Human Resources

It’s not just your organization — turnover is rampant across healthcare employers. According to Leaders for Today, a hospital management staffing firm, 37 percent of respondents plan to leave their current employer in the next two years, and more than 68 percent plan to leave within five years.

This year has had its fair share of devastating storms and wildfires, highlighting the importance of preparedness for natural disasters. The need for being prepared goes double for healthcare organizations, which play a front-line role in helping people recover from disasters. Is your organization ready?

Patient safety is an ongoing issue across the continuum of care. This includes workplace safety, healthcare-acquired infections, and medical errors, just to name a few examples. In fact, a study finds that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S., behind heart disease and cancer. Respondents say that the contributing factors that led to medical errors include:

Employee engagement is a topic that is often discussed among healthcare HR professionals. In fact, it was last year’s theme for the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration’s (ASHHRA) Annual Conference. According to the latest joint research by PwC and ASHHRA, healthcare organizations are underperforming compared to other industries, with nearly 30 percent of employees leaving within the first year of service.

It can often be said that we don’t reflect enough on things we should be grateful for in our life. Whether it’s your friends and family or health and career, practicing gratitude can have a significant impact on both your mental and physical health. For instance, if you can effectively foster a culture of gratitude and appreciation—such as with a simple handwritten “thank you” note or a compliment for a job well done—you can expect to notice a boost in morale, increase in patient satisfaction, decrease in turnover and burnout, and much more.

A candidate’s fit to successfully execute a job has often been measured by his or her hard or technical skills supported by a degree. However, as demand for quality talent rises, employers are searching for candidates beyond their hard skills; they are seeking individuals who possess positive personal traits often referred to as “soft skills.” These soft skills often include but are not limited to their ability to effectively communicate, work in teams, and adapt to changing times.

The 2017 American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA) Conference took place this past week in the Emerald City of Seattle, Washington. This year’s theme was “Partnering Across the Continuum of Care: The Changing Role of Healthcare Human Resources.” The theme emphasizes the importance of increased collaboration between HR and other partners in the healthcare environment as the industry graduates from operating in silos.

Collaboration is vital in healthcare, but it doesn’t just happen. It takes planning and hard work to get people across the continuum of care working together. As a centralized department, healthcare HR is in the perfect position to help coordinate and collaborate across the continuum of care.

High turnover is a growing concern among healthcare employers because it has a direct effect on employee satisfaction as well as patient care. It affects how employees interact with patients, how much effort they’re willing to put in their work, and how often they’re going to miss work because they simply just don’t want to be there. If this is the case, the most important question you must ask is: “Why do I have a high turnover rate?” Reasons may include but are not limited to:

It’s no secret that employee engagement is a key driver of performance and productivity at any workplace. In healthcare, specifically, engaged employees offer fewer mistakes, put the patient first, and build stronger and more effective teams.