4 Ways to Harness Hospital Employee Retention (2024)

Before theCOVID-19 pandemic, hospitals and health systems struggled to manage inpatient excesscapacity while additional procedures were shifting to an outpatient setting. Today,hospitals are faced with even greater struggles as they address dailychallenges of finding available capacity for a burgeoning patient populationwith an increased demand for inpatient healthcare services, combined with anuptick in employee turnover. If a hospital did not have a disciplinedmanagement system and an employee retention strategy before the pandemic, thenew demands on our healthcare systems are likely exploiting these struggles.

If we assume the average cost ofturnover of one hospital employee is equal to $70,000 (1 x average annualsalary and wages), the cost of each percentage point of turnover for a hospitalwith 1,500 employees with a 17% annual rate of turnover is worth more than $1million. Turnover equals hard dollar costs.

Below are four key elements that are essential to managing employeeretention:

1.Planning

• Anticipate fluctuations in volume and capacity.
• Establish staffing strategies and plans.

Employeesdon’t like surprises, so planning for changing volume is critical to workforcemanagement. Despite the volatility of these unprecedented times, hospitalvolume can be reasonably anticipated, yet some managers are still surprised. Mostevents that drive patient volume and management systems can be anticipated and shouldbe built into projected staffing plans. Hospital volumes change rapidly, and manylast-minute staffing changes can be avoided. The best management systems canrecognize these patterns and quickly respond to the necessary changes needed.

2.Scheduling

• Optimize scheduling practices.
• Expand technology solutions.

Anattractive feature of any clinical job is a predictable and reoccurringschedule. Giving employees a voice in the scheduling process is an essentialtactic for keeping employees engaged. There are technologies that can beleveraged for employees to have a voice in planning their own schedule. Engagingemployees and giving them more control over their own schedule can be acompetitive advantage in retaining employees.

3.Follow-up

• Continuously address staff scheduling.
• Balance patient and employee demand.

Periodic follow-up to make sure staffing plans deliver the intended result is anessential, yet often forgotten, step in improving the scheduling process.Effective scheduling systems not only measure the outcomes, but those systemscan tell a manager how to adjust to improve results. Balancing patient demand witheffective staff schedules is a continuous process. Avoiding last-minute schedulechanges and giving employees a voice in their schedule play critical roles in improvingemployee retention.

4.Employee Engagement

• Focus on manager leadership.
• Make employees part of your family.

Many front-line managers often ratedifficult conversations, coaching and engaging their teams as their topchallenges. Leadership competencies and skills should be an essential componentin the recruitment process for front-line leaders. Furthermore, equal emphasisshould be placed on leadership skills and technical skills when it comes tointernal promotions. Coaching on performance and development of staff should bebalanced with recognition for contributions and achievements. Front-lineleadership skills should be developed and honed to recognize employeeperformance and personal milestones to make employees feel valued. Just when itseems there is no available time for celebrations, carve out time to recognize yourmost dedicated employees. The right manager in critical front-line positions isthe most impactful way to nurture a positive work environment for the organization.

Management systemsare critical in making sure a hospital has the right resources in the rightplace at the right time. Without an employee retention strategy that closely addressesemployee needs and a lack of forecast changes in volume, filling excessive vacanciescan quickly become an expensive proposition. Anticipating volume changes, minimizingscheduling surprises, following up to make sure that employees scheduling needsare met, and consistently recognizing employees on a personal and professionallevel will yield hard dollar savings.

Stephen Lothrop is managing director ofBRG.