Workforce management systems will play major role in future NHS reforms

Advanced workforce management systems designed to help managers optimize staff allocation will become increasingly important across the NHS as the service will embark on an initiative aimed at capping the amount Trusts spend on temporary staff, a recent media news report has been able to reveal.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said the cost of agency and contract staff across the entire NHS in England last year was £3.3 billion. He said: "Expensive staffing agencies are quite simply ripping off the NHS. It's outrageous that taxpayers are being taken for a ride by companies charging up to £3,500 a shift for a doctor."

"The NHS is bigger than all of these companies, so we'll use that bargaining power to drive down rates and beat them at their own game."

While such measures have been welcomed by some, the secretary was cautioned that they must be supported by an increase in permanent employees.

Tensor workforce management systems are the perfect tool for temporary staff management

Advanced staffing, employee monitoring and time and attendance solutions play an important part in the overall management of hospitals. By sharing employee-related information across multiple units (hospitals) in an organization (NHS Trust), patients will benefit from greater consistency in care and healthcare organizations will realize improved staff engagement and a reduction in labor costs.

Additionally, time and attendance systems provide the data required for organizations to better manage both tactically as well as providing a future view of workforce requirements based on the strategic plans of the organization.

Last, but certainly not least, human resources modules implemented across T&A systems enabled HR departments to manage the available talent pool and keep employees engaged and satisfied by providing them with incentives that go beyond salary, such as continuing education and tuition assistance.

Tensor offers a comprehensive range of workforce monitoring and management options, that can be used by NHS trusts in order to staff at optimal levels, match roles with patient requirements, improve employee satisfaction and also elevate the overall level of care delivered.