Calculating Staffing Requirements Based on Animal Population

I don’t think anyone would argue if I made the blanket statement that all shelters are on a limited budget and must carefully apportion their resources in order to manage their animal population best.  In that spirit, one of the most important resource allocations a shelter makes is deciding how many staff are required to clean and feed the animals in its population.  Too many staff can drain the shelter’s budget, and too little staff can compromise the health and well being of the animals in its care.  So, how does a shelter manager decide how many staff to assign?

To answer this question, let’s start with the animal care time requirements suggested by HSUS and NACA and also endorsed by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians in their 2011 Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters document.  These groups estimate a minimum of 15 minutes is required for adequate animal cleaning and feeding.  This is a good starting point for calculations, but if you feel 15 minutes is too long or too short, you can adjust the calculations accordingly to hit your goal.  Next, we need to know how many animals are in the shelter.  We can use our historical data to make staffing projections, or we can use the daily shelter count to make real-time decisions.  Let’s use some faux data from Shelter XYZ:

Table #1: Shelter XYZ Daily Population, January

January	Total Cats	Total Dogs	Total Population
1	100	75	175
2	111	76	187
3	99	79	178
4	98	80	178
5	99	81	180
6	100	76	176
7	104	74	178
8	109	70	179
9	121	69	190
10	123	68	191
11	120	66	186
12	121	67	188
13	125	69	194
14	121	61	182
15	119	63	182
16	118	65	183
17	115	69	184
18	113	64	177
19	101	70	171
20	99	71	170
21	99	60	159
22	100	61	161
23	111	62	173
24	111	63	174
25	112	64	176
26	108	66	174
27	106	60	166
28	103	70	173
29	102	71	173
30	101	77	178
31	99	70	169
Average:	108.6	68.9	177.5

And, finally, the third variable of total time allotted for staff to finish the task is needed.  For our calculations below we will use four hours, but based on each individual shelter’s operating procedures, this may differ.  

To calculate for real-time staffing decisions (using January 21^st as an example day):

• We had 159 total animals in the shelter that day: 159 x 15min/animal = 2,385min
• 2,385min / 60min/hr = 39.75 care hours
• Staff are expected to finish cleaning and feeding in 4 hours: 39.75 care hours / 4hr = 9.9 (10) staff required to complete the task

To calculate for projection staffing (using January animal averages):

• On average, we had 177.5 animals in the month of January at Shelter XYZ: 177.5 x 15min/animal = 2,662.5min
• 2,662.5min / 60min/hr = 44.3 care hours
• Staff are expected to finish cleaning and feeding in 4 hours: 44.3 care hours / 4hr = 11.0 staff required to complete the task

What if you are curious to know how long it is currently taking your staff to clean and feed the animals?  One option is to time your staff.  But, I would not recommend this as anyone doing a task knowing they are being times/watched will at the least be suspicious, and probably perform differently as a result—in other words, your data will be significantly skewed.  The other option is to work the above math backwards to find a time per animal.   For example, if I have five staff cleaning and feeding for three hours, and 50 animals they are tending to, then they are spending 18 minutes per animal:

·      5 staff x 3 hrs x 60min/hr = 900min

·      900min / 50 animals = 18min/animal

Although I am not a fan of timing staff, now knowing the theoretical time per animal, a shelter manager can pull out their stopwatch to see how the data compare. 

Looking at the population numbers from the past year will allow shelter managers to plan appropriately for the upcoming year, and help save money and stress when high population season hits.  For example, if we know from last year’s data that June-October produces our highest populations, then the shelter manager can prepare for the staffing fluctuations needed to accommodate the rise in animals in February or March, rather than be taken by surprise in June and July and have husbandry and animal health compromised as a result.  When hiring seasonal help, I have found two techniques to be of great service:

1. Begin the hiring process 2-3 months before you actually need the seasonal help.  This will allow you to train new staff during a period of lower population when stresses are less and you can dedicate more time and attention to training.  When the high season begins, they are all in place and ready to jump in.
2. Consider rehiring the same seasonal help year to year.  This works great if you have a relationship with college students looking for summer work or even stay at home moms or retirees who would like a little work from time to time.  And again, having the same seasonal help will minimize the learning curve.

