Millennials have overtaken Baby Boomers as the largest generation in the workforce, and the healthcare industry must adapt to the needs and perspectives of this group to prepare them for future leadership.
One challenge: Millennials tend to move between jobs more frequently than previous generations, according to an article from Trustee magazine. So health facilities must embrace ways to connect with millennials to encourage them to stay.
Scripps Health in San Diego, for example, has an alumni program that recruits former millennial staff members back into the fold, according to the article. And the approach seems to have paid off: Scripps reports 20 percent of employees return within a year of leaving, Eric Cole, corporate vice president of human capital services, told the publication.
However. it's rare to see millennials in leadership positions, and that may contribute to their frequent job switching, according to the article. They may feel there are not opportunities to move up.
Indeed, hospitals have been slow to embrace millennials in leadership roles; in 2014, just 21 percent of hospital and health system board members were younger than 50, according to the article. One solution for recruiting millennials is to have a strong succession plan in place for leadership roles.
Scripps, for instance, offers millennials opportunities in non-clinical leadership as a test run, according to the article. It also offers ways for staff members to continue education and get training needed to move into other roles in the system.