Pointlogic and NFU.
Imagine puts labour cost development in perspective.
Fitting wage cost increases within the space created for them. The industry association of University Medical Centres, the NFU, takes on this recurring puzzle. With his colleagues from the six other UMCs, Ed Harms, Business Controller at UMC Utrecht, forms the Calculation Group. “Within that Calculation Group, we have divided the tasks. I use Pointlogic’s tool Imagine. We use this to calculate the effects of each possible change. The different forecasts that come from these calculations allow for budgeting.”
“We use Imagine to calculate the effects of each possible change. The different forecasts that come from these calculations allow for budgeting.”
What if...
“Imagine is a fun, innovative tool, where you build ‘variants’: specific scenarios, which you use to simulate the financial impact of, for example, CLA changes. You then configure Imagine with new parameters, to see the effect on budgets and forecasts. During CLA negotiations, the chairman of the Calculation Group is an auditor. He provides us with the information we need for this, such as collective increases or generation schemes, and other fringe benefits.”
“Imagine is not useful for every possible proposal. But when it is, I create one or more variants in Imagine in which those changes are built in. I run those on the database that contains all personnel costs. Imagine then calculates the effects, which you can compare to the old situation. In other words: what are the additional costs of a particular proposal? By calculating the effects of the proposals in a different way, we get a detailed and complete picture. Everything has to fit within the employer mandate and the so-called ‘Government contribution to Labour Cost Development’ space provided by the ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.”
“Simple variants, with straightforward calculations, I build myself. Then, I only have to adjust a parameter or a percentage of a wage increase, for example. If the variants are more difficult, I contact Pointlogic for consult and collaborate with one of their consultants.”
Checks and double checks.
Calculating outcomes must be done with precision. “If there is a CLA proposal, I really have to communicate it clearly in order to get it built properly”, he says. Pointlogic therefore repeatedly and rightly asks all kinds of check questions about the details of the proposal: ‘Is this-and-this the proposal? Then we will build it like that and that.'”
In this way, the NFU and Pointlogic continuously and carefully check the models and outcomes together. “I compare it to the four-eye principle.” For the same reason, the Calculation Group also makes all calculations in Excel. “The previous director of Pointlogic understood this need very well. We just feel more comfortable if other calculation methods provide the same outcome.”
Ed Harms, Business Controller
“If there is a CLA proposal, I really have to communicate it clearly so in order to get it built properly. Pointlogic repeatedly and rightly asks all kinds of check questions about the details of the proposal: ‘Is this-and-this the proposal? Then we will build it like that and that.'”
Reporting.
In addition to these simulations, Imagine generates even more management information from the hospitals’ periodically supplied data. “We use Imagine not only prospectively, but also retrospectively. The database makes all kinds of things possible. The trick is to create manageable information from that mass of data. Developments on (parts of) labour costs can be analysed retrospectively and hospitals can easily be compared to each other on it.”
The NFU has several questions worked out by Imagine. “How have costs developed in the various cost categories so far? How will costs develop if, for example, a certain fringe benefit changes? What is the effect of that change on the total employer costs for the UMCs? That way, you can gain very concrete insights, such as showing that the cost of irregular shifts in a particular hospital is relatively high.”
Reports are compiled by Pointlogic according to a fixed format. There is also the occasional need for a different format. “I make those ad hoc myself, or we ask Pointlogic to adjust the standard reports. For instance, for some years now we have received a concise additional report on FTEs and euros, with the costs per hospital. This provides quick insight into the cost ratios. If these raise questions, there is always the in-depth report.”
Security.
Harms is delighted with Imagine’s security. “We have quick access because the system is hosted externally these days. It is very well secured, especially since there are high GDPR-requirements. Every three months, we have to give Pointlogic explicit permission to make changes to our model. If I don’t do that in time and there is an urgent request, they can’t access it.”
In conclusion, Harms notes: “With Imagine’s reliable calculation tool and Pointlogic’s accessible consultants, our collaboration is qualitative and fast-paced. Apart from all the content, it is nice to have collaboration like this. It’s all important in cases like these.”