For a nurse manager to build a schedule for dozens of staff, it can take as many as 12-20 hours every six weeks. That is time they’re not spending face-to-face with their staff and patients.

The UCHealth Resource Management Center is giving most of that time back to managers through standardized processes implemented over the past year in the time and scheduling system, UKG (Dimensions), for inpatient units across UCHealth. The improvements are designed to create a more dynamic and flexible scheduling experience for staff as well as their supervisors, offering more control, transparency and predictability.

“We figured out that the managers, from their feedback, were spending a tremendous amount of time managing different processes inside and outside of UKG,” said Michelle Feller, MS, BSN, RN, CNN, NEA-BC, senior director with the UCHealth Resource Management Center (RMC), who played a key role in managing this change and getting stakeholders on board.

Before the transition, some nurse managers would post a printed spreadsheet in a breakroom for as many as 125 staff, who would fill in their schedule preferences to begin the process. The entries would be tediously transcribed into the digital version. Since the UKG scheduling optimization project rolled out, those managers now say they don’t dread the administrative work.

“One might say it’s not a cost savings — the managers are salaried — but it is a face time savings,” Feller said. “They can round on their staff and be much more effective as a leader.”

And instead of managing individual staff requests to pick up shifts or take time off via email, everything is completed in the UKG platform, which is accessible via web browser, smartphone app and the employee time clocks.

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The visual companion to our 2026 Nursing Year in Review showcases the print edition’s visual storytelling with connections to all of the articles.