Transforming IT Workforce Challenges into Opportunities
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2024年10月04日
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Throughout the healthcare industry, we see organizations reducing their workforce by up to ten percent in order to improve margins.1 Often, these healthcare organizations look to cut essential administrative or non-clinical staff to preserve quality outcomes, with IT disproportionately bearing the brunt of these cuts.2 As many organizations plan to reduce IT staff, the dilemma becomes how to strike a balance between ‘keeping the lights on’ and delivering robust service to stakeholders across the organization — all while preventing burnout or voluntary turnover among remaining staff.
For organizations under margin pressures, where IT departments are under review, addressing these issues is crucial to sustaining operational excellence and patient satisfaction. Here are three common challenges our experts are seeing and actionable strategies to address them:
Use of Multiple Labor Benchmarking Sources
Challenge: A challenge that IT leadership and executives face is the lack of a reliable benchmarking source. Different benchmarking sources can paint contrasting pictures. Many IT teams have differing scopes of coverage that make it difficult to find a direct comparison. For example, an organization may have clinical IT staff in place or IT staff managing the print shop, while other departments may include clinical engineering and business intelligence. the value of benchmarking as an analytics-only exercise may be limited without understanding the roles and responsibilities of each FTE within the department and functionally across departments.
Solution: Benchmarks should be used directionally and should not be taken as gospel. Compare across multiple benchmarking sources and look for themes. Review your teams and staff to determine if there are inefficiencies, duplicate responsibilities, or areas that are not providing sufficient value to the organization.
Hidden IT Talent Across the Organization
Challenge: “Shadow” positions can be hidden throughout the organization in other non-IT departments. Data and analytics and finance are two common areas where FTEs may be performing an IT role. Even when the function is part of a centralized, shared service operation, there may still be pockets of analysts in areas such as supply chain, pharmacy or physician practices that are performing IT functions but are not considered part of IT.
Solution: Clearly define the scope of the IT department in collaboration with leadership. Consolidate all IT staff under the IT reporting structure and create Service Level Agreements (“SLAs”) with the departments served. This will create efficiencies in the workforce and allow you to expand the roles of former shadow staff as they integrate. With the efficiencies gained, reevaluate the need for underperforming individuals/positions.
A Fragmented Digital Health Strategy
Challenge: Over time, IT departments grow because of the specific expertise that is required as the application stack grows. However, as applications sunset, the support staff remains. Additionally, because software applications are purchased in silos, there may be multiple technologies in place performing the same function or even worse, technology an organization is paying for but not utilizing. A detailed audit will mitigate duplicative technologies and related support staff, but a strategic plan will ensure that the organization stays on its desired path.
Solution: An overall digital health strategic plan will anchor all decision-making for applications and workforce goals. Digital health strategic plans include the use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”), Robotic Process Automation (“RPA”), and digital front doors that can impact the workforce outside of IT. By establishing the strategic plan and governance structure, the organization will be able to explore and determine in-source / out-source options for IT functions, develop a plan for data management and analytics, evaluate the current and future application needs, and create a roadmap for their patient experience using a digital front door and advanced technologies.
If you are an organization who is considering, actively planning, or have experienced a change in your IT workforce, addressing these challenges effectively will help your organization navigate workforce reductions while maintaining high standards of care and operational efficiency. Our experts can help guide you through benchmarking, automation planning, or providing expertise as you craft your digital health strategy.
Footnotes:
1: Gooch, Kelly, “55 hospitals, health systems cutting jobs”, Becker’s Hospital Review (Sept 13, 2024).
2: Ibid.
出版
2024年10月04日
主な連絡先
マネージング・ディレクター