Many health systems have brought agency spend down, but contingent labor hasn’t disappeared. Internal float pools, internal travel programs, per diem shift pickup and retiree re-engagement are filling more of the gap.
Those programs carry their own risks. Pay can drift out of parity between internal flex staff and core staff. Ownership can blur. Premium pay can creep upward until it looks a lot like the spending it was meant to replace. Meanwhile, pipelines for imaging, lab, respiratory, surgical tech and pharmacy tech roles are lengthening, and many units are losing experienced nurses as newer nurses enter practice.
In this live webinar, leaders from Trinity Health and Arnot Health share how they’re building internal talent models that hold up.
Learnings include:
- What “”right-sized”” contingent labor looks like, and which forecasting and approval practices keep it intentional
- How to set pay parity and governance for internal flex programs before premium pay gets out of hand
- Which education partnerships, earn-while-you-learn programs and cross-training investments are paying off for allied health roles
- How to earn front-line nurses’ trust that AI scheduling tools support their judgment rather than replace it