Over the last several months, employers across the country have been challenged with navigating “the Great Resignation.” Across all industries, leaders and human resources business partners are scrambling to quickly solve a complex retention issue. While retention is important for every industry it’s critical in healthcare, especially in cardiology. Continuity of care deployed by engaged and tenured providers is directly correlated with positive patient experience, patient retention and service line growth.
While successful employee retention is the culmination of a myriad of touchpoints throughout employment, many employers incorrectly believe that the retention success formula begins on the first day on the job. The first day on the job doesn’t mark the true beginning of the retention formula; it starts during the recruiting phase. The first interaction with a prospective employee and their experience through the hiring process serves as the foundation on which long-term retention is built. If you take shortcuts through the recruitment process, the result is a flimsy foundation that is often unable to withstand the test of time.
What is a retention-grounded approach to recruiting? It begins with understanding what factors are most important to your target potential employees. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not all about the money! For decades, employee survey results have shown that money is typically not included in the top five reasons people leave jobs. Yet, as an industry, some of the first questions from human resources are related to salary. The result is that we’ve trained prospective candidates to ask for a salary before we can focus on what’s truly driving them to explore new opportunities.
Now, more than ever, it’s time to embrace a different approach. Focus on what is most important to individual candidates and how your organization can answer their asks. Here is a list of the top qualities people are seeking in new jobs, in no particular order:
1. Recognition, Respect, and Feeling Valued
Working for a company that rarely gives you recognition can make it challenging to feel motivated each day. It’s important for employees to know their work is making a positive impact on patient care and driving overall company performance. Sharing positive feedback for a job well-done and relating individual contributions to a greater cumulative success allows employees to feel appreciated and valued within the organization.
2. Strong Management and Effective Leadership
While there are some people in leadership roles that shouldn’t be, ineffective leadership is often a misalignment of leadership styles and employee reception. Each person’s definition of good management varies. Someone who wants more autonomy might view a participative leader negatively as a micro-manager. Simultaneously, the same leader might be viewed as exceptional by someone who seeks guidance and direction as they work. It’s important to clarify how an individual defines “good management” and explore the leadership styles in which they thrive. Consider how these expectations will fit into the overall team structure in anticipation of making a long-term match.
3. Opportunity For Growth
A tenured team can be problematic if it leads to stagnation. For some, there is no room to “climb the ladder” by promotion or assuming additional responsibility. For others, they’ve become bored because they’re no longer learning new skills or earning additional certifications. Carefully clarifying what growth means to each candidate is imperative. During the recruitment process, communicate promotion and succession strategies in addition to continuing education opportunities, and be prepared to share specific examples whenever possible.
4. Access to Technology and Resources
Technology and resourcing support can enable a competent employee’s success or inhibit their ability to achieve their goals. Granting access to innovative technology, right-sizing team personnel, and appropriately budgeting for the tools to accomplish individual and team goals enable employee success and are frequent indicators of a positive work environment.
5. Flexibility and Work-Life Balance
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape of the work environment, particularly around remote work and accommodating personal obligations and priorities. Some roles don’t allow for effective remote work, especially when it comes to patient care. Although, within a larger ecosystem most workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher can work effectively from home. It’s important to consider what your organization can do to improve remote opportunities for those to whom remote work appeals.
The best way to foster a successful dialogue with potential candidates and ensure you are recruiting to retain is to remove the main roadblock: take money and benefits out of the initial conversation. Fair compensation is still important, and you’ll need to discuss it, but begin by asking the candidate, outside of money and benefits, what other tangible and intangible factors are most important to them.
Successful retention is not a simple if/then scenario, but by placing it at the forefront of the entire recruitment process, your organization will maximize immediate hiring outcomes and set a strong foundation for future retention success.
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