Hannah Beckett from Crown Workforce Management, looks at driving efficiency and excellence in NHS facilities management
Efficient workforce management is the backbone of any successful operation – and for NHS facilities and estate teams, the stakes are even higher. Whether managed in-house or through outsourced partners, these teams play a critical role in ensuring the seamless operation of healthcare facilities.
Crown Workforce Management is proud to support these essential teams with innovative solutions to simplify time tracking, attendance, scheduling, and integration with third-party providers such as payroll and HR.
Meeting complex needs in NHS facilities management
NHS facilities and estates teams face unique challenges. From managing large, diverse workforces to maintaining accountability in 24/7 operational environments, manual systems often fall short. Delayed processes, human errors and administrative burdens not only impact efficiency but also risk staff dissatisfaction and operational setbacks.
Crown Workforce Management addresses these challenges head-on.
With decades of experience supporting public sector organisations, NHS, councils and over 40% of the UK&I’s police forces, Crown brings a wealth of expertise in duty and workforce management systems tailored to complex environments.
Workforce transformation in NHS healthcare environments
We recently partnered with a global facilities management (FM) company responsible for delivering support services across multiple NHS hospital trusts to implement a workforce management transformation. One example of this collaboration involved a large NHS hospital with over 1,200 employees tasked with maintaining critical facilities, such as catering, cleaning and building maintenance.
Like many healthcare environments, the hospital faced common workforce challenges:
- Time-consuming processes: Reliance on paper-based timesheets demanded excessive administrative effort and was prone to errors.
- Payroll inaccuracies: Manual processes led to discrepancies, frustrating employees and undermining trust.
- Limited accountability: A lack of tools to monitor attendance patterns made it difficult to address inefficiencies.
The solution
To address these issues, the FM company implemented an automated workforce management system tailored to meet the specific demands of NHS hospitals. This particular hospital chose to issue staff with Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)-enabled ID badges over other technology, such as facial recognition or fingerprint biometrics, enabling seamless clock-in and clock- out functionality. This ensured precise attendance tracking, reduced timekeeping errors and provided accurate data for payroll and scheduling.
Tangible outcomes
The introduction of this system delivered significant benefits across multiple levels:
- Improved staff morale: Employees gained confidence in the accuracy of their pay and schedules, contributing to a positive work environment.
- Better management oversight: Comprehensive reporting tools empower management with actionable data, improving workforce planning and decision-making.
- Streamlined operations: Automation reduced administrative workloads, enabling staff to focus on supporting the hospital’s core mission.
Collaboration across NHS trusts
Our extensive experience working with NHS hospitals was key to the success of this initiative. By collaborating closely with the FM company, we tailored the system to the hospital’s operational requirements. Comprehensive staff training ensured a smooth transition, enabling employees and managers to confidently adopt the system. Additionally, the system’s adaptability supports evolving needs across other NHS facilities.
This case study highlights how technology-driven workforce management solutions can transform operations within NHS hospitals, delivering benefits not only to FM companies but also to the teams they support.
G-Cloud 14 framework supplier
Crown Workforce Management is proud to be a supplier under the G-Cloud 14 framework, providing an additional procurement route for public sector organisations, including NHS hospitals. Alongside our established direct contracting options, the G-Cloud framework offers a streamlined and compliant way to access our solutions. For NHS facilities and estates teams, this means quicker access to workforce management tools that drive efficiency and reduce costs, all while maintaining compliance with government standards.
Driving excellence in NHS operations
The success of Crown Workforce Management at multiple NHS hospitals reflects our commitment to supporting NHS facilities and estates teams. By addressing their unique challenges, Crown enables these teams to focus on their vital role in creating safe, efficient healthcare environments.
Looking ahead, the possibilities for further optimisation are exciting. From integrating advanced analytics to enhancing interoperability with other hospital systems, Crown continues to innovate. The goal is simple: to empower NHS teams to deliver excellence in every aspect of their work.
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International.
