Minnesota Hospital Association

Data & Reporting

Workforce Planning Tool

Since 2008, Minnesota hospitals and health systems have submitted demographic data to MHA. The workforce planning project collects data on 40 direct patient-care job types across 11 demographic attributes. With this data, MHA produces an annual statewide summary of Minnesota’s current health care workforce. The annual statewide summary is available to all members on MHA Member Resources. In 2021, 98 hospitals submitted workforce data.     

MHA developed a custom Workforce Planning Tool for members. The online tool allows participating members to view their individual data through different analyses and to compare it to their specific region and to the statewide results. Nonparticipants can only access the statewide data.   

For questions about the MHA Workforce Planning Tool project, contact Nathalie Squire, workforce project manager, MHA, 651-603-3540.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the data have to be submitted based on a Jan. 1 snapshot of our population?

The data should be submitted as close to Jan. 1 as possible to provide useful historical comparisons for items such as turnover and for benchmarking against the rest of the state.

If our hospital is part of a larger system, do we have to complete and submit this request for our individual facility?

If your hospital is part of a larger system, please contact your system HR department or workforce leaders about how your hospital data is being submitted. Certain systems will want each of their facilities to submit data individually, while others will combine all facilities’ data in the system to submit one consolidated set.

Are all fields required?

No, ethnicity, actual hours, total gross income, degree, union status and hire type are all optional fields. All other fields must be filled in order for the tool to produce accurate and complete reports.

Do I have to report employee ID numbers?

Yes, a unique identifier is needed to ensure that employees are not double counted and turnover can be calculated. Social security numbers are not acceptable employee IDs.

Do I have to report date of birth and date of hire?

Date of birth and date of hire are crucial in order to accurately predict retirements and terminations. This data is not attached to any person’s name.

Do I have to report hourly pay?

Reporting hourly pay is required and very valuable information to this project in order to provide members with accurate and complete reports. The Minnesota Hospital Association will only disclose statewide averages for use in benchmarking. Participating members will only be able to view their organization’s information.

What do I report for total earnings?

In this field please include all earnings (base, OT, shift premium, etc.) that would be part of an employee’s W2 earnings for that year. If you do not have final W2 earnings calculated, you can use the total year-to-date earnings from the last check in Dec. of that year.

How do I determine an employee’s hire type?

“New hires” are employees who are hired directly out of school or a degree program while “experienced hires” have previous employment experience in their current job type.

For rehired employees should I report their original or most recent date of hire?

Date of hire reported should be the most recent hire date.

How do I determine an employee’s Staff Type?

For continuity and accuracy, we ask that you report staff type as follows:

  • Full-time employees (F) include all staff that work ≥ 64 hours in a standard 80 hour two-week period.
  • Part-time employees (P) include all staff that work ≥ 16 hours and < 64 hours in a standard 80 hour two-week period.
  • Casual employees (O) include all staff that work < 16 hours in a standard 80 hour two-week period.

What do I report for actual hours?

Please report all hours worked for each employee for the year. This would include base hours, extra shifts, overtime hours, etc. It is crucial to determine utilization rates.

What happens if my facility experiences a name change?

If a facility experiences a name change throughout the reporting year, report this facility with the most current and accurate name. Please make a note of the change in your Excel file.

How should I determine what MHA job type to use?

You report your actual title for that employee and then map it to the closest of the 38 current MHA job types. See the MHA Workforce Tool job types guidelines for descriptions.

How should I report employees who are working in more than one job type?

Employees should be reported under the job type where the majority of their hours are scheduled.

How should I report employees who work at more than one facility type?

Employees should be reported as an employee of the facility type where the majority of their hours are scheduled.

Should I report only the positions listed on the current job type key?

Yes, only positions on the job type list should be included.

Do I need to report all doctors in the data?

Yes, we would like all physicians included, including specialists. The tool has been expanded to give you four job types for specialty physicians allowing you to better group and differentiate.

How can I use the two optional attribute fields?

These two fields are optional and give you the ability to track additional details not currently in the tool. One option would be to create a table for more specific physician specialty types; another would be to make a table for your department codes or business lines.

Should I send data on employees who terminated before Jan. 1 of the reporting year?

No, only report data on workers who were employed on or after Jan. 1 and were still employed by Dec. 31.

Please contact MHA Workforce Project Manager Nathalie Squire with any further questions at 651-603-3540.