If you are a healthcare staffing company, you know your business has unique needs. The healthcare staffing industry is unlike any other industry, which makes finding the right healthcare staffing software that meets those specific needs challenging. Using an ATS, CRM and payroll solution not specifically designed for the healthcare industry will work for some of your business needs, but it won’t provide some of the most essential features you need for your business to truly be streamlined and ultimately grow.

The good news is, there are healthcare software solutions that meet the unique needs of the healthcare industry. When evaluating healthcare staffing software solutions, how do you know what to look for? What are the must-have features to help your staffing company thrive? In this article, we will dive into 8 features that the best healthcare staffing software solutions have to accommodate the essential needs of healthcare staffing.

The Most Important Features in Staffing Software for Healthcare

1. Pay Package Calculator

In healthcare staffing, you are managing many different shift types from long-term assignments that involve sign-on bonuses to per-diem and other travel perks that require gross margin to be assessed. This is especially relevant for travel nurse packages. A pay package calculator that integrates with the GSA Rates Calculator will provide a detailed calculation and analysis of Pay/Bill Hours, Pay/Bill Rates, Overtime Calculations, Bonuses, Holidays, and more. The calculation will then provide your expected gross margin percentage and markup.

A built-in pay package calculator within your staffing software will save you time, help you save and earn more money by correct gross margin calculations, and also relieve the stress of manual complex pay calculations. All of this without needing to leave your software! Some pay package calculators may even go a step further and give you the ability to send the pay package to your candidate for approval right from the pay package calculator screen.

2. Credential Tracking

Credential tracking is a critical component to healthcare staffing. Without the ability to track and manage credentials, it is impossible to place healthcare candidates. The first component of credential tracking is the ability to store licenses, certifications, and other necessary compliance pieces, in addition to, dates granted, expiration dates, license numbers, and more. The second important component is the ability to send automatic reminders through email or text to individuals that have credentials expiring or expired. This alerts the employee of their credential expiration date and will prompt them to provide their updated credentials otherwise they won’t be able to be placed. The third important component is the ability to put a hard stop on placing candidates with missing or expired credentials. This is essential, as you won’t want to be held responsible for placing a healthcare professional that doesn’t have the proper credentials. Lastly, see if the healthcare software provider has a credential expiration report. This will be a big help to you when tracking expiring credentials and staying on top of those employees on the list.

Automated credential tracking is vital for every healthcare staffing company. Manually keeping track of credentials leaves room for error. Not to mention the time you need to put into keeping the information up to date and reaching out to employees with expiring credentials. Automated credential tracking is a must when discussing staffing software for healthcare.

3. Easy Shift Management

Managing shifts is one of the things you will be doing the most in the software, so you will certainly want it to be user-friendly to manage. Your demo of the software would be a good time to gauge the overall look, feel, and tools available to manage your shifts. Does it look simple and easy to use? Some software solutions may even offer a color-coded shift schedule that helps you identify shifts that are in progress, pending, open, upcoming, and more!

One major feature to ask about is the ability to create and manage shifts both individually and in bulk. If you need to make an update to shifts in bulk, you won’t want to do that one by one. The ability to bulk modify shift start/end dates, start/end times, quantity, reporting information, credentials, skills, and more is important. The best healthcare staffing software can modify shifts in bulk to save you time and increase efficiency.

Another important tool for easy shift management are “Won’t Go/Don’t Go” tools. If a facility doesn’t want a certain employee or an employee doesn’t want to work at a certain facility, the software will have this marked and you won’t make the mistake of accidentally placing an employee somewhere they shouldn’t be placed.

4. Self-Service Web Portals for Employees and Facilities

The convenience of self-service tools is a must for employees and facilities. Everyone wants to have the ability to complete tasks easily and on their own time. This is where Web Portals that are connected to your healthcare staffing software become especially important to have. Mobile-friendly Web Portals take it a step further. Healthcare professionals are very much on the go and aren’t always necessarily at a computer. Having a mobile-friendly web portal gives them access to everything they need right at their fingertips while on the go, and the right healthcare staffing software will be able to provide this.

For employees, some key features for them to have access to is the ability to enter availability, time, upload credentials, and view their work schedules. For facilities, you want them to be able to view upcoming shift schedules, invoices, and reporting. These are just a few of the important self-service tools that web portals can offer healthcare professionals.

OnBoarding is another component that can simplify the staffing of healthcare professionals. Healthcare software that offers both Web Portals and OnBoarding keeps everything streamlined. OnBoarding with e-forms will especially smoothen the application process and shorten the time to hire.

5. Powerful Search for Seeking Qualified Candidates

You want the search features in your healthcare staffing software to be robust. In healthcare, there are many specific qualifications and needs you look for when staffing shifts. Being able to filter and really narrow down your search to what you are looking for will save you time and help you staff shifts quicker by only being presented with candidates that are qualified for the shift you are hiring for.

Some filters you will want to be able to factor into your search are availability, schedules, credentials, and shift preferences. Think about some of your current needs as well, and what specifics you would like to be included in your search function, and use this as a metric for deciding on a healthcare staffing agency software package.

6. Emailing of Shift Schedules

The ability to email shift schedules to both facilities and employees is important. This gives the facility a nice summary of its upcoming shift schedule. It also gives employees a summary of their upcoming shifts. In your demo, see if the software provider has the ability to email shifts and what formats are available. Can you email daily, weekly, and monthly shift schedules? Can you email in a calendar view or a list?

The emailing of shift schedules helps strengthen your communication with both facilities and employees. It also helps ensure there is no confusion when it comes to the start of each shift!

7. Shift Differential Rate Schedules

The need to manage shift differentials is very common in healthcare staffing. Often times you need to manage rate schedules by facility by role, shift and unit. The ability to be able to seamlessly manage shift differentials is a must-have in your staffing software for healthcare. You will want to be sure it can auto-populate shift orders with the appropriate rates. Additionally, it will need to be able to handle special pay requirements such as per diem, stipends, and more.

8. Text Messaging to Improve Relationship Management

Text communication with employees is a fantastic way to confirm shifts, offer shifts, or simply maintain the relationship. Today texting is a must in professional staffing and should be part of your communication strategy. In fact, texts have a 98% open rate, meaning you are likely to receive a response.

Staffing software providers offer different means to text through their solutions. Check with the healthcare staffing software provider you are looking at and see what texting options are available. Can you send texts both individually and in bulk? Can you create text templates, so you don’t need to reinvent the wheel each time? How can you manage the texts as they come in? These are all good questions to ask as you assess the texting solutions that the staffing software provides.

Get Equipped with the Right Tools for Healthcare Staffing Success

We reviewed some of the top features to look for as you assess healthcare staffing software solutions. Being equipped with these tools will streamline your processes and nurture your staffing company for continued growth. In healthcare staffing, having the right technology at your fingertips will make a great impact not only internally at your staffing company but for your clients and employees.

Ready to find a healthcare staffing software solution that is equipped with these essential tools? Schedule a demo of Ultra-Staff EDGE staffing software.

Written by Jennifer Roeslmeier Mikels

Jennifer Roeslmeier Mikels is a Sr. Digital Marketing and Brands Manager at Automated Business Designs, developers of Ultra-Staff EDGE Staffing Software. Jennifer regularly publishes articles about key topics surrounding the staffing industry with both local and national staffing associations.

View Jennifer Roeslmeier Mikel’s Full Bio