Employees are the most important asset and one of the most significant expenses in the operation of your ambulatory surgery center.
A 2017 HealthCare Appraisers survey of ASCs in the United States found that 57% of respondents spend 20% to 29.9% of their revenue on employee salaries and wages. And according to research from VMG Health, participating ASCs reported dedicating 22% of their net revenue to salaries and benefits and 4.7% to benefits.
An excellent team is worth investing in, but you need to make sure that you are allocating your budget appropriately and avoiding any employee-related pitfalls. Here are some of the most common staffing issues that can cause costly problems for your ASC.
Attrition and Understaffing
Employee turnover is damaging for several reasons. First, it’s expensive to recruit, train, and onboard new employees. For the average ASC, reducing unwanted employee turnover by 25% saves around $55,000. Secondly, when your center is understaffed, your remaining staff is burdened by more work than they can keep up with. Employees may feel stressed, overwhelmed, and resentful over time – and this staffing gap can lead to mistakes and inefficiencies. And errors, such as incorrect claims and slow collection rates can hurt your center’s cash flow.
Non-Competitive Compensation
To attract and retain exceptional employees, you must offer attractive salaries and benefits. If your ASC’s compensation and benefits packages aren’t in line with market standards, you will have difficulty hiring great talent and keeping them for the long term. Do a market analysis to evaluate whether your center is offering fair compensation ranges for each position.
Lack of Learning Opportunities
Ongoing education is important to both individual employees and your ASC as a whole. Ensure that your center’s staff is keeping up to date with required knowledge, such as new regulations and insurance requirements. And provide additional training and professional development opportunities that help your employees grow and advance their careers.
Making sure that the right people are in the right roles – and that they are nurtured and supported overtime – is essential to your ASC’s effectiveness. But these efforts often require more resources than centers have in-house. MedHQ’s long-term staffing services take the burden off your team, managing everything from recruiting and hiring to insurance, benefits, and wages.
Learn more about MedHQ’s long-term staffing solutions.