Photo from Health Technology Professional Products (htproducts.net)

Once you do the calculations above, and set your goal for animal contact time, what should a shelter do if it can only employ so many paid staff?  Using the data from January for Shelter XYZ above, we need 11 people to accomplish the task in four hours.  Shelter XYZ only has budget for eight staff.  My suggestion is to get trained volunteers in to work along staff and fill in the staffing gap to hit the target.  

Tracking Animal Transfer Placements

One of the many benefits that has emerged from the growing cooperation of humane societies and animal welfare organizations in the past decade is the concept of transferring animals from one organization to another.  Many open admissions and municipal facilities depend on transfer programs to increase live release rates, and most smaller rescue and limited admissions shelters only pull animals from other facilities.  For everyone involved—large and small organizations, municipal shelters, rescue organizations, and of course, the animals—it is a win-win situation.  Additionally, a transfer program also addresses pet distribution inequities.  In Chicago, we are lucky to have a network of hundreds of breed and specialty rescue organizations all working to save more lives; if an adopter is unable find what they are looking for at one shelter, they can readily open the latest addition of Chicagoland Tails to browse the vast rescue list and check out other organizations to find their new family member.  Some shelters have relationships with organizations in other states and even other countries.  Click here to read about a creative transfer program to get island pets to the mainland.   

Photo from Boggs Mountain Humane Shelter: boggshumaneshelter.com

Now that the transfer concept is established and working well in most communities, it is time to add sophistication to the data analysis for transfer programs.  Most shelters will calculate transfers as a variable in their live release data—which is good, but at this point, not enough.  How does a shelter know what actually happens to the animal once it is transferred?  From personal experience and anecdotal data, I know that many shelters keep in touch with their transfer partners and share photos and updates on the animal, but so far, not many have been recording actual data on placement rates, lengths of stay, or any other information.  I know, I know, one more thing to add to the shelter’s ever growing list of important things to do.  Here are a few suggestions:

1. This could be a great volunteer job—from your shelter software, print out the current list of transfers to other organizations, give the lucky volunteer a telephone, and let the calling begin.   
2. Be proactive about the process—add a clause in your transfer contract that puts the responsibility on the end of the transfer-receiving group to notify you when an animal is dispositioned. 
3. Of course, use your already existing shelter software to manage the data—if there is not a field or page in the software to add details to outcomed animals, talk to your software administrator to work on a solution to make this easy for you!  (You can even point them to this post to convince them of its necessity!)

And, here is a list of possible data to track:

1. Length of stay at transfer receiving organization—like length of stay within your own organization, this will give you a good overview of that organization’s overall health and adequacy at placing animals. 
2.  Final outcome percentages—are all animals adopted?  Some may be transferred yet again, some may be euthanized, some may become permanent residents of the receiving organization (sanctuary-type situations). 
3. Disease rates—did said animal get sick?  On what date of care did it break with symptoms?  What are the symptoms/diagnosis?  This will be helpful in determining your own shelter’s disease rates—if the animal broke with symptoms within the first few days of transfer, you can make the assumption it contracted disease while in your care and subsequently, you can add the data to your own disease calculations.  If it broke with symptoms well after transfer, then the disease transmission likely occurred while in the receiving transfer organization’s care.
4. Behavior Notes—was there unexpected behavior training/modification necessary?  If so, of what nature?  Did the behavior issues prohibit or increase the time to adoption? 

