Healthcare organizations today face the challenge of adopting and implementing a healthcare information technology (IT) project that is expected to deliver clinical and financial benefits. However, navigating this journey can be difficult without the right staff. 

Ask yourself: Who has the skills and staff for these positions? Is there a need to hire additional staff to meet the needs of this healthcare IT project? If so, what budget dollars are available?  Will this funding be in the form of internal or external hires? The answers to these questions will help you create a staffing strategy for your healthcare IT project. 

Listed below are several tips that will assist you in finding the right healthcare IT project staff: 

1. Identify and prioritize your critical roles/positions on this healthcare IT project; then think about the required skills and experience for each position. You can start off with the roles/positions listed in your project plan and review them to ensure that you are focusing on critical and required positions. Don't forget to include support staff such as the Project Management Office (PMO), Quality Assurance, Technical Writer, etc. You will also want to consider other ancillary positions that may be part of this healthcare IT project. For example, you may want a vendor liaison or a business development person to assist with forming strategic relationships with vendors. 
   
   
2. Get input from key stakeholders on job responsibilities and desired skills/experience for each position. You will also want to determine if any of these positions are shared with other projects on the schedule. For example, if your project requires a business analyst, you may need to consider other projects and how their schedule will impact the scheduling of work for this healthcare IT project. 
   
   
3. Search your current employees and LinkedIn for available candidates that may be a good fit for these positions and consider other healthcare organizations or vendors who may have experienced staff members that could fill these roles/positions. Be sure to check licensure and certifications as well. Remember, it is not necessary to hire all these positions externally, you can mix and match staff internally and externally. 
   
   
4. Use recruitment firms who specialize in healthcare IT as they will have a better understanding of the market and are able to bring more candidates to your panel than HR alone. They also know the market rates for each position. Consider setting up a panel with several agencies as you may be interested in having them submit candidates for multiple job openings.
   
   
5. Consider culture fit with potential candidates for each position so that this healthcare IT project will be a win for both the candidate and your organization.  If the candidate is not a good fit for your organization, they may be a bad fit for this project. TIP: During the interview process, be sure to evaluate not only the candidate's skills and experience but also their openness to change. For example, if they are used to working on a waterfall schedule, do they have an open mind (and willingness) to work on a lean/agile schedule?
   
   
6. Create a staffing matrix that shows the approved positions, budget amounts, and candidate requirements. Assign this to someone within your organization who is responsible for keeping up to date on the financial resources available as well as when funding is released. This person will also be responsible for cross-referencing the candidate pools with available positions to ensure there are no "dead" positions on your schedule. Recruitment firms, HR, and other vendors can be part of the staffing matrix to help you streamline your search for candidates. 

At the end of the day, staffing your healthcare IT project should be a collaborative effort. You will want to work with HR, PMO office, other departments within your organization that are participating in this healthcare IT project, and external vendors/consultants as well as current employees to ensure you are working with qualified candidates. After all, they will be the ones who are responsible for meeting project deliverables and milestones. 

For the past 20+ years, ROI Healthcare Solutions has earned the trust of health systems by serving as the hybrid partner that can represent the functional and technical perspectives equally. If you want to learn how we can support your next initiative, reach out at https://roihs.com/contact-us