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January 17, 2018 – Hospitals have become conditioned to functioning in staffing and scheduling silos (unit-based scheduling). When managers and staff follow staffing practices simply because it has “always been done this way,” it narrows their horizons and they become more resistant to change.
Working in silos prevents transparency, increases an organization’s labor spend, and damages staff morale – an inefficient practice with costly repercussions.
You might be saying, “That’s not correct. No one understands the staffing needs of my department better than I do.” And, you might be right. However, as health systems continue to grow and expand, the effects of a silo staffing mentality are magnified, and every department or unit operating independently is simply not efficient.
Instead of viewing each unit as its own entity, healthcare organizations are encouraged to adopt an enterprise mentality – a more cost-effective and efficient approach to staffing. This approach requires shared vision and organizational cooperation extending to all applicable service lines, sharing resources and aligning policies and operational practices. Working together as one cohesive team across the enterprise reduces redundancies and delivers economies of scale.
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