Before DLC

• Decentralized labor management across multiple regions with no company-level visibility 
• Inconsistent workforce planning processes  
• Limited coordination between finance, operations, and HR on staffing decisions 
• Lack of centralized data and reporting capabilities for strategic workforce planning 
• No systematic approach to support rapid expansion of ~100 new locations annually 

After DLC

• Centralized workforce planning program with clinic-level visibility across all locations 
• Coordinated business processes between operations, HR, and finance teams 
• 24-month planning capabilities for largest labor expenses  
• Integrated analytics platform supporting data-driven staffing decisions 
• Scalable framework to support continued expansion and growth 

Project Overview

A private healthcare company specializing in outpatient physical therapy with an annual revenue of $250M faced critical workforce planning challenges. With thousands of physical therapists across hundreds of rehabilitation locations and aggressive expansion plans that added approximately 100 new locations every year, the company needed to transition from decentralized, region-by-region labor management to a centralized, strategic workforce planning approach. 

DLC was engaged to develop and implement a comprehensive workforce planning program with the goal of providing much-needed visibility, streamlining planning processes, and supporting the organization’s rapid growth trajectory while optimizing their largest operational expense. 

Business Challenge

The client’s existing workforce planning approach was fragmented across multiple regions, creating significant operational and strategic challenges. Without centralized visibility into staffing levels, the organization struggled to make informed decisions about resource allocation, hiring priorities, and capacity planning to support their aggressive expansion goals. 

The challenge was compounded by several factors: the client’s relatively new CFO and finance team were simultaneously focused on finance transformation and ERP implementation, leaving limited internal resources for workforce planning initiatives.  

Additionally, requisite buy-in from operations leadership did not initially exist, requiring significant change management efforts.  

The project faced technical challenges as well, with inconsistent data across multiple systems and client specifications requiring highly detailed, clinic-level modeling in Excel, which proved difficult to manipulate and not user-friendly for the scale required. 

Approach

DLC implemented a phased approach to establish a comprehensive workforce planning program while managing stakeholder alignment and technical constraints: 

Month 1: Foundation and Stakeholder Alignment

• Created the workforce planning program framework for the organization. 

• Conducted extensive stakeholder socialization to gain buy-in from the client’s finance, operations, and HR leadership. 

• Built and operationalized a workforce planning model using Excel for modeling and reporting, with data sourced from Adaptive and Workday systems. 

• Developed and implemented business processes to plan, execute, and review clinic-level staffing plans. 

Months 2 to 3: Implementation and Analytics Initiation

• Piloted the workforce planning program across select locations. 

• Established periodic meeting cadence with front-line Operations and HR business partners. 

• Initiated analytics capabilities to optimize workforce planning decisions. 

• Refined processes based on pilot feedback and performance. 

Months 3 to 6: Full Integration and Optimization

• Integrated the workforce planning program with broader business operations. 

• Focused on optimizing talent acquisition processes and expanding planning to include additional staff. 

• Further operationalized workforce optimization and analytics with Operations and HR teams. 

• Delivered quick, impactful analytics to the client’s operations and HR leadership teams to build trust and partnership. 

Results

DLC successfully transformed the client’s workforce planning capabilities by delivering measurable improvements across multiple dimensions, including: 

• Centralized visibility to clinic-level staffing across all 600+ locations. 

• Clinic-level planning capabilities for largest labor expenses (physical therapists, aides, front desk staff) with 24-month forward visibility. 

• Coordinated business processes between operations, HR, and finance for integrated planning and hiring decisions. 

• Scalable framework supporting continued expansion and new location planning. 

The implementation provided the organization with unprecedented visibility into their workforce, enabling data-driven decision making for their largest operational expense. The centralized approach supports their aggressive growth strategy while ensuring optimal staffing levels across all locations.