How a Healthcare Facility Can Better Retain Its Staff

High turnover rates plague the healthcare industry. In 2016, the healthcare industry had a total turnover rate of 19.9 percent, according to a survey from CompData Surveys.

Losing employees is not only costly but can impact organization culture and productivity. What can healthcare facilities do to better retain workers?

Here’s a multifaceted solution:

Ensure Employees Are a Good Cultural Fit

Katie Bouton, a leader in the human resources field, stresses that “culture fit is the glue that holds an organization together.” Finding employees that will fit in well is crucial to reducing turnover.

How can you measure cultural fit and implement it into the hiring process?

First, define your healthcare facility’s culture and mission. Then, leverage technology and communication to ensure the process leads to the right candidates.

For instance, at Adaptive Medical Partners, we’ve launched AMP Score™, an interactive, proprietary tool that utilizes data to calculate how recruitable open positions are, along with human-to-human communications to determine if candidates suit the organization and position.

Pay Attention to Burnout and Stress

According to a 2017 Medscape survey, burnout rates among 27 physician specialties exceed 40 percent, with emergency medicine having a nearly 60 percent.

For nurses, burnout is arguably even more of a problem. Sixty-three percent reported burnout in an early 2017 survey.

Clearly, this is an industry problem. Thankfully, there are ways organizations can prevent burnout (and losing important staff). Here are some solutions:

• Prevent work overload: For instance, physicians work an average of 50 hours per week. Find ways to reduce work hours — and burnout will become less likely.

• Promote a work-life balance: For instance, you could allow for more flexible scheduling and advocate health and wellness programs.

• Recognize and reward good work: For example, if your healthcare facility meets its goals, you could offer extra days off to staff. Bonuses are another option.

Offer Professional Development

From collaborations between nurses and physicians to networking events, there are many ways you can support professional development at your healthcare facility. It’s especially important among Millennials. Eighty-seven percent of employees from this generation state development is important in a job.

Encouraging work and personal connections is a good start. Colleagues can learn from one another.

Additionally, you should offer the chance to boost knowledge and skills through research, classes, and conferences. Leadership development — and the chance for promotions — is also vital.

Creating a Happy, Productive Environment

Retaining your staff begins with recognizing issues that may cause workers to leave. Taking steps like the ones listed here can immediately reduce turnover.

Also, you must continually listen to your employees and work to satisfy their needs. This is how you craft solutions and build a healthcare facility where workers are happy and your patients achieve better outcomes.