Long weekends are wonderful: there’s nothing like a lie-in Saturday, Sunday and Monday. But if you’re a scheduler in a healthcare organization, you have to make sure shifts at your organization get covered, even on stat holidays.
One option is to create a schedule without any input from members of your team. Doing that can create staff dissatisfaction, though – especially at times when people typically want to be with friends and families.
Here, we’ll go through three ways to “sweeten the pot”, so you can cover holiday and long-weekend shifts with staff who really want to be there.
Solution 1. Send out a long-weekend reminder
Last-minute shift gaps can be a pain to fill, so planning for holiday long weekends well in advance can help you avoid emergencies.
If you have a written vacation policy outlining cutoff times for vacation requests, send an email reminder several weeks before each stat holiday and long weekend. You could also pin a note to your scheduling board, if you have one.
If you don’t have a one or two-week notice period for vacation time, think about writing one in: without one, staff may not tell you very far in advance if they want to take days off.
Solution 2. Make stat holiday shifts more appealing
Increased holiday rates of course make shifts more appealing. Giving team members other incentives – for example gift cards, or time off in lieu – to work stat holidays can have the same positive effect.
Another easy way to make stat holiday shifts more appealing could be to offer catered meals or a restaurant gift card for lunch. It's a small but meaningful gesture of appreciation for your team working on a holiday.
Solution 3. Working with Florence
Most schedulers and administrators receive a lot of requests for stat holidays off: after all, long weekends are prime family time. It’s important to grant as many of these as possible to make sure your employees feel engaged and stay with you long term.
“But what about my schedule?” you say. That’s where Florence comes in.
Florence can help you fill stat holiday shifts with experienced staff you can trust to provide excellent care. Your patients get their needs met, and you benefit from less admin work – and less time spent stressing about your schedule.
Here’s how Florence makes your life easier:
- Auto-Fill. Add your team to Florence and easily send out holiday shifts to your staff, allowing employees to pick up extra shifts in a guilt free way.
- 5,000+ Florence professionals. Push unfilled shifts out to our pool of talented nurses and personal support workers.
- Set your own rates. Decide how much you want to pay Florence healthcare professionals for regular and stat holiday shifts.
- No hidden fees. We don’t charge hidden fees, so you can manage your budget and cut out agency premiums.
- Dedicated support. You get round-the-clock support from our friendly team.
Bonus: if you find a Florence healthcare professional you really like, you can hire them permanently without paying a hiring or finder’s fee. We’re on your side.
Stat holidays made easy
Handling stat holiday time-off requests in a flexible way can help you build goodwill and increase staff retention.
If you have shifts left over – yes, even last-minute shifts – working with Florence can help solve staffing issues, so residents get the high-quality care they deserve.
Find out more about Florence, or book a 10-minute chat with our team to see how we can help you fill shifts fast.
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