The Next Evolution in

Advancing Workforce Maturity. Restoring Strategic Control. Empowering Healthcare Leadership.

Table of Contents

Executive

The U.S. healthcare industry is facing a workforce reckoning. The old ways of staffing no longer meet the demands of modern care delivery. Labor costs show no signs of easing, shortages are deepening, and the cracks in traditional workforce models are widening.

Contingent labor is no longer just travel or locum tenens agency contracts. It now includes a dynamic mix of flexible scheduling and job modeling for FTEs, internal float pools, per diem staff, gig and shift marketplaces, retirees and alumni, and just-in-time staffing. This broader spectrum gives healthcare organizations flexibility across every clinical category while controlling costs and safeguarding care quality.

This shift also includes moving workforce management from a reactive back-office function into a proactive driver of clinical, operational, and financial outcomes. Success requires both technology and people to design and optimize the strategy.

Trio Workforce Solutions is redefining how healthcare organizations approach contingent labor. Unlike traditional providers that impose rigid, one size fits all programs, Trio puts control back in the hands of healthcare organizations. Our model blends embedded teams, an adaptive technology stack, and flexible service layers built around your organization's unique goals, aligning with your pace and priorities. Whether you need to optimize float pools, launch a shift marketplace, or fully outsource categories of labor, Trio delivers the visibility, control, and cost savings to transform workforce strategy from a reactive necessity into a proactive advantage.

This eBook is a call to reset the narrative. It's time for healthcare leaders to reclaim control of their workforce strategy. Success will belong to those who embrace flexibility, demand transparency, and design programs that reflect their own priorities and pace.

Persistent shortages, cost pressures, and scheduling complexity are reshaping the workforce. Health systems and hospitals face double digit nursing vacancy rates, allied health teams struggle to maintain coverage, and physician practices lean more heavily on locums year over year.

Clinicians are demanding flexibility, autonomy, and new pathways to engage with their employers. Meanwhile, fragmented tools, disconnected vendors, and workforce strategies that don’t keep pace with operational demands overwhelm finance and HR leaders.

The old model is broken.

NS/ Nursing Solutions: 2025 National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report

The New Reality of

For years, the appeal of fully managed workforce programs was rooted in simplicity. Healthcare organizations could outsource the complexity of staffing to an external partner and trust that positions would be filled. That convenience came at a cost. Leaders often gave up visibility into spending, real time data on workforce performance, and the ability to tailor programs to the unique needs of their organization.

The market has since shifted. Organizations now demand access to their own data, greater control over decision making, and transparency in vendor practices. Finance leaders want to know true bill rates and cost structures. Clinical leaders want updates on credentialing and shift fulfillment without delays. What the industry once considered acceptable outsourcing is now viewed as risky and insufficient in a climate of rising costs, regulatory pressure, and clinician shortages.

Rethinking

What “Fully Managed

Healthcare organizations today span a wide spectrum of workforce maturity. Some operate with sophisticated internal float pools and advanced scheduling systems, while others are still dependent on external agencies to meet daily coverage needs. Academic medical centers face different challenges than community hospitals. Physician groups require strategies that are distinct from nursing and allied health teams.

The lessons emerging across the industry are clear. No single staffing model can meet the needs of every organization. The future lies in adaptable frameworks that allow leaders to mix and match approaches depending on their priorities, staffing categories, and available resources. The focus is shifting from rigid programs to modular strategies that can evolve as the organization grows.

Maturity spectrum

“Fully Yours” Isn’t

The definition of contingent labor has expanded dramatically. It’s no longer limited to agency-supplied travelers or locums. Today it includes internal float pools that move across multiple units, per diem staff available on short notice, gig and shift marketplaces where clinicians claim shifts on mobile platforms, and alumni or retirees who want flexible re-entry into the workforce.

This broader view reflects the reality that healthcare labor markets are fragmented and volatile. Leaders are recognizing that contingent labor isn’t a side category but a core part of workforce planning. It provides cost savings, improves continuity of care, and creates opportunities for clinicians to engage on their own terms. Organizations that embrace this wider spectrum are better positioned to weather census fluctuations, reduce agency reliance, and improve clinician satisfaction.

