Satisfaction with Staff Scheduling Software Varies Widely Among Hospital Departments

New KLAS report looks at the differing needs of nursing, finance and IT when choosing a solution

OREM, Utah – Sept. 22, 2009 – When it comes to hospital staff scheduling software, customer satisfaction varies widely among finance, IT and nursing departments, sometimes producing a departmental battle over which needs are given priority.

In its latest study, Staff Scheduling: Nurses Rock the Boat, research firm KLAS found a significant gap between the vendor solutions favored by nurses and other stakeholders. With an eye toward usability and solid functionality, nurses rated RES-Q Labor Resource Management and McKesson ANSOS One-Staff as top solutions, with Kronos Workforce Scheduler earning the lowest rating from that group. Finance and human resources professionals, however, rated Kronos a full 13 points higher on KLAS’ 100-point scale based on strong reporting capabilities and anticipated cost savings.

“CNOs want a staff scheduling solution that’s easy to manage and easy to use; CIOs want strong integration and support; and CFOs want to improve the bottom line,” said Jared Peterson, KLAS vice president of operations and author of the staff scheduling report. “Those differing needs play to the strengths of different vendors, which often make the task of selecting a staff scheduling solution a very difficult one."

“Overall, however, feedback from nursing proved to be the biggest differentiator in choosing a product, because nurses’ high user demands and strong opinions helped some vendors while sorely hurting others,” Peterson said.

The KLAS report notes that in the past three years, there has been a significant increase in the number of sites live with staff scheduling, but staff scheduling technology has still only penetrated 40 percent of the market. However, the pressure to adopt is mounting. The national economy, ever-slimming profit margins, and heavy labor costs are encouraging organizations to improve their use of resources through enhanced staff-scheduling automation.

When combining the feedback across all hospital departments, RES-Q was the top-rated staff scheduling vendor, with a performance score of 86.5 out of 100. AtStaff was the next highest-rated product vendor (83.6) followed closely by McKesson (83.3). API, Kronos and Lawson are also referenced in the KLAS report.

While their performance scores remain strong, some providers did note that RES-Q and AtStaff do not yet offer enterprise solutions. API, Kronos, McKesson and Lawson now boast complete enterprise workforce management suites, including time and attendance, scheduling, HR and analytics. Only RES-Q and AtStaff do not offer time and attendance and HR.

To learn more about the staff scheduling software market, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of participating vendors, the report Staff Scheduling: Nurses Rock the Boat is available to healthcare providers online for a significant discount off the standard retail price. To purchase the full report, healthcare providers and vendors can visit www.KLASresearch.com.