Following these numbers will give your organization a better understanding of its transfer program, and also strengthen the relationship with your transfer partners.  After all, in its broadest scope, the goal of a transfer program is to initiate more and more appropriate animal placements, so knowing your data (ie, your transfer partner relationships) more intimately will assist in successfully arriving at this goal.  You will have a clearer understanding of which animals to place with which groups, which groups to work with on a regular basis and those to work with on an episodic time frame, and you can also justify pulling away from certain groups if the data does not support the relationship any longer.  Further, if you notice lengths of stay increasing for one group or all transfer partners, you may look more closely at your own data to find out what is causing the swell.  Perhaps, your husbandry practices are slipping, and the animals transferred out are requiring unexpected or additional medical interventions thus increasing lengths of stay at the receiving transfer organization.  Or, maybe the issue is not with your group, but with the receiving transfer organization, and you may then consider advertising those animals on your own shelter’s website to boost exposure to potential adopters.  (Word of caution: *so as to not confuse or frustrate adopters, clearly label transferred animals as not being in residence at your shelter).  Whatever you decide to do with your transfer program data, I encourage all shelters to take this next step in enhancing the animal transfer concept and overall adding to the benefits for the animals.  Hats off to The ASPCA, whom in their $100K Shelter Challenge began requiring transfer affidavits in order for any transferred animals to count as a successful live release during the challenge period!  Click here to read their transfer rules (scroll down to “Challenge Rules” heading, point #9).    

What Happens Between Intake and Outcome? Explaining Animal Care Days

While important to know, tracking and reporting absolute animal intake and outcome numbers for a defined period of time (weekly, monthly, annually) is only useful to a point.  Certainly, when composing direct mail campaigns to raise awareness and money for your organization it is relevant to report total intake and disposition numbers as a measure of the impact you have on the community, and additionally, if your organization is a member of a coalition, or at the least, aiming to achieve transparency with your data, then indeed absolute numbers will again be useful.  It’s easy to report the intake numbers, and similarly, the outcome numbers (adoptions, transfers, spay/neuter surgeries, euthanasias) but how can we talk about what happens in between intake and outcome?  Enter: the Animal Care Days (ACD) statistic!

In its most elementary form, the Animal Care Day equals how many days an animal spends in your organization’s care. 

Table #1: Animal Care Days

Animal #	Intake Date	Outcome Date	Animal Care Days (d)
001	1/1/11	1/31/11	30
002	1/5/11	1/15/11	10
003	1/6/11	1/10/11	4
004	1/11/11	1/31/11	20
005	1/15/11	1/30/11	15
006	1/16/11	1/25/11	9
007	1/20/11	1/29/11	9
008	1/21/11	1/23/11	2
009	1/22/11	2/21/11	29
010	1/30/11	2/4/11	4
		Total ACD:	132

From the table above, we can see that this shelter took in 10 animals in January, but the total time these 10 animals spent in this shelter’s care was 132 days.  Big difference between those two stats!  To get a better understanding of the population, it is imperative for staff to track ACD.  Looking more closely at the data, shelter staff can begin to analyze differences between the animals and ask itself questions such as: why was Animal #008 outcomed so quickly whereas Animal #001 took 30 days until outcome?

From this data, we can also calculate an Average Length of Stay: number of days an average animal contributes to the total animal care days.  From the data above:

Average Length of Stay = (Total Animal Care Days) / (Total Animals)

                                         = (132) / (10)

                                         = 13.2 d: meaning the average animal at this shelter stayed 13.2 days before finding a disposition.

Animal Care Days are also important when requesting funding or determining an operating budget.  From the data above, if the shelter knows that it costs $25 to care for an animal each day (housing, food, medical expenses, staffing, etc), then it can add the following column to the table:

Table #2: Determining Costs 

Animal #	Intake Date	Outcome Date	Animal Care Days (d)	Cost per Animal ($)
001	1/1/11	1/31/11	30	750
002	1/5/11	1/15/11	10	250
003	1/6/11	1/10/11	4	100
004	1/11/11	1/31/11	20	500
005	1/15/11	1/30/11	15	375
006	1/16/11	1/25/11	9	225
007	1/20/11	1/29/11	9	225
008	1/21/11	1/23/11	2	50
009	1/22/11	2/21/11	29	725
010	1/30/11	2/4/11	4	100
		Total:	132 d	$3,300

