How to Evaluate and Choose the Right WFM Vendor for Healthcare?

Did you know that inefficient scheduling and staffing in healthcare settings can lead to longer patient wait times, staff burnout, and ultimately compromise patient care? If your current workforce planning relies on spreadsheets and manual intuition, you’ve probably experienced the pain points: hours spent juggling staff rosters, last-minute shift changes, uncertain nurse-to-patient ratios, and difficulty scaling to meet patient demand—especially in telehealth clinics, where patient volumes can fluctuate rapidly.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to navigate the process of evaluating and choosing a WFM vendor tailored for healthcare environments. We’ll highlight the challenges of manual scheduling, illustrate the benefits of modern WFM tools, and outline a structured approach to select a solution that will support patient-centered operations, reduce labor costs, and improve compliance with healthcare standards.

The Cost of Manual Workforce Planning in Healthcare

Relying on spreadsheets for scheduling often results in:

• Time-Consuming Administrative Work: Healthcare administrators, clinic managers, and scheduling coordinators spend countless hours each week finalizing staffing, responding to time-off requests, and adjusting shifts last-minute. For instance, consider how shifting from 8 hours of weekly scheduling time to just 20 minutes per month could free managers to focus on quality of care.
• Limited Visibility and Forecasting: Manual tools offer no real-time insights into staff availability, patient volume forecasts, or compliance with nurse-to-patient ratios. This uncertainty can lead to either overstaffing (inflating labor costs) or understaffing (increasing patient wait times and staff fatigue).
• Reduced Patient Satisfaction and Staff Morale: Inconsistent staffing and ad-hoc adjustments can strain healthcare professionals, leading to higher burnout and turnover rates. Patients feel the impact through longer wait times, reduced appointment availability, and less personalized care.

Why WFM Software Matters in Healthcare

Implementing a healthcare-focused WFM solution transforms guesswork into data-driven scheduling aligned with patient demand, clinical guidelines, and compliance standards. Benefits include:

• Improved Patient Outcomes: Accurate forecasting ensures the right number of healthcare professionals—nurses, medical assistants, virtual care providers—are always available, reducing wait times and improving patient satisfaction.
• Cost-Efficiency and Resource Optimization: Research from HR.com suggests organizations implementing WFM solutions may reduce labor costs by 6–10% in the first year. Over time, strategic staffing can help contain wage costs, prevent unnecessary overtime, and delay or reduce new hires.
• Regulatory Compliance and Accuracy: Automated scheduling and reporting tools help ensure compliance with healthcare staffing mandates, credentialing requirements, and telehealth licensure rules—mitigating compliance risks and ensuring quality standards.
• Real-Time Adjustments and Insights: Real-time data means you can quickly respond to patient volume changes, adjust telehealth coverage based on appointment demand, and monitor staff workloads. Some providers have significantly improved their SLA adherence and operational efficiency, resulting in better care delivery.
• Strategic Planning for Future Needs: With robust forecasting and analytics, you can proactively address hiring needs, identify skill gaps in clinical teams, and ensure that specialized services (like telehealth specialties or remote patient monitoring units) are adequately staffed.

A 6-Step Framework to Evaluate WFM Vendors for Healthcare

Selecting the right WFM solution doesn’t have to be daunting. Use these steps to clarify your needs, identify the right partner, and ensure a smooth implementation.

Step 1: Determine Must-Haves vs. Nice-to-Haves

Focus on core capabilities essential for healthcare operations. Must-have features often include:

• Clinical Scheduling & Templates: Easily create and adapt staff rosters, including physician, nursing, and telehealth provider schedules.
• Demand Forecasting: Anticipate patient volume fluctuations to staff appropriately during peak telehealth appointment times or seasonal patient surges.
• Compliance & Reporting: Generate compliance reports for accrediting bodies, track clinical staff credentials, and adhere to nurse-to-patient ratios.
• Real-Time Insights: View current staffing levels, patient load, and appointment backlogs in real-time to make immediate adjustments.
• Integration with EHR & Telehealth Platforms: Ensure the WFM tool connects seamlessly with your Electronic Health Record (EHR) system and telehealth platform to streamline workflows.

Nice-to-have features might include automated PTO management, shift-swapping features for nurses and clinicians, advanced analytics, or agent/clinician self-scheduling to improve staff satisfaction.

Step 2: Research and Shortlist Healthcare-Focused Vendors

Armed with your requirements, begin your search:

• Online Searches: Use industry-specific keywords like “healthcare workforce management software” or “telehealth WFM solutions.”
• Industry Portals and Associations: Check reputable healthcare IT resources for vendor recommendations.
• RFP Process: Reach out to selected vendors with a Request for Proposal (RFP) detailing your must-haves, desired integrations, and compliance needs. Inquire about data security, HIPAA compliance, uptime guarantees, pricing models, and relevant case studies.

