As the healthcare model changes dramatically and many providers make cutbacks, hospital leaders must consider ways to keep their best employees on board, Healthcare Global reports.
High salaries, one of the major employee draws, is no longer an option for many struggling systems, according to the article, leaving hospital CEOs to find other strategies. For example, emphasizing the organization's core mission is one of the best ways to keep and attract the top employees, the article states.
"When doctors and nurses feel like they're working toward a mission that reflects the reasons they entered into their careers in the first place, they are happier and stay longer," according to the article.
Another way to retain top employees is with incentives such as wellness programs, better food choices at work, discounted gym memberships and other ways for employees to improve their health and well-being. Healthcare CEOs' continued success depends on their ability to compete with strategies like these, according to the article.
Other employee engagement interventions are successful in hospitals as well. For example, in 2010, a small hospital reached out to Gallup for help improving employee engagement and reducing turnover. Using strategies such as hand-picking staff based on skill and providing ongoing development opportunities for staff, the unnamed hospital cut turnover from 22 percent to 15 percent and slashed registered nurse turnover by nearly 50 percent. It also saved nearly $2 million between 2010 and 2013 due to lower turnover-associated costs, FierceHealthcare previously reported.
Hospital leaders can also use technology to address staffing needs, such as voice recognition equipment and remote monitoring, according to FierceHealthcare's eBook, "Human Management in Healthcare: Hiring Right to Meet the Demands of Healthcare Reform."
To learn more:
- read the article