Any ideas on how to......

[Albies5]

....cut down on overtime costs?? I work for a nursing home company. And many of our employees work more hrs in overtime then they do in regular time hours. Does anyone have any business advice on how to help cut down on the excessive overtime hours caused by these nurses??

[greedy4chips]

1. Hire more nurses.
2. Send the nurses home after 40.
3. Have less patients for them to take care of.

Those are the only 3 possible solutions unless you can make them more productive...good luck!

[vsjhoc]

Originally Posted by Albies5

....cut down on overtime costs?? I work for a nursing home company. And many of our employees work more hrs in overtime then they do in regular time hours. Does anyone have any business advice on how to help cut down on the excessive overtime hours caused by these nurses??

I remember that episode on "ER" when one of the nurses got fired after being warned about working too many OT hours ... and Sam got a quick lesson on what it's like to be a manager ...

Is there a union contract? Can you institute a rule that staff cannot do OT work more than, say 50% of their regular hours, and they won't be paid for any excess? Do state labor laws have anything to say about this? Have I raised more questions than I answered??

[sweeps]

You could also use a carrot instead of (or in addition to) the stick. Offer a bonus to the nurses if they can reduce the amount of overtime. Perhaps the nurses could come up with good ideas on how they can reduce overtime without adversely affecting the patients.

[boefixepa]

Um...this is a scheduling issue, is it not? They do it because 1.) they have to in order to get the work done or 2.) they want to in order to earn the $$

Solutions to #1.) Require less work so they are able to complete it in the allotted time.
or 2.) send them home when their time is up...the work (generally paper work) will be there tomorrow - you can't do this if they have patients though

Solution to #2) Salary the employees...this is what my work does. If you have to stay extra sometimes to get things done, you do, but it doesn't effect was the company has to pay out.

This is really one of those things you just have to crunch the numbers on. See if its more of a benifit to hire more nurses. I know in nursing there are all kinds of rules, so you have to see what works best for your situation.

[cschin4]

Can you stagger shifts? Have some come in 7-3, 8-4, 9-5, etc? I am sure there must be some minimum state requirements as to how many RN's etc need to be present. Personally, many nursing homes could save money by getting rid of excess administation. The nurses are actually necessary to care for the patients. This much OT is an indication that they are seriously understaffed. Hopefully you won't send any of your family there.

[Staceyy]

Offer comp time in lieu of overtime. My sister works for the government and that is what they do, offer additional future time off in lieu of overtime pay. If you do this however when the nurses ask for additional time off, you cannot say we're too busy to accomodate your request.

[cashqueen]

Weigh the cost benefits of hiriing another staff member or paying overtime. I also agree with looking at comp time as an alternative.

[autoxer]

Originally Posted by Albies5

... many of our employees work more hrs in overtime then they do in regular time hours.

How does the overtime pay?

At my company, the first 40 hours you work in a week are regular time and after that you get overtime. So I would have to work more than 80 hours in a week, to work more hours in overtime than I did in regular time.

[Albies5]

Thanks everyone!! We have had nurses who have had in ONE pay period 80 hrs reg and 98 ot-- its insane!!! i think some of it is understaffed, but mostly they want to just have that ot and make more money! and you have to give overtime for anytime worked over!

[autoxer]

So a pay period is bi monthly? Then the nurse is working 12 hr/day & 7 days/week?!? Hire another nurse & tell the OT nurse to go home.

Do the nurses do their own scheduling?

[Albies5]

ya the nurses work crazy hrs! but im under the impression that getting hurses to work for a nursing home is not so easy. there is a scheduler but i guess then need ppl to cover shifts for a lot of call offs...........

[PrincessPerky]

.........I always figured no one really wants to work 90 hours..but most people feel the need..either for money..or to help (in the nursing profession)

if you go talk to your nurses, find out why they work so much overtime, then find out how to fill that need..either hire more people, or pay them more for less hours (find a happy medium..pay X amount more, where X is less than the overtime costs you)

But it sounds like you don't talk to the nurses? you might want to, they work for you...

[Albies5]

well its hard - b/c we have 40 nursing homes with many many employees- we basically go thgrough the hr ppl at the inividual homes- its been said that the scheduler favors her friends and gives them the ot- but by being so far away any good ideas or incentives to stop taking the ot?

[PrincessPerky]

Ah, 40 homes, do they all have troubles or just this one? you might need to go visit it. or you might need a new scheduler, or maybe just a conference call to find out, or does he/she schedule all of the 40 homes? can you see the schedule? Regardless of how many you have well..I still think you need to find out WHY they are doing it..if it is preferential treatment..that is going to effect your customers (the residents)..if it is preferential because the workers are well good..you may have a spree of hunting to find another good one, try incentives to be good (emplyee of the month, and such, bonuses, raises)

Is there a local 'boss' who has a better idea of why?
the why is key to the solution, I mean really who hasn't worked for a company that puts a new rule in place to prevent some irritating little thing, and immediatly you and half your buddies come up with 100 ways around it....because you need around it! WHY is a VERY important question for any boss to ask. even if the answer is 'because they can' at lest now you know what you are fighting.


But then having worked for some 'impersonal' places before I can tell you what they do:

Limit it (only 10% per person)
Allow X amount of OT money per site, and lt the local folk figure out how to staff within that.
Offer a bonus to the boss for less than X amount overtime.
Offer a bonus to the employees for less than X amount of overtime (more than zero, but less than the cost of average OT)
Require a 'even spread' of hours. (so no one has less than 40 while others have more than 60....unless PT of course)
Replace offending 'boss' new guy knows what old one fired for, wil aim not to repeat..the whole Darth vader theory...though he actually killed the old admiral......I don't recomend that