symplr Launches AI-Powered Time and Scheduling to Move Healthcare Staffing from Reactive to Predictive

Launch lays the foundation for symplr's next generation of healthcare workforce operations, connecting scheduling, staffing and workforce intelligence

HOUSTON, Oct. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- symplr®, a leading provider of enterprise healthcare operations software, today launched symplr Time and Scheduling™, an integrated workforce management solution that combines AI-powered scheduling and timekeeping to help health systems anticipate staffing needs earlier, build more effective schedules to help control labor costs, while giving nurses greater flexibility and control over their schedules. The solution enables nurse managers to identify and address staffing gaps hundreds of days in advance and reduce time spent on staffing and timecard tasks by approximately 50%.

Healthcare has long relied on a reactive, manual cycle of managers building schedules, identifying gaps, finding available staff, managing overtime, and reconciling time worked, typically through disconnected spreadsheets. According to symplr's Compass Survey, 41% of respondents reported that workforce scheduling at their organizations remains fully manual.

As nurses seek greater scheduling flexibility and health systems face pressure to control labor costs, these manual processes are increasingly unsustainable. symplr Time and Scheduling brings anticipated staffing demand, available staff across the enterprise, and labor costs into a single view, helping nurse leaders make more informed decisions with less administrative work and before gaps become urgent.

AI-powered workflows for scheduling, open shifts and timekeeping
symplr Time and Scheduling combines the predictive staffing capabilities of its Best in KLAS Nurse and Staff Scheduling solution with its industry-recognized timekeeping technology built to manage healthcare's complex pay rules and compliance requirements.

New AI-driven workflows help health systems make proactive decisions in the schedule balancing phase by aligning schedules with staff preferences, scheduling rules, projected staffing needs, and historical patterns to recommend adjustments for managers to approve rather than build by hand. In 2027, symplr plans to introduce additional AI capabilities for timecard corrections and scheduling rules configuration.

What symplr Time and Scheduling changes for nurses and nurse leaders
Nurse managers can spend five to seven hours a day manually building and adjusting schedules. By automating these tasks, symplr Time and Scheduling helps return valuable time to patient care while reducing reliance on costly overtime and premium labor to fill last-minute staffing gaps. Together, its scheduling and timekeeping capabilities can also potentially free up as much as 75% of payroll team capacity.

"Nurse leaders shouldn't have to spend hours building schedules and scrambling to fill open shifts when they could be supporting their teams and patients," said Ali Morin, Chief Nursing Informatics Officer at symplr. "Nurses want more flexibility and predictability, while health systems need the right people in the right place at the right time. We designed symplr Time and Scheduling to deliver both, giving nurses and nurse leaders more time for patient care and less time managing the work around it."

Building the next generation of healthcare workforce operations
With agentic AI at the center of its strategy, symplr aims to move workforce operations from reactive to predictive, reducing administrative burden, optimizing staffing decisions and helping health systems gain greater visibility, flexibility and control over labor costs.

"symplr Time and Scheduling is the foundation of what we're building," said Scott Sbihli, Chief Product Officer at symplr. "We're creating the most comprehensive solution for managing healthcare's complex staffing needs. Our plans extend beyond traditional scheduling to connect workforce planning, staffing and analytics across inpatient and ambulatory care, with deeper capabilities for physicians and other providers. The future of workforce management is a single, connected enterprise solution, powered by AI, that gives health systems greater visibility, flexibility and control. And symplr is building it."

symplr will showcase Time and Scheduling Oct. 29-31 at the ANCC Magnet Conference in Chicago, booth #631.

Frequently asked questions

What is symplr Time and Scheduling?
symplr Time and Scheduling is a workforce management solution for hospitals and health systems that unites two previously separate symplr solutions: the Best in KLAS predictive nurse and staff scheduling symplr Smart Square, and the company's recognized, healthcare-specific timekeeping solution.

What does symplr Time and Scheduling include?
Predictive scheduling that anticipates staffing needs based on expected demand; enterprise visibility so leaders can see and deploy available staff across units and facilities; patented open shift management to fill needs earlier; and timekeeping that automates healthcare's complex pay rules and policies so employees are paid correctly.

How does symplr Time and Scheduling use AI?
AI schedule balancing reviews staffing needs, employee preferences, scheduling rules, and historical patterns, then recommends adjustments for managers to review and approve instead of building schedules by hand. In 2027, symplr plans to introduce additional AI capabilities for timecard corrections and scheduling rules configuration.

What problem does symplr Time and Scheduling solve?
symplr helps healthcare organizations address three of the biggest operational challenges: rising labor costs, growing administrative burden and staff retention. By anticipating staffing needs earlier, building more effective schedules, and giving employees greater flexibility and control, symplr Time and Scheduling helps reduce costs, gives managers back time, and improves the staff experience.

symplr's 2026 Compass Survey found that 41% of workforce scheduling is still fully manual, leaving nurses and nurse managers little room to customize schedules and leaving leaders reacting to staffing gaps after they open.

Who uses symplr Time and Scheduling?
Nurse leaders, staffing offices, and workforce and finance teams at hospitals and health systems.

About symplr
symplr is a leader in enterprise healthcare operations software with a first-of-its-kind operations platform. Trusted in 9 of 10 U.S. hospitals and 400+ U.S. health plans, symplr optimizes operations and maximizes care powered by our cloud-based workforce, quality, provider data management, and spend solutions. Gain efficiency, reduce complexity, and improve outcomes where it matters most. Learn how to stay ahead of change at www.symplr.com.

SOURCE symplr