If you’re staring down overtime, agency spend, and vacancy drag, here’s a fast, repeatable playbook we’re seeing work across systems:
1) Define a single target. Pick one: Premium labor reduction (e.g., -20%), Vacancy rate (e.g., <7%), or Time-to-fill (e.g., <60 days). Broadcast it daily. What gets airtime gets action.
2) Build a 2-week surge hiring sprint. Lock in daily 30-min stand-ups (Ops + HR + Finance). Pre-book interview blocks with hiring leaders. Same-day offers for top 10% candidates. Remove one approval loop this month.
3) Redeploy internal capacity before buying external. Map shift gaps by hour, not by week. Offer micro-incentives for “hard to cover” hours only. Cross-train 2 roles per unit for surge coverage.
4) Appoint a “Vacancy Owner.” One accountable leader per critical role who reports daily on: open reqs, candidates at each stage, blockers, and ETA. No more “shared” ownership.
5) Install a 30-60-90 retention ramp. New-leader checklist: Day 1–7: preceptor assigned, schedule stability promised. Day 30: skills check + social belonging check. Day 60: career step chat (certs, rotations). Day 90: metrics review; convert agency where possible. Free Mini-Dashboard (steal this): Vacancy Rate (target <7%) Premium Labor % of Total Labor (target -20% in 90 days) Time-to-Fill (target <60 days) 90-Day New-Hire Retention (target >92%) Update weekly. Review daily.
If you want a plug-and-play version of this as a one-page tracker + interview day script, comment PLAYBOOK and I’ll share the template.
#HealthcareLeadership #WorkforceStrategy #HospitalOperations #PremiumLabor #Retention #BileddoAssociates