A Broader Definition of

Forward-thinking organizations are already rethinking how they balance internal resources, external partners, and new technology. The goal isn't to pick one model, but to design the mix that puts you back in control.

Learn how healthcare leaders are redefining their approach to contingent labor.

4-PhaseJourney

The Trio Workforce

The gap in healthcare staffing today isn’t simply about sourcing clinicians.

It’s about aligning workforce strategy across finance, human resources, and clinical operations, then executing with discipline. Too often, initiatives stall because departments work in silos or rely on fragmented tools. The result is a lack of shared visibility, inconsistent processes, and missed opportunities for cost control.

Market leading organizations are moving toward integrated approaches that begin with a clear strategy, supported by technology, and reinforced by operational governance. They are assessing current labor spend, designing programs that fit their organizational goals, deploying with the right balance of internal and external labor, and continuously optimizing against key performance indicators.

Execution, not intention,
is becoming the differentiator.

Technology has become a central lever in workforce transformation, but it isn’t about adding more platforms. The challenge in the market is fragmentation. Many healthcare organizations juggle multiple scheduling systems, vendor portals, and manual reporting processes that don’t connect. This creates blind spots for finance leaders, extra administrative work for HR, and frustration for clinicians who want a simple way to manage their schedules.

The shift is toward technology ecosystems that unify the view across labor categories. Finance leaders are looking for spend transparency and predictive analytics. HR teams need credentialing workflows, retention insights, and workforce planning tools. Clinical operations require fast, mobile friendly tools for shift fulfillment and communication. Technology isn’t the end but the enabler of visibility, accountability, and agility.

Trio Platform Includes:

Client Case Studies

Together, these modules give healthcare leaders the technology foundation to unify, simplify, and ultimately own their workforce strategy, turning visibility into control and control into measurable outcomes.

Real world examples underscore the pressure and opportunity in the market. Large health systems are struggling with agency dependence and escalating costs, often with little infrastructure to support internal labor models. When they begin experimenting with hybrid approaches, they find that internal float pools and flexible scheduling can reduce costs and improve clinician retention.

Smaller hospitals and practice groups face different constraints. Many lack the staff to manage complex workforce programs and rely heavily on agencies or ad hoc scheduling. By introducing even modest internal pools or structured per diem programs, they can ease reliance on external vendors, stabilize costs, and improve coverage consistency.

These case studies reflect a larger truth: regardless of size or sophistication, every organization has levers it can pull to regain control of its workforce strategy. The market is moving toward approaches that are flexible, data driven, and tailored to each institution’s reality.

The future of healthcare staffing will be defined by leaders who refuse to accept one-size-fits-all solutions. The path forward is flexible, transparent, and shaped by each organization’s unique priorities. It’s about reclaiming visibility, making decisions with confidence, and building a workforce strategy that is sustainable for the long term.

Now is the moment to step into that future. Whether your next step is building an internal float pool, activating a shift marketplace, or rebalancing agency use, the opportunity to reshape your workforce strategy is within reach.

Your Workforce is Your Future. Own It.

Explore how leading organizations are redefining contingent labor and designing models that put them back in control.

The healthcare workforce crisis isn’t easing. Vacancy rates remain high, clinician burnout continues to rise, and financial pressures are intensifying. What is becoming clear is that the organizations that thrive will be those that rethink workforce strategy as a long-term, strategic capability rather than a transactional function.

The road ahead points toward programs that are flexible, adaptive, and built to evolve. Leaders are increasingly looking at ways to tailor strategies for different categories of labor. Nursing and allied health may benefit from hybrid internal and external models, while physician services may require direct-to-talent or flexible locum arrangements.

The ability to shift strategies by category, and to adjust quickly as market conditions change, will separate those who maintain stability from those who fall behind. Technology will play a larger role in shaping this future. Predictive analytics and AI are emerging as tools to anticipate labor demand and optimize scheduling. Clinician-centric scheduling platforms are setting new expectations for autonomy and ease of use.

Interoperability is no longer optional, as systems demand seamless integration between HR, finance, and clinical operations. The ultimate measure of success will be control and visibility. Organizations that own their data, make informed decisions, and maintain authority over how programs are governed will create workforces that are resilient, sustainable, and aligned with the mission of delivering high-quality care.

The Road Ahead: