How do organizations accurately determine the number of Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) needed to fill staff schedules without requiring overtime?

If you’ve ever worked on this problem, you know that hiring 30 FTEs does NOT imply 30 FTEs will be worked. This means FTE totals taken from the HRIS system are unreliable (no, we aren’t referencing nonproductive time, although it also must be considered when calculating productive availability)!

To truly understand staffing commitment, we must review historically worked hours for each team member. A team member’s commitment is defined as the weekly hours they have agreed to work. As an example, 0.9 FTE RNs are hired to work 36 hours per week (typically in a 3x12 shift format).

Analyzing FTE availability begins with comparing this agreed-upon FTE commitment with actual worked hours.

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Staffing grids connect clinical and financial guidelines in a way that effectively supports sustainable operations.

We aren't sure how long they've been around, but we would assume that the first staffing grid is older than anyone reading this, given how beautifully simple and impactful these little pieces of paper can be.

Does your nursing unit's staffing grid align with the budget financially? Are your nursing units staffing in alignment with their grids? How do you know? How do you ensure consistent nursing ratios between units? Across multiple hospitals in a health system?

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