How we helped Alex at brighterkind:
- Save time broadcasting available shifts
- Share vacant shifts to permanent and bank colleagues first
- Less spent on agencies
The journey
Kingston Care Home, a brighterkind home, part of the Four Seasons Health Care Group, has 67 bedrooms and offers residential and nursing care. Kingston offers a person-centred approach that is delivered through quality care. Alex Teixeira has been the Home Manager at Kingston since 2022 and implemented Auto-fill in the home earlier this year.
Previously, the process for finding cover involved contacting individual members of the team to see if they could work additional or alternative hours. This was time consuming and inefficient.
Enter Florence:
With Auto-fill, a key feature of the Florence platform, shifts are posted once and offered to each group of colleagues in the right order, reducing the need for agency spend.
Alex simply posts any available shifts to Florence, his team are automatically notified by SMS and they can click the link to pick up any shifts they’re interested in. This ensures that team members can proactively manage their additional shifts and time supporting residents and the home.
Time is saved when it comes to cancellations too, with Auto-fill automatically reposting shifts. Notifications mean that Alex is able to monitor any last minute cancellations and can take any appropriate action. “Even if people cancel their shift then it’s straight away available for everyone else to see and pick up… automatic notifications on phone and email prompt me to take action”, says Alex.
Notifications have also been beneficial for bank colleagues, who work at the home less often and therefore can’t easily check their upcoming shifts. With Auto-fill, “they get reminded via text message or on the app that they have a shift coming up”.
“Auto-fill allows me enough time to explore all avenues and ensure we don’t have to use an agency.” Reduced agency use is not only beneficial for cost savings but, more importantly, for residents too. Colleagues who know the home and their routine help to create a “calm and friendly environment ”.
Auto-fill ensures there is sufficient time for permanent and bank colleagues to pick up shifts, before they are sent to Florence staff. This means that Alex can ensure all of his team have been offered the shifts before turning to agencies, which he now very rarely does.
“Auto-fill makes the workflow better and has resulted in lots of time saved… just go for it!”
Alex Teixeira, Home Manager
