One of the greatest challenges facing health services in achieving their mission is the effective management of the workforce.  Issues of workforce shortage, skill level variations, shift work, staff retention and the mix of fulltime, part-time and casual workers compound the management challenge for a cohort that represents the biggest single cost of doing business.  Failure to meet the challenge has impacts on financial performance, quality of service and the overall reputation of the health service.

Despite the undeniable status of staff workforce management as a mission critical factor, there remains a lack of understanding of the key dynamics in operation. Nowhere is this more evident than in the inability of existing systems to capture and utilise staff resource data for effective planning and deployment. Managers are forced to rely on past practice and questionable assumptions when making human resource management decisions. When faced with managing a valuable and costly resource there is no substitute for accurate, timely information.

In response to this need, Health-e Workforce Solutions was established in 2006 by the Director and software developer, Danny Rathgeber (previously Executive Director of Nursing Services at Melbourne Health).  Health-e Workforce Solutions provides consultancy services and software products to help health services address their HRM challenges.

Predictive Modeller

On the 3rd February Minister Combet (Minister for Industry and Innovation) announced the latest funding offers from Commercialisation Australia. We achieved a substantial grant to build a Predictive Modeller - An Innovative Workforce Knowledge System.