ShiftPartner

Problem

Workforce management in healthcare is typically reactive. When gaps appear in rotas, or demand exceeds planned supply, the default solution is to source temporary staff.

This approach can:

• increase workforce costs
• increase reliance on agencies
• reduce continuity of care
• limit opportunities for existing staff

Traditional workforce systems focus on staff titles and schedules, not on what staff can do, where flexibility exists, and how to operationalise this data to enable frontline managers mobilise internal workforce capacity before turning to external supply.

Solution

ShiftPartner is an extended workforce intelligence operating platform designed for healthcare teams. It maps staff skills, experience, preference and flexibility, enabling organisation to deploy, develop and retain staff more effectively.#

When staffing gaps arise, the platform operationally supports organisations through a tiered approach:

• Optimise deployment to match the right staff to the right work at the right time.
• Justify temporary staffing spend to sourcing the best external match, only when internal options have been exhausted.

ShiftPartner intelligence and tools strategically supports organisations to:

• Identify skills gaps to effectively focus limited training resources towards.
• Develop and deploy novel roles to reduce the reliance on scarce roles e.g., resident doctors.
• Retain staff by personalising working, learning and career development opportunities

By prioritising internal workforce mobilisation, ShiftPartner reduces reliance on temporary staffing, uncovers hidden capacity, and generates actionable insights for rota planning, training, and career development.

Impact

Evaluated with Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, the results demonstrated that a deeper understanding of workforce capability and flexibility can significantly improve workforce deployment:

• £10,000 monthly cost savings achieved through a 15% reduction in temporary staffing.
• 25 – 30 shifts filled internally per month through improved workforce mobilisation.
• 21% of staff identified as willing to work across multiple sites, demonstrating unlockable flexibility.

The evaluation also highlighted an important workforce insight: staff with the same job title have very different capabilities and experience. This means, there is untapped potential within the workforce. Using ShiftPartner’s operating tools, organisations can move beyond job titles and deploy staff based on what they are able to do, unlocking hidden capacity and improving workforce utilisation.