Workforce Deployment — A Critical Organizational Competency

Abstract

Staff scheduling has historically been embedded within hospital operations, often defined by each new manager of a unit or program, and notably absent from the organization's practice and standards infrastructure and accountabilities of the executive team. Silvestro and Silvestro contend that “there is a need to recognize that hospital performance relies critically on the competence and effectiveness of roster planning activities, and that these activities are therefore of strategic importance.”¹ This article highlights the importance of including staff scheduling — or workforce deployment — in health care organizations' long-term strategic solutions to cope with the deepening workforce shortage (which is likely to hit harder than ever as the economy begins to recover). Viewing workforce deployment as a key organizational competency is a critical success factor for health care in the next decade, and the Workforce Deployment Maturity Model© is discussed as a framework to enable organizations to measure their current capabilities, identify priorities and set goals for increasing organizational competency using a methodical and deliberate approach.