From the data above, the shelter calculates it costs $3300 to care for the animals that come in January.  The average cost per animal is: $330.  Obviously, the longer an animal stays, the more investment a shelter puts into it whereas the shorter the length of stay, the less investment necessary.  Moving forward, the shelter can look more closely at animal cohorts (kittens, puppies, adults, black cats versus other colors, pit bulls versus other dog breeds, etc) to identify patterns, recognize strains on resources, and appropriately manage the animal population.  Managed and limited intake facilities can use historical ACD data to more effectively plan their intakes, and all types of shelters can use this data to promote transfers of certain types of animals that may have more ACD or longer lengths of stay.  Additionally, shelters can use ACD data to ensure that euthanasias are happening in a timely fashion.  By analyzing the ACD for the average euthanized outcome, shelter managers can make certain that inevitable outcomes are decided early rather than late. 

For calculations in Excel, use function DAYS360, click here to see the full Excel tutorial to make ACD calculations easy!

Simple Cat Kennel Enrichment Ideas

Photo courtesy of Chris Tanaka

Cats are not meant to be in a shelter environment (dogs for that matter either, but more on that in a later post); even the most well adjusted cat is measurably miserable in a shelter.  Our job as shelter professionals is to minimize their misery while they are in our care.  Below are some simple, and very low cost kennel enrichment ideas for cats:

1.     Old Shoe Boxes: make great hiding spots for shy cats, beds for tired cats, and even a sturdy box turned upside down can be a perch for alert cats.  If you cut one of the short side out of the same sturdy box, you can even create a hide and perch for the cat. 

a.     Cost = FREE!

b.     Easy donation item to collect from volunteers and community supporters.   You may want to consider having a volunteer or staff ask for donations at local shoe stores—most will be happy to save their discarded boxes for you. 

c.      Since the boxes are free and (theoretically) numerous, you can just throw them away if they get soiled or the cat vacates the kennel.

2.     Tissue Paper (or Newspaper): anyone who has lived with a cat for even half a day knows that they will sit on any piece of paper on the floor, and it seems the crinklier, the better.  Wad up the tissue paper into a loose ball and throw it in their cage for maximum efficiency!

a.     Cost = FREE!

b.     Another easy donation item to collect from volunteers and community supporters, especially good way for people to reuse their old holiday gift wrap!

c.      Again, once the tissue is at its end, just throw it away.

3.     Wine Corks and various bottle caps: make wonderful roll and swat toys.  First time I tried this at a shelter I was working for, I had a volunteer distribute a few to each kennel and she reported that the room electrified with cats romping and playing in their kennel!

a.     Cost = FREE!

b.     One more easy donation item for volunteers and community supporters to collect and reuse.

c.      As with the previous examples, dispose of the items when cat vacates the kennel.

d.     **Added bonus of the wine corks: you can poke fun at the volunteer who brings in the most!  At our annual volunteer celebration party, we gave out silly awards one of which was the “Lush” award given to the volunteer who collected the most wine corks.  In reality, he put up a sign and a collection bin in his apartment building so it was not just his wine corks, but still a funny joke nonetheless!!

4.     Straws: Again, make fantastic roll and swat toys.  Even better if the straws bend!

a.     Cost = FREE! or minimal (good dollar store stock up purchase)

b.     Additional straightforward donation item for volunteers and community supporters.

c.      Items are disposable when the cat moves on.

5.     Plastic Easter Eggs: this enrichment item can double as a roll and swat toy or, unscrew one half, smear a small amount of wet food on the inside rim, and they toy is also a treat!

a.     Cost = FREE! or minimal (additional good dollar store stock up purchase)

b.     Ask for volunteers and community supporters to donate, or stock up during the spring when they are readily available in stores.  I would recommend catching the after holiday sales to maximize your money.

c.      Easy to dispose of items when they are used.

These are such simple items, most used or found in our daily life and are a great way to give a second life to items we would probably just throw away in our home.  I have also found that these are great collection items for groups (corporate groups, apartment buildings, school groups) to gather on behalf of the shelter.  Costs little money and the donations go directly to the animals, so will make people feel very good about their donation.  I also know some shelters that send this list home with adopters—it helps to transition the cat into the new home as well as just an easy and inexpensive toy list for the cats!

