Addressing Staffing Shortages and Employee Engagement

The healthcare sector faces the combined challenge of staffing shortages, mainly due to an aging population, and growing patient demand. These pressures not only threaten quality of care but also affect employee engagement and retention. In their joint session, ORTEC and MST will demonstrate how digital innovation, data-driven scheduling, and involving staff in decision-making can improve both operational performance and job satisfaction. The focus will be on practical, proven methods that enhance efficiency while maintaining care quality at the highest level.

ORTEC: Mathematics and AI for Smarter Scheduling

Representing ORTEC, Goos Kant, Senior Optimization Consultant at the company and Professor of Optimization at Tilburg University, will share how advanced mathematics and artificial intelligence are applied to create higher-quality, more user-friendly rosters. ORTEC’s solutions combine optimization algorithms with innovative technologies like Large Language Models, embedded in staff apps to support employees in their daily work and make the scheduling process smoother and more transparent.

With deep expertise in applying quantitative decision-making to complex, real-world problems, Goos Kant has worked across multiple sectors, with a particular emphasis on the healthcare domain. His academic and professional work focuses on designing smarter, fairer, and more efficient systems for workforce and resource planning.

MST: Empowering Staff Through Self- and Multi-Resource Scheduling

From MST’s side, Peter Kustermans, Manager at MST, will present the hospital’s transformation towards more employee-driven rosters and integrated capacity planning. Medisch Spectrum Twente — one of the largest top-clinical hospitals in the Netherlands, employing approximately 3,500 professionals — offers specialized care ranging from trauma services to advanced surgical procedures, attracting patients from across the country.

Kustermans will describe how MST’s innovative “collaborative self-scheduling” approach gives staff greater control over their own schedules. In the first phase of the process, employees indicate their preferred shifts without restrictions. The second phase makes visible any over- or under-staffing, allowing colleagues to adjust voluntarily. The final phase sees central planners resolve remaining gaps, supported by ORTEC’s optimization tools. This method has led to increased staff satisfaction, shorter turnaround times for roster creation, and more reliable operational execution.

Alongside self-scheduling, MST has implemented a “multi-resource planning” approach that integrates various resources into one coordinated schedule. This includes aligning doctors’ working hours with operating theatre and consultation room availability, optimizing capacity planning, and ensuring better utilization of facilities. The result is a system that improves the balance between patient demand, available resources, and staff work-life balance, while reducing inefficiencies.

Peter Kustermans is recognized for his leadership in complex healthcare environments, driving operational improvements that link efficiency gains directly to the well-being of employees and the quality of care delivered.