Debunking the Myth: New White Paper Explores How Embracing the Gig Workforce Can Actually Improve Engagement and Quality

Nurse staffing experts explain how a robust, tech-enabled internal agency model drives stronger employment engagement, satisfaction, and commitment to quality.

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (Feb. 23, 2023) – As a growing number of nurses leave full-time hospital employment for more lucrative gig-style work, the financial advantages of creating internal staffing agencies are well-known to most hospital and health system leaders seeking to minimize labor spend. While some fear that greater utilization of PRN float pool staff may result in decreased employee satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and even quality of care, leaders at Hallmark Health Care Solutions (HHCS) say such concerns are unfounded – and they’ve released a new white paper to explain why.

The white paper, “Transforming Your Float Pool Into an Internal Agency: Examining the Benefits Beyond the Bottom Line,” illustrates its points using real-world results from a Tennessee-based health system with a high-functioning internal agency powered by Einstein II Internal Resource Pool. Since adopting the Einstein II in 2019, the 22-hospital health system reports significantly higher rates of employee engagement and satisfaction – including patient satisfaction. And, because they’ve increased the size of their float pool by 540 percent and have the right tools in place to efficiently communicate with them, they’ve successfully decreased labor costs in the process.

“In this age of large-scale burnout and migration to agency staffing, it’s well-known that the healthcare workforce needs more scheduling control and flexibility. So, the question is, when you provide those gig-style options, what can you expect the gig-style workers to give back in return? That’s the question this white paper explores in detail,” says William Reau, principal and chief operating officer of HHCS. “When the right strategies and systems are in play, the internal agency model creates a ‘rising tide that lifts all boats’ – for everything from financials and operations to employee satisfaction and patient care.”

In addition to hiring 100 nurses in the first three months, the Tennessee health system finds that roughly half their float pool nurses regularly work full-time hours. These nurses design their own schedules while filling vacancies, improving care quality, and keeping labor spend down – roughly 50 percent lower compared with travel nurses.

The Tennessee health system’s shift to an internal agency model has demonstrated an in-depth understanding of gig workforce needs and dynamics. They have emerged as a stellar example of how health systems can use technology to connect with top talent in ways that empower individuals, teams, and the entire enterprise to thrive.

“Once people join our internal agency, they don’t want to leave,” says the health system’s nursing director. “They appreciate having employment options that fit perfectly with their needs. We’ve seen quality gains coincide with this model and are better positioned now to focus on continuous quality improvement going forward. No other facilities in our market match what we can offer the gig workforce, which has been a big win for us.”

The white paper was co-authored by HHCS executive leaders Matt Dane (a former chief nursing officer) and Jennifer Firmalan (a former nurse manager). As Dane explains: “Embracing the gig workforce does not mean sacrificing care quality. On the contrary – when empowered with greater options for work-life balance, scheduling control, and simplified communication, we see that an engaged and satisfied workforce will respond with an equal or greater commitment to protecting and improving quality.”

For more information, download the white paper at einstein.com.  

 

About Hallmark Health Care Solutions, Inc.

Hallmark Health Care Solutions, Inc. (HHCS) is a SOC I and SOC 2 Type II-certified healthcare technology firm and Microsoft Solution Partner headquartered in New York. Each of our experienced executive team members brings an average of 20+ years in IT, nursing, process engineering, finance, staffing and healthcare. HHCS was named one of the Top 10 Companies Revolutionizing Healthcare and recognized as a Top 100 Healthcare Technology Company in 2022. HHCS’s intelligent workforce and provider solutions are used by over 100,000 healthcare professionals in more than 4,000 healthcare facilities across all 50 states. In the past decade, we have collectively delivered over $250 million in cost savings and revenue gains to our clients, thanks to our best-in-class technologies.

HHCS workforce solutions include Einstein II, a talent sourcing and deployment solution, and Heisenberg II, a provider compensation and contract management solution. For more information, visit www.einsteinii.com and www.heisenbergii.com.

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