Intervention Services versus Prevention Services: How Does Your Portfolio Stack Up?

Regardless of the specific mission of a shelter or rescue, I am confident in saying the heart of the majority of animal welfare organizations is to provide either prevention or intervention services (and in most cases, both) for the animals it takes under its wing.  At the most basic level, all shelter services, programs, or departments can be filed into either category (*sometimes they fit into both) and contribute to what the organization offers the community.  But an intelligent organization will intentionally control the percentage of intervention services if offers with that of the prevention services it offers.  In other terms, a clever organization will not put all its eggs in the same proverbial basket. 

First, let’s define what each of these services means.  Intervention services are any service, program, or department dedicated to intercede on behalf of an animal already in the shelter system.  Examples include:

1.     Adoption Programs: focus on permanent placement of homeless animals

2.     Investigations: use the law to adjudicate in support of abused or neglected animals

3.     *Behavior and Training: readies sheltered animals for placement in a permanent home

4.     Volunteers: invites supporters into the organization to contribute to the mission

In contrast, prevention services are any service, program, or department dedicated to averting an animal from entering the shelter system from the start.  Examples include:

1.     Spay/Neuter: prevents future litters

2.     Humane Education: fosters humane attitudes and living harmoniously with animals

3.     Safe Havens: attempts to keep people experiencing personal difficulties with their pets as they navigate towards a solution to their problems

4.     *Behavior and Training: promotes basic obedience and good behavior; well trained animals remain in their homes

5.     Trap-Neuter-Return: prevents further amplification of the feral cat population

6.     Pet Food Pantry: offers free or very low cost food and supplies to struggling families

*Notice that Behavior and Training can fall into both categories.

To find a typical distribution of services, I did a brief analysis of 5 shelters in the Chicago area.  Based on the programs and services they advertised on their respective websites, I calculated the percentage of intervention versus prevention services they offered and the following resulted:  

Shelter	Brief Description	Prevention Services	Intervention Services
A	Large, Open Admissions (with a physical location)	44%	50%
B	Medium/Large, No-Kill (with a physical location)	61%	39%
C	Medium, No-Kill (with a physical location)	44%	56%
D	Small, No-Kill Rescue (with a physical location)	10%	90%
E	Very Small, No-Kill Rescue (without a physical location)	33%	66%

Each shelter’s budget, staffing, animal capacity, and mission are (obviously) different, but it’s interesting to see how the smaller organizations—in terms of animal capacity—skew towards intervention whereas the larger shelters balance the two more evenly.    

This investigation is very superficial and should not be used as the sole analysis of determining an appropriate allocation of prevention and intervention services.  What this analysis does not provide is how much (in terms of financial, human, and facility resources) are distributed per capita or as a total percentage of said resources.  From the above, one can make the correlation that the larger the shelter, the more it can provide by way of prevention services, but of course this analysis only examined shelters.  There are organizations out there exclusively dedicated to funding prevention services without actually sheltering animals.  

A strategic planning exercise—either in and of itself or as a subset of the overall strategic planning efforts of the organization—will help a group focus its efforts and resources on the types and general allotment of prevention and intervention programs and services it offers, but an annual detailed analysis of various shelter metrics (intake, live release rate, disease rates) will help guide a group to allot those programs and services to accurately meet the needs of the community it services:

1.     What is being spent on spay neuter services?  Have we noticed a change in our intake, especially kitten litters during “kitten season”?

2.     Since we started investing more time on post adoption follow-up, have we noticed a decrease in our return rates? 

3.     What percentage of adopted dogs enroll in training classes post placement?

4.     What percentage of volunteers donate over 20 hours of service per month? 

By examining the answers to these questions, groups can better understand and adjust their prevention and intervention services division.  Every organization’s distribution will be different depending on their mission and vision, but it does suffice to say that a good game plan includes diversifying your allocations.  Similar to the market, a diverse portfolio of intervention and prevention services will not only help an organization deliver solutions based the needs of a community, but it will also assist it in remaining relevant during a changing environment.  So, how does your portfolio stack up?