Choosing a mobile scheduling app that empowers your staff
In many areas of our lives, mobile apps have become integrated into our daily routines. We order groceries, coordinate curbside pick-up of lunch, track our fitness, schedule dinner with friends, navigate to our destination all powered by a smartphone and apps.
Mobile staffing and scheduling apps that deliver the same level of convenience are becoming a must-have for healthcare workers. Nurses often have irregular schedules that can change rapidly based on evolving patient dynamics. Well-designed mobile technology can help staff manage their work schedule and provide a foundation for a better work/life balance.
Any strategy that can help boost morale and eliminate frustrations for nurses requires serious consideration. The mobile scheduling app that your organization chooses should be evaluated carefully to ensure it truly delivers the benefits your nurses will appreciate. For maximum effectiveness, a mobile scheduling app should streamline key processes for your staff. Flexibility is also key; look for an app that allows users to determine how they see and interact with the information.
Here’s how our Schedule Management solution delivers the benefits your staff find the most beneficial.
Calendar management
When staff want to know what shifts they’re working or if there are open shifts on a day they’re available to work, the mobile app puts the data at their fingertips.
The app also makes it easy to see if staff have met their staffing commitments. A quick check in the mobile app lets them know if they’ve fulfilled their weekend requirement for the month or which holidays they need to work this year.
Going a step further, the mobile app provides the ability for staff to sync their work schedule with their personal calendar. Whether they use Google, Microsoft or Apple for their calendar, information can be synchronized so it’s easy to manage work obligations and personal commitments.
Eliminate intrusive calls
One of the greatest staffing frustrations for nurses are those frequent calls from the staffing office or their unit manager asking them to pick up open shifts. Nurses are caregivers at heart, and they want to help. But, ongoing calls during their time off adds unnecessary anxiety and disrupts their work/life balance. Those calls intrude on their personal time, and when they happen too often, nurses stop answering their phone.
Hearing the phone ring and knowing it’s the staffing office or your unit manager calling to beg you to pick up an open shift can be aggravating and stressful, but staff need to stay in-the-know about staffing and scheduling updates. With the mobile app, staff determine how they will receive the information. They can choose push notifications on their phone, within the app, by text or via email or a combination of methods. It’s a better process for everyone involved, as annoying phone calls are eliminated, staff are kept informed and open shifts can be filled more efficiently.
Quick and easy staff shout-outs
In the fast-paced, high-stress healthcare environment, managers need to take every opportunity to engage with their staff. The mobile app makes it easy for managers to share a kind word or a compliment with their team. Whether the manager would like to recognize an entire group for a job well done, say happy birthday to someone in their unit, or provide encouragement after a tough shift, the flexible technology enables quick, effective communication that boosts morale.
Touchless badging
When timeclocks aren’t available or a touchless option is preferred, the app provides an easy alternative for badging in and out. The option to use either geo-fencing or iBeacons ensures accurate, fast badging for staff without concerns about lines at the timeclock.
Easy communication with float staff
Changes in patient demand and staffing requirements happen quickly and frequently, making it essential to have streamlined workflows in place when staff need to be reassigned. The mobile app makes it easy to alert staff about where they will be working for their entire shift or even just a portion of their shift. The flexible, easy-to-use technology ensures staff receive timely communication in the way that works best for them and can effectively be deployed to the right place.
Scheduling issues can be a source of frustration for your staff, especially when it’s hard to access information and communication with staff is chaotic and intrusive. A mobile scheduling app can be an impactful part of your organization’s staff engagement initiatives.
For more information about staffing practices, download our whitepaper on seven staffing strategies to better value and empower nurses.
To learn more about Inovalon Schedule Management and its mobile-friendly capabilities, contact us for a demo. Our product specialists are nurses who understand your challenges and can show you how the right staffing solution can benefit your organization.
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