Workload Indicators of Staffing Need

Third Global Forum on Human Resources for HealthRecife, Brazil

Speaker: Teena Kunjumen, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland

Goal of human resource management

• Right number of people• With the right skills• In the right place• At the right time• With the right attitude• Doing the right work• At the right cost• With the right work output

How can WISN help HR managers?

WISN is an analytical planning tool to:• Determine how many health workers are required to

cope with actual workload in a given facility • Estimate staffing required to deliver expected services of

a facility based on workload • Compare staffing between health facilities and

administrative areas• Applicable to all personnel categories

– Medical staff– Paramedical staff– Non-medical staff

WISN Implementation Process

Steps of WISN methodology

• Determine priorities for WISN application• Estimate Available Working Time• Define workload components• Set Activity Standards• Establish Standard Workloads• Calculate Allowance Factors• Determine WISN-based staff

requirements, analyse and interpret results

WISN methodology

Example: WISN analysis as baseline for decision-making

Staff category: Midwife in a health centre in Wisnela province

Workload pressure

WISN ratio

Workforce problem

Shortage or excess

Required staff,

based on WISN

Current staff

Health centre

High0.5Shortage-242A

None2Surplus224B

None1.2Surplus2911C

Normal1Balance066D

Analysing WISN results

– Which health centres have too few or too many staff in relation to their workload?

– Which health centres have highest or lowest workload pressure?

– What staff transfers would bring a more equitable staff distribution?

– Do results make sense in light of what you know?

– Were all important workload components included?

WISN tool

WISN tool - Reports

New features

• 4 languages– English, French, Portuguese, Spanish

• Interface updates– User can create units– Data entry and view

• Health service activities, support activities and individual activities have the Copy and Paste option

• Comprehensive view of support activities and individual activities across all cadres included in the study

WISN users online community

• Join the WISN users online community at https://mednet-communities.net/wisn

• Send an email to hrhinfo@who.int

THANK YOU