for an additional 15 or 30 minutes per shift, that extra time can push an employee into overtime. Utilize technology to track clock riding and identify trends so you can have conversations with employees as needed and prevent it from happening.

3. Use agency whenever you need a shift filled.

It’s tempting to rely on agency workers to fill an open shift--it’s just so easy! But the other side of that coin is the premium cost you will pay to cover that shift. It’s also important to consider that agency workers will likely be unknown to your staff, which can impact the ability of staff to function as a team. The lack of continuity may also be frustrating for residents who like to see familiar faces caring for them. Before turning to agency workers, try to offer open shifts to internal staff first. If you are using agency workers to consistently fill a certain shift, try to rearrange your master schedule to maximize the availability of all your staff.

4. Don’t set staffing targets.

If staffing targets are not set, it’s hard to know if you are understaffed, which can leave your community at risk. You could also potentially be overstaffed, which is an extra cost that can be avoided. Staffing plans should always be based on the needs of your community at a given point in time. Set a staffing target for each shift based on census/occupancy. Acuity/care levels should also be taken in to account. If you have residents that need a more intensive level of care, you may need extra staff on hand to properly meet their needs.

5. Create your schedule without input from staff.

Scheduling can be complex, and there are certainly a lot of considerations schedulers must be aware of while creating their schedule. It makes sense that preferences of staff members may be on the back burner in favor of more important things like making sure each shift is covered and preventing overtime. But one way to keep senior care staff engaged is to allow them some control of their schedule. Allow staff to request open shifts freely and let them set some preferences for their schedule. To help manage this, use a scheduling system with mobile capabilities that allows staff to quickly pick up shifts and request PTO from their mobile device.

Scheduling is more than just making sure shifts are covered. Your schedule can truly impact your bottom line, as well as staff and resident satisfaction. With wage pressures rising, and the new Department of Labor rule taking effect in December, senior care communities can ill-afford the costs associated with overtime. Following these best practices will give you the tools you need to make the best staffing decisions possible, and allow you and your staff to spend more time on the things that matter most—caring for your residents.