Hospital supply chains aren't immune to the labor shortages that have forced health systems to delay surgeries and close facilities. Several industry executives told Becker's they've had to up their incentives in the face of outside competition to retain and recruit workers.
Laura Kowalczyk, vice president of supply chain and support services at UAB Medicine in Birmingham, Ala., told Becker's the health system has a vacancy rate for supply chain jobs of about 20 percent, with most of the labor shortages concentrated in front-line hourly wage workers in positions such as stock tech and receiving coordinator.
For corporate supply chain jobs at UAB Medicine, Ms. Kowalczyk said competition is still high, but there are fewer labor shortages because in areas offering higher pay, there is more choice and flexibility. For instance, the system's corporate supply team has gone almost 100 percent remote since the pandemic, which expands the system's employee pool and gives it the flexibility to hire people outside of the state. But for most hourly wage positions, workers must be on-site.
Ms. Kowalczyk said competition for hourly wage supply chain jobs is fierce, especially with Amazon opening two distribution facilities in Alabama. She said she expects to lose some workers when a new facility opens soon in the area, but is unsure how long they'll stay at Amazon. When a facility opened in the area two years ago, the health system saw some workers leave and then come back because of Amazon's stringent work policies.
Companies like Amazon can offer higher pay and more flexible payment options than most health systems are able to. Ms. Kowalczyk said companies like Amazon can offer same-day pay, an option that is very attractive to hourly wage supply chain workers.
"We want to pay fairly, we need to keep people, but at the same time we have to be mindful that we're probably never going to pay an Amazon rate. We're just not going to be able to do it," she said.
McDonald's recently offered $500 bonus incentive pay for new supply workers and $17 an hour, Ms. Kowalczyk said. UAB Medicine typically pays $15 an hour and cannot offer bonus incentives at the moment, she said.
To compete, UAB Medicine is hoping to move to a weekly pay schedule instead of bimonthly and considering other compensation structures. The health system is also becoming more flexible with supply chain workers' shifts, offering incentives such as pay to come in for just an hour or two when they can to help out if they want extra hours. The system also just increased its minimum wage for hourly supply chain workers to $14 an hour and plans to boost it to $15 an hour next June, Ms. Kowalczk said.
Ms. Kowalczyk said there's a very loyal segment of the health system's supply chain workforce that has stayed through the hardships of the pandemic, but she worries that some workers are getting burned out. Paying workers more doesn't always keep them around if they're burned out, she said.
"It's not all about money, that's never the sole answer. It lasts only for a short amount of time, and then if you're tired and you're burned out, and you're not happy with your boss, it won't matter at all," she said.
One of the most important ways to retain workers, Ms. Kowalczyk said, is to having strong leaders. You must have good leaders who make employees feel like they're valued and taken care of in every way possible, she said.
Saul Kredi, vice president of supply chain management at Memorial Healthcare System in Hollywood, Fla., told Becker's his health system is seeing a similar trend of supply chain labor shortages concentrated in entry-level positions.
He cited competition from other companies as well, saying "We're all vying for the same pool of labor."
Similarly to UAB Medicine, Memorial Healthcare is working to be more flexible in order to retain its supply chain staff. Mr. Kredi said the system is working to create a supply chain career ladder from entry level to the corporate department to create a clear career path for the staff.
He said the system was struggling to recruit supply chain workers before the pandemic, and it's only gotten harder. But, the health system also has seen some people gain an interest in working in supply chain, thanks to the pandemic.
"I have interviewed some team members that would love to come into supply chain and learn more about it because of the pandemic and what impact supply chain had, and I think people are finding that gratifying to be a part of," Mr. Kredi said.
Hal Mueller, chief supply chain officer at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, told Becker's the hospital is facing "the same challenges to hiring and retaining team members that the rest of the industry is dealing with. With our HR partners, we're being as nimble as possible to meet competitive challenges."
But some health systems told Becker's they're not seeing the same labor shortages in their supply chain departments.
Rosa Costanzo, vice president of strategic sourcing and supply chain management and chief procurement officer of Jackson Health System in Miami, Fla., told Becker's her supply chain department has been lucky.
"We have been able to recruit and fill open positions even though the cycle time from opening to fill has taken a little longer," Ms. Costanzo said. "The procurement side of supply chain has not felt the labor shortages, and this may be due to the flexibility with remote work opportunities within our organization."
She said labor issues at manufacturers, suppliers and shippers, however, are harming the supply chain service levels hospitals are receiving.