The housekeeping director is assessing his staffing method to determine how many housekeepers are needed and the staffing method that will minimize salary expense

The housekeeping director is assessing his staffing method to determine how many housekeepers are needed and the staffing method that will minimize salary expense. The hospital has 200 beds, and the director has estimated that 200 hours of housekeeping is needed per day. The 200 hours accounts for the 200 patient rooms as well as ancillary, administrative, and common areas. Based on the table below, calculate required FTEs and the expected salary expense and excess labor expense (i.e., percent increase over the lowest cost method of meeting labor needs) when only fulltime employees are hired, fulltime employees are hired and overtime is utilized for fractional labor needs, and fulltime and parttime employees are hired. 

Wage $31,200  

Productive days per FTE 230

Total housekeeping hours per day              73,000 

Required days                9,125 

Required FTEs _______

Expected Salary Expense  

Staffing (FTEs) Expense % Increase

40 _______ _______

39+OT _______ _______

39.67 _______ _______

2. The housekeeping director is analyzing staff turnover and has collected the information in the table below and has read that turnover among hospital housekeeping staff averages 40% per year. Calculate and evaluate the turnover rates and explain whether the department has a turnover problem. 

Position FTE Hires Turnover Rate

Supervisory (4) 8 4 ______

Housekeepers (40) 40 15 ______

Total 48 19 ______

While turnover is slightly lower than the hospital average, the 50% turnover in supervisory staff is a problem in and of itself (disruption of continuity of service and training costs) but may also increase staff turnover. The director needs to determine why supervisors are leaving and whether changes are needed.