CONTEXT

Sector: Healthcare

Business expertise: Human Resources Planning

OBJECTIVES
  • Simplify staff scheduling across 3 care facilities to align with operational needs,
  • Restore fairness among employees.
SOLUTION
  • Assistance in drafting specifications for new rolling schedules,
  • Automated creation of custom cyclic schedules using the LP-Roster optimization component.
RESULTS
  • Schedules aligned with workload and balanced for fairness,
  • Improved working conditions and better respect for work-life balance,
  • More attractive shift patterns (reducing turnover, boosting recruitment).
Our staff scheduling needs are highly specific and vary from one facility to another, as they directly depend on the requirements of the individuals we support. Beyond their expertise in cyclic scheduling, EURODECISION successfully addressed this challenge by delivering tailored schedules that respect our employees’ work-life balance. The team was exceptionally responsive, and we are very pleased with how the collaboration unfolded.
Damien BrunelHead of the PLEIADE and ESCALE Divisions - Fondation ARHM

Since 1950, Fondation ARHM has been dedicated to mental health and disability support in the Lyon region. It welcomes, cares for, and accompanies over 16,000 adults and children across its facilities and services.

 

Part of the Pléiade and Escale medical-social hubs, the Révolat, Le Bosphore, and Parc de l’Europe Medical Care Facility specialized care homes operate 24/7, requiring on-site staff at all times to support residents. To align staffing levels across all roles with facility needs, employee schedules are organized in rotating shifts.

Developed when the facilities first opened several years ago, the schedules have grown increasingly complex over time to accommodate new operational constraints and evolving team dynamics (individual accommodation requests, staff arrivals and departures, etc.). This has led to inconsistencies in work schedules (e.g., unsustainable and uneven workloads, insufficient rest periods), less adaptable planning for facility operations, and a decline in fairness—a key concern for both employees and management.

 

At the start of the year, management launched a project to overhaul and simplify the rotating shift schedules across its three facilities. Given the complexity of manually addressing this issue and the lack of in-house resources to handle it effectively, the organization sought an external partner to help design tailored schedules. The expertise of EURODECISION—a specialist in decision mathematics—and its strong track record in human resource planning, particularly in the health and social care sector, convinced management to entrust them with the project.

 

In spring, initial workshops were held to define the specifications for redesigning the rotating shift schedules. Needs were identified and prioritized by staff category (nursing assistants, social and educational support workers, and special education monitors) for the various units within each facility.

 

EURODECISION then leveraged its LP-Roster optimization tool, designed for automatically generating cyclic rotating schedules, to propose shift plans that met the specified constraints while complying with labor laws and collective agreements. Each proposed scenario was reviewed by the Director of Operations and their deputies, with criteria refined through ongoing discussions to align with expectations—such as ensuring an average weekly working time of 35 hours.

 

Delivered in July, the new rotating shift schedules developed by EURODECISION will be presented as soon as possible before full implementation next year. Employee expectations for the new schedules are high, and management is committed to taking the necessary time to roll out this new system effectively. In the long run, simplified hours, balanced rotations, and greater schedule stability are expected to improve working conditions for ARHM Foundation teams and help reduce turnover in a sector struggling with recruitment.