Want to spend more on your healthcare facilities? Look for the cheapest labor rate

When it comes to budgeting for your healthcare facilities, it’s natural to want the lowest possible labor rate for essential maintenance across your portfolio.

It sounds like a no-brainer: If you spend less by the hour per job, you’ll spend less on maintenance overall. In turn, you can run leaner operations and divert spending to other critical business areas.

But contrary to this common assumption, avoiding a higher maintenance labor rate can actually cause you to spend quite a bit more in the long run.

Here’s why.

Labor rates naturally increase with skill level ...

In nearly every case, a more experienced maintenance technician is going to charge a higher hourly rate than a less experienced one.

There are a few important reasons for this.

A more experienced technician has seen a variety of similar problems and can more easily troubleshoot for your specific circumstances. There’s greater value in their expertise.

A more experienced technician likely has access to better tools and equipment, since they’ve had the time to make more considered choices throughout their career.

And a more experienced technician is usually able to complete maintenance within a shorter time window because their familiarity with the issue gets them faster to a solution.

... But you’ll ultimately spend less by hiring technicians with experience

A less experienced technician may only charge a fraction of what the most skilled technicians do, but the staying power of their repairs are more likely to be called into question and be a source of recalls.

Suppose the technician doesn’t completely understand your needs, or only knows enough to apply a “bandage” fix for your specific circumstance.

When the root cause isn’t addressed, you’re likely to require multiple return visits. This means another trip charge, another problem assessment, and more time billed to properly resolve the issue.

In an industry where equipment downtime is critical and patient satisfaction ranks high, it’s important to make sure that the work is done correctly the first time, avoiding any potential equipment failures and shutdowns.

Lower labor rates don’t match with your company’s goals

As a healthcare facilities professional, you know that your facilities play an important role in ensuring lasting patient satisfaction and trust.

Your patients are focused on focused on whether they feel safe, comfortable, respected, and supported in their choice to trust you with their care.

And though it may seem like a step in the right direction to choose a vendor with the lowest labor rate, you run the risk of applying mere bandage fixes to deeper problems within your facilities portfolio.

Over time, the cost of correcting those issues grows larger and larger—without investing in the most experienced, qualified providers, you could be stuck in an endless loop of expensive maintenance.

To really deliver for your patients over the long term, focus on the bigger picture—value. Your vendor choice should align with overall brand quality, brand strategy, and your organization’s values.

Want to do even more for your patients, associates, and your brand vision? It helps to partner with a team of dedicated experts. Get in touch with Lessen to learn more: weknowFM@lessen.com.