Rapidly reduce incentive costs
Automate incentive eligibility and approval
Create flexibility with existing resources
Enable partial shifts to improve fill rates
30% reduction in incentive spend
70% reduction in administrative burden
46% increase in core staff participation in cross-unit shift pickup
Uses UKG inpatient scheduling
15 hospitals
40,000 employees
A large Midwestern health system with 15 hospitals and nearly 40,000 employees sought a standardized, modern workforce solution to reduce incentive spend, balance shift fill rates, and leverage enterprise economies of scale - without adding burden to an already strained nursing workforce.
At the time, the organization was operating within a set of processes that had grown increasingly complex - relying on multiple alerts and manual steps to communicate open shifts, assign incentives, and reconcile claims. While these workflows had supported the organization for years, they created natural variation and added administrative effort for nurse leaders. The system saw an opportunity to streamline these processes, reduce burden, and create a more consistent, efficient experience for both leaders and frontline staff.
The Works OnDemand initiative was intentionally designed to integrate with the existing core scheduling platform and enable “labor liquidity” - the ability for clinical resources to flow efficiently to areas of greatest need - while significantly reducing manual workload related to schedule and shift management. By simplifying access to shifts, increasing transparency, and offering flexible options, the solution also supported nurse well‐being by giving clinicians greater predictability, control, and choice in how and when they work.
In partnership with the Works team, the system launched a strategic 12‐week proof of value (POV) focused on critical care units across two hospitals. The objective was straightforward: deploy Works OnDemand to automate open‐shift distribution, dynamic incentive assignment, shift booking, and incentive reconciliation, and evaluate its operational, financial, and workforce impact at enterprise scale.
“WORKS demonstrated that digital workforce transformation does not need to be a multi‐year, high‐cost endeavor. In just 12 weeks, we gained valuable insights and a deeper understanding of variation in scheduling across our system. By aligning clear goals, engaging stakeholders early, and leveraging the Works OnDemand model, meaningful outcomes can be achieved quickly - especially in today’s agile, AI‐enabled environment. Most importantly, RN satisfaction with open-shift management increased significantly, giving nurses greater autonomy and control over their schedules - an impact that truly matters to our workforce.”
Mary Drewes
System Vice President
Associate Chief Nurse Executive
Improved Core Staff "Liquidity"
Cross-unit participation in open shift claiming increased 46% - expanding the staffing flexibility and reducing reliance on premium incentives. With Works OnDemand, staff are proactively alerted to preference-matched opportunities that would not be easily visible within their UKG scheduling system.
Clinician Engagement and Satisfaction
Staff surveys have shown a significant increase in bedside team satisfaction related to schedule autonomy. Works OnDemand has quieted the noise common with repeated outreaches from different unit leaders and the central staffing team.
Rapid Adoption
68% of core eligible staff participated in the Proof of Value exercise across the system's academic ICU units. This high participation ensured that the data collected was applicable to the enterprise expansion business case.
Shift Flexibility
42% of all shifts claimed are partial or variable-length shifts - introducing a fill rate achievement tool not previously available to the health system. These partial shifts enable the client to better meet staff preferences while simultaneously driving higher fill rates - without adding to administrative complexity.
Reduced Manual Burden
Works now automates all open shift posting, eligibility validation and shift booking - significantly reducing manual scheduling and incentive management for frontline leadership and the central staffing office. Works has also helped streamline the incentive reconciliation process as well by re-checking staff FTE qualification prior to payroll runs.
Project Launch: A 12-Week "Proof of Value"
The Works OnDemand Proof of Value was designed to balance speed with meaningful performance data. From contract signature to launch took only 6 weeks, followed by a 12-week evaluation period. By integrating directly with UKG, the organization’s existing scheduling system, Works provided a single source of truth for open shift needs and incentive eligibility.
Instead of the prior 8-step process, the new Open Shift Pickup Workflow became instantaneous: The staff member claims the shift in the Works app, and the shift is immediately booked within the existing scheduling system - there are no additional approval steps required, and Works OnDemand automatically re-validates incentive eligibility prior to the payroll run. By removing 6+ manual steps, the health system didn't just save time - it created a better experience for their clinicians and frontline managers.
25% of care staff are newly picking up shifts - Works has activated previously uncovered demand
0% increase in overtime hours, as workload has spread across a wider pool
30% reduction in incentive spend
70% reduction in administrative burden related to open shift filling
46% increase in core staff participation in cross-unit shift pickup
The health system is scheduled to complete the final phase of Works OnDemand deployment across all inpatient nursing and nursing support users in June of 2026. At that time, over 11,000 clinical users will be supported on the Works platform.
Plans are underway to expand the platform to multiple allied health and non-clinical departments following the completion of the nursing project. Once complete, the client expects to engage over 20,000 shift-based staff members through Works.
