Customer Story | Sept 2025
Bellin Health’s journey to efficiency and cost savings
Customer profile:
Reduce labor spend with data-driven incentives and smarter scheduling
Eliminate last-minute gaps with proactive staffing visibility
Give teams advance coverage and reduce reliance on urgent incentives
Improve workforce utilization with strategic open shift management
Bellin Health, a non-profit health system in Northeast Wisconsin, encountered obstacles in its scheduling and resource management operations. The absence of a dedicated scheduling tool led to a lack of transparency, making it difficult for the organization to effectively allocate resources across its facilities. This hampered operational efficiency and led to financial strain due to the heavy reliance on incentives to ensure shift coverage.
The need for comprehensive reform was evident, prompting Bellin Health to seek a solution that would streamline scheduling processes, enhance clarity in resource allocation, and ultimately, curb unnecessary expenditures. In response to these challenges, Bellin Health recognized the imperative for an advanced scheduling system that could offer enterprise-wide transparency and automated scheduling workflows.
The goal was to implement a solution that would identify resource gaps proactively, thus enabling staff to pick up open shifts well in advance, supported by a data-driven incentive structure. This strategic move reduced last-minute recruitment efforts and provided a reliable staffing picture well ahead of shift commencements, resulting in significant financial saving.
Bellin Health required a comprehensive scheduling solution that would provide enterprise-wide transparency, identify resource gaps, and automate scheduling workflows. The goal was to create a proactive staffing environment, reduce last-minute recruitment efforts and provide a clear staffing picture weeks in advance.
Bellin Health undertook a comprehensive approach to revolutionize their staffing and scheduling processes by establishing business rules that laid the foundation for standardized staffing policies and a tailored incentive program. This strategic framework was pivotal in ensuring that each staffing decision was backed by data-driven insights, fostering a culture of consistency and reliability. The customized incentive program was effective in promoting cost containment, as it motivated staff to proactively pick up shifts, thereby reducing reliance on costly last-minute staffing solutions.
The successful implementation of Smart Square® at Bellin Health can be significantly attributed to the proactive involvement of their leadership and project teams. These teams were instrumental in driving the seamless integration of this advanced scheduling tool, ensuring that all stakeholders were aligned with the new processes.
Their commitment to change management and continuous improvement played a crucial role in embedding automation within scheduling workflows, which streamlined operations and minimized administrative burdens. By incentivizing early shift pick-ups, Bellin Health not only enhanced operational efficiency but also achieved substantial cost savings, reinforcing their dedication to delivering high-quality and financially sustainable healthcare services.
An incentive cost analysis of 132,970 hours showed substantial cost savings, with a reduction of $1,032,179 compared to the legacy pay practice.
65% of open shifts were filled 14+ days in advance, and an additional 15% were filled 7+ days prior to the shift start, resulting in 80% of staffing gaps being addressed well ahead of time, enhancing overall efficiency.
7% of productive hours were attributed to the open shift program, demonstrating the effectiveness of the new scheduling strategy in optimizing resource use and reducing last-minute disruptions.
Conclusion
The implementation of Smart Square and advanced analytics has been transformative for Bellin Health, revolutionizing their scheduling and resource management processes. These tools have empowered the organization to achieve remarkable efficiency gains and significant cost savings, while fostering a culture of proactive staffing and streamlined operations. By leveraging data-driven insights, Bellin Health continues to optimize their workforce, ensuring that they meet and exceed their operational goals.
Contact us today to discover how we deliver intelligent, purpose-built solutions with Smart Square’s AI-driven scheduling engine and the symplr Operations Platform.
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