CHG Healthcare: Reframing Locums as a Growth Strategy
A strategic content playbook designed to reposition locum tenens from a reactive staffing expense to a long-term growth and revenue strategy for health systems.
Health systems often treat locum tenens as a short-term staffing fix—necessary, but expensive.
This project challenged that perception by reframing locums as a strategic business lever capable of protecting revenue, preserving continuity of care, and supporting long-term operational growth.
I led strategic messaging and executive-facing content development for a long-form playbook designed to shift how healthcare leaders think about workforce gaps, financial risk, and physician staffing strategy. By reframing the usefulness of locus, this playbook was designed to help leadership audiences quickly interpret and act on operational insights.
The work translated complex operational and financial concepts into a clear, executive-level narrative focused on business impact and strategic decision-making.
My Role
Executive audience content strategy and executive thought leadership writing
Long-form playbook development
Messaging and narrative architecture
Strategic positioning and reframing
Translation of operational and financial concepts
Cross-functional collaboration with strategy, research, and creative stakeholders
The Process
The Problem
Many health systems were losing revenue due to physician vacancies while simultaneously viewing locum teens primarily as a cost-control issue.
Staffing decisions were often reactive, focused on immediate shortages rather than long-term operational sustainability or growth.
The Insight
The issue was not locums themselves. It was how they were being positioned and deployed.
When treated purely as an emergency staffing expense, locums reinforced perceptions of inefficiency. But when used strategically, they could preserve revenue, reduce disruption, maintain continuity of care, and support broader organizational growth goals.
Approach
Reframed locums from a staffing solution to a business growth strategy
Used financial and operational insights and CHG Healthcare’s own research to quantify organizational impact of locum tenets
Addressed common misconceptions around cost, continuity, and care quality
Built a clear executive narrative designed for leadership audiences
Structured the playbook to move from business challenge to strategic action
Strategic Impact
This project required balancing operational complexity with accessibility—translating financial, staffing, and healthcare delivery concepts into messaging executives could quickly understand and act on.
The final playbook positioned locums not as a reactive expense, but as part of a broader organizational growth and continuity strategy.