Combating Staff Turnover
It’s no secret that one of the biggest problems facing healthcare organizations across the care continuum is employee retention. Turnover in the healthcare industry is at an all-time high, which means that HR leaders are scrambling to improve retention and employee happiness at work as the demand for talent rises.
According to Gallup, it’s clear that the healthcare industry needs to make employee engagement a top priority in order to improve employee performance and retention. So how can HR leaders buck this trend in today’s ultra-competitive environment?
Recognizing Staff Diversity
Health Stream, a healthcare training company, recently addressed the problem of staff turnover as essentially a diversity issue. We are living in an age where cultural differences in worker age groups couldn’t be more apparent or pronounced.
We’ve talked about the widening generation gap in other posts, but I think this concept is particularly relevant to understanding and engaging healthcare workers. Health Stream focuses on three worker groups, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials.
Engaging Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers need to know they’re appreciated and that we understand how often they go the extra mile. Many of them are getting to the point in their career where they really need more flexibility. They also need to be reminded it's okay to say no sometimes. They’ve served long and hard and appreciate being recognized for their dedication, skill, and the care they provide for their patients.
Accommodating Generation X
It's really important to accommodate this generation’s need for work-life balance. They value professional mobility and the ability to transfer to other positions. Other work options that appeal to them are job sharing and self-scheduling. But flexibility is the key word.
When you're talking about Gen X retention, here are some eye-opening statistics: 60% of them are open to a new job opportunity right now, over half would take a pay cut for work that really aligned with their values, and 45% would quit because of substandard technology. If an organization is archaic in terms of technology, that's really going to be a downside. 84% of this group identified work life balance as their number one job consideration, and 88% would rather work in a collaborative culture. While this generation doesn’t need to get their way all the time, they still want to have a voice and be heard.
Understanding Millennials
Millennials are the largest generational group in the workforce, and they'll soon be the majority of all employees, with more than 50% next year. That percentage is just going to keep getting higher. In order to retain Millennials, they want to know they're working with other bright, creative people.
This is a very creative generation, in their use of technology, as well as other areas. They want to know they make a difference and are attentive to the civic angle of working for an organization. An important component is the appeal of working for a socially conscious company. This generation is also interested in having a voice and being heard.
Healthcare is an industry where employees make a difference in people's lives every day, and it helps to remind Millennials about the impact they have. Not only should work be interactive, but managers should show appreciation whenever possible and frequently reward the team. Showing appreciation is a key retention strategy for this generation.
Flexibility is the Key
You’re going to need an integrated recognition solution that will excite employees and engage managers within all of your generational worker groups. The technology driven approach Incentra provides offers not only diversity and personalization, but a powerful tool for enhancing the patient experience, building a culture of caring, and retaining and rewarding your top talent. Give us a call. We can help.
