Approximately one-third of long-term care operators responding to a recent survey indicated they outsource their timekeeping and payroll services, whereas 67% of providers still do not, according to specialty investment bank Ziegler.
The data reflects a wider effort afoot as long-term care operators seek to minimize the impact of staffing shortages by outsourcing and automating office functions when possible. The most widely mentioned timekeeping and payroll vendors among those who outsource included UKG (Kronos), ADP, Paycom and Paylocity. The majority of providers (72%) indicated their timekeeping/payroll system is cloud-based, while some are vendor-hosted or hosted in-house. In addition, most of the timekeeping/payroll systems (61%) are vendor-managed.
Most operators outsourcing timekeeping and payroll reported they are somewhat or very satisfied with their systems, according to Lily Ludwig, a Ziegler research assistant.
Ludwig noted, however, that some survey respondents expressed concerns, most notably a lack of good support from the vendor. Reporting and/or scheduling functions drew some criticism, and there were complaints about cost as well.
“A few providers indicated they are considering switching to a new timekeeping/payroll system in the future, but this was not the majority of respondents,” Ludwig said.
The survey also asked respondents to identify the platform they use for their core financial system. Most (98%) providers stated they use MatrixCare, with Microsoft Dynamics the second most-mentioned at 49%. Some respondents indicated that they use more than one system.
The most-used functions within financial systems included general ledger (99%), procurement and/or accounts payable (88%), generation of core financial statements (78%) and billing and accounts receivable (60%)
More than 260 not-for-profit senior living and care chief financial officers and financial professionals responded to the survey, which was conducted in January, with 60% representing single-site organizations and 40% multi-site organizations.