Step 3: Live Demos and Product Trials

Once you have a shortlist, schedule demos to see the platform in action:

• Forecasting & Adjustability: Can the tool accurately predict patient demand based on historical data and integrate telehealth appointment volumes?
• Compliance & Credentialing: Does the system help track licensing and certification expirations for clinical staff?
• Real-Time Visibility: Can you monitor patient backlogs, appointment loads, and staff workload across different sites or telehealth hubs?
• Ease of Use: Is the platform intuitive for schedulers, clinicians, and administrative staff?

Personalized demos can provide a more realistic preview of how the tool aligns with your workflows. If possible, share sample scheduling data or anonymized patient volumes for a tailor-made demonstration.

Step 4: Negotiating and Gaining Stakeholder Buy-In

After identifying a top candidate:

• Negotiate Terms: Discuss pricing based on staff size, telehealth volume projections, and contract length. Confirm SLAs, uptime guarantees, and how cost scales as services expand.
• Internal Advocacy: Present ROI estimates, time savings, and improved patient outcomes to leadership. Highlight how WFM can help maintain compliance, reduce turnover, and improve staff satisfaction. Your vendor can provide data and case studies to strengthen your case.

Step 5: Implementation and Onboarding

With your solution chosen, focus on a smooth roll-out:

• Integration Setup: Connect the WFM platform to EHR systems, telehealth tools, and HR systems to sync patient appointments, staff credentials, and shift data automatically.
• Training Management & Clinical Teams: Ensure nurse managers, schedulers, and frontline staff understand the new tool’s functionality. Emphasize how it streamlines their work—faster scheduling adjustments, transparent PTO management, and balanced workloads.
• Agent and Clinician Adoption: Address concerns proactively. Explain how the WFM platform helps prevent burnout by ensuring more equitable shift distributions and reliable staffing patterns.

Step 6: Ongoing Maintenance and Continuous Improvement

WFM is dynamic, especially in a healthcare environment where patient needs evolve:

• Regular Check-Ins: Monitor performance, patient wait times, and staff feedback. Adjust as necessary to optimize schedules or accommodate new telehealth service lines.
• Vendor Collaboration: Maintain an ongoing relationship with your WFM vendor for support, troubleshooting, and to stay informed about product updates or new features.
• Iterative Refinement: As your telehealth offerings grow, your staffing model might need refining. Use WFM insights to continuously improve resource allocation and patient care delivery.

A Step Toward Better Patient Care and Operational Efficiency

Choosing the right WFM solution transforms staffing challenges into strategic opportunities. By moving away from manual processes, healthcare organizations can more accurately forecast workload, align staffing with patient demand, and automate administrative burdens. This shift enables clinical teams to spend more time caring for patients, ultimately improving patient experiences and outcomes.

With a focus on maximizing clinical capacity, Untether Labs supports healthcare providers in creating precise, demand-oriented schedules, automating follow-ups to reduce no-shows, and involving staff in the scheduling process. Through robust reporting and analytics, organizations gain clear insights into where they can improve margins, utilization, and quality of care. By integrating these capabilities into your operation, you’ll ensure that your clinical professionals consistently have the time and support they need to deliver exceptional, patient-centered care.

Ready to Elevate Your Workforce Management?

Explore Untether Labs’ automated WFM solutions to see how we can help you optimize scheduling, enhance compliance, and deliver exceptional patient outcomes across all your care channels.

With the solutions Untether Labs provide you’re now equipped with a WFM platform that aligns clinical capacity with patient demand, streamlines administrative tasks, and ultimately empowers your staff to focus on delivering the best possible care.

References

(1) Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System. “Hospital-Based Emergency Care: At the Breaking Point.” National Academies Press, 2007.

(2) Daily Harvest team scheduling improvement as originally cited in user-provided content (anecdotal example).

(3) Shanafelt, T. D., Hasan, O., Dyrbye, L. N., et al. “Changes in Burnout and Satisfaction With Work-Life Balance in Physicians and the General US Working Population Between 2011 and 2014.” Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2015.

(4) McKinsey & Company. “Healthcare’s Next Chapter: What’s Ahead for the US Healthcare Industry.” Accessed: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare/our-insights/healthcares-next-chapter-whats-ahead-for-the-us-healthcare-industry

(5) HR.com reference based on user-provided claim. Actual percentages may vary; see HR.com’s workforce management studies for data: https://www.hr.com

(6) American Nurses Association. “Nurse Staffing.” Accessed: https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nurse-staffing/

(7) Healthcare Business Today. “Building Resilience: A Deep Dive Into Healthcare Workforce Innovation in 2024.” Accessed: https://www.healthcarebusinesstoday.com/

(8) Modern Healthcare. “How Hospitals Are Addressing Workforce Challenges.” Accessed: https://www.modernhealthcare.com/

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Written by Ross Lomocso