In the modern age, many industries are struggling to retain qualified employees. As a result of these low employee retention rates, many organizations aren’t able to achieve the levels of success they aspire to.
One industry that is having a tremendous amount of difficulty with this problem is healthcare organizations. In particular, many hospitals are currently experiencing employee turnover at alarming rates.
Fortunately, there are ways for these organizations to overcome this challenge and improve their ability to keep employees in their organization happy. Those looking to cultivate a robust understanding of healthcare in the modern era can benefit from gaining perspective on this issue and its solutions.
Here’s what hospitals can do to improve their hiring process for better employee retention.
Prioritizing Transparency and Communication
Professionals across industries have evolved in keyways over the past several decades. Specifically, the types of attributes that professionals search for in their employers have changed significantly.
In the past, job security and competitive wages were typically the most important features of jobs for working professionals. While these are still important to workers today, other attributes have also risen in attractiveness.
One key feature that many modern professionals look for in employers is open communication and transparency among leadership. Among healthcare professionals, this is even more true.
From nurses to administrative staff, those working in hospitals typically value top-down communication from organizational leaders. One key reason for this is that this form of transparency and communication makes employees feel more valued and invested in their organizations.
As a result of these feelings, this type of organizational leadership style can significantly decrease employee turnover in hospitals. This being the case, any American hospital trying to decrease employee turnover can get closer to accomplishing its aim by prioritizing leadership transparency and communication.
Focusing on Diversity
Another important way that American professionals have evolved in the modern age is by holding diversity in higher regard — especially in organizations. As a result, many modern-day professionals look for a diverse makeup of employees in the companies they choose to be employed by.
Like any other professionals, healthcare professionals working in hospitals also value diversity and the benefits it can bring to the workplace. Consequently, a lack of diversity or a lack of efforts to promote diversity may cause healthcare professionals to leave their employers in order to search for organizations that align with their values.
Thankfully, there are a variety of efforts that hospitals can engage in to promote diversity and keep their employees happy.
One incredibly effective tactic is that of creating and supporting a diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, committee. Essentially, DEI committees are made up of employees from various levels and departments of an organization to promote diversity and the inclusion of all employees in an organization.
Beyond creating DEI committees, hospitals can also promote diversity by requiring diversity training. Basically, this type of training helps employees from all backgrounds learn how to positively interact with all people regardless of their backgrounds.
By engaging in these practices, hospitals can promote diversity, increase employee retention, and even get closer to achieving healthcare justice. As such, making diversity a priority can be extremely beneficial to any hospital looking to improve.
Cultivating a Positive Company Culture
In the past, company culture had little to do with employee retention as employees were more inclined to stay in secure job roles regardless of the atmosphere in the office. Today, however, this is far from the case and young professionals are far more likely to leave their jobs if they feel an organization’s company culture isn’t ideal.
For hospitals, this means that failing to put effort into cultivating a positive company culture could ultimately result in higher rates of employee turnover. Sadly, however, creating a positive company culture in hospitals isn’t always an easy feat to pull off.
The reason for this is that hospitals are inherently stressful work environments due to the high-stakes and stressful nature of medical care. As a result, it becomes even more important for hospitals to do everything in their power to improve company culture and keep their employees happy.
One effective way for organizational leaders in hospitals to improve company culture is by investing in team-building efforts. Whether these are planned activities within the hospital or trips to a destination, these efforts can help employees feel more bonded to each other and their employer.
Another great way to bolster company culture is by providing employees with advancement opportunities and avenues to improve their skills. This can include programs to advance into higher positions or upskilling opportunities for employees to become more valuable employees.
Ultimately, these efforts will help employees feel valued and more indebted to their employer. This being the case, hospitals intent on reducing employee turnover should funnel resources into efforts that promote great company culture and keep employees happy.
Revitalizing Onboarding Programs
Believe it or not, onboarding programs can have a significant effect on how well companies can retain their employees. As a result, investing more resources into making onboarding programs more robust can ultimately result in hospitals retaining more employees.
Fortunately, there are many accessible practices that hospitals can engage in to improve their onboarding programs and really excite their employees.
One amazing practice to bolster onboarding programs is that of creating an extremely supportive work environment to ensure that new hires feel comfortable. By doing so, new hires will always feel comfortable asking their peers questions and figuring out their new roles.
Beyond this, hospitals can also benefit from their onboarding programs by investing in the training and development of their employees rather than just throwing them into their new roles. This will ensure that new employees are equipped with all of the knowledge and skills to thrive in their new roles, thereby increasing the chances they’ll remain satisfied with their roles.
Given the immense impact that placing a great emphasis on onboarding programs can have, any hospital looking to boost employee retention levels should make it a point to invest in quality onboarding processes.
It’s Possible for Hospitals to Boost Employee Retention
While hospitals across the country are currently struggling with employee retention, there are key strategies they can utilize to keep their employees content. From investing in diversity to promoting a positive company culture, many practices can reduce employee turnover rates in hospitals.
As time goes on and new strategies emerge to keep healthcare employees content, hospitals will be even more empowered to thrive and reach their organizational goals.
