We all know the importance of retention in long-term care. In past blogs, we’ve talked about how to hire to prevent turnover, key benefits to prevent turnover, and must-know retention statistics for healthcare employers. But who exactly is in charge of retention? Who decides what retention initiatives to put into place, and when?
We break down exactly what teams and individuals are responsible for preventing turnover, and how you can create an organization-wide retention effort that actually works.
The State of Retention in Healthcare
Employee turnover is a pressing issue across the healthcare industry, with rates ranging from 8.8% to 37%, depending on geographic location and role. Home health aides, in particular, experience a high turnover rate of 21%. According to the Long Term Care Community Coalition, the average nursing home has a turnover rate of 53.3%. Retention also significantly impacts CMS ratings, making it an essential aspect of healthcare administration.
Failing to address employee retention can be like sailing a ship with a leak in it. So how can healthcare organizations hold onto their valuable staff?
Common Employee Retention Pitfalls
Before we focus in on employee retention strategies, let’s review what not to do. Your organization needs to avoid these pitfalls, regardless of who owns retention.
You Don’t Track Analytics
Analytics are crucial when it comes to measuring retention. If you don’t have comprehensive data-driven insights into employee behaviors, satisfaction levels, and engagement patterns, accurately assessing and addressing factors affecting retention becomes challenging. Analytics provide the necessary tools to track employee interactions, monitor their journey within the organization, and identify potential areas of turnover.
For best results, invest in software that can track retention rates within specific timeframes. This way, you’ll be able to measure turnover in an employee’s first thirty days, sixty days, year, and beyond.
You Don’t Have One Team or Person Organizing Efforts
Lack of centralized ownership leads to fragmented and inconsistent employee retention strategies. Without a designated team or person responsible for organizing retention efforts, there is a risk of miscommunication and overlap in initiatives. Having a dedicated team or person in charge of organizing retention efforts can streamline processes, ensure accountability, and improve the overall effectiveness of retention strategies.
So Who Owns Retention?
Let’s review the possible answers.
Corporate Leadership
Executive leadership sets the tone for company culture, an enormous factor when it comes to retention. They may also have the ability to allocate budget towards retention efforts. By fostering a positive work environment and promoting a culture of trust and respect, executives can contribute to higher employee satisfaction and lower turnover rates. Executives also have a birds’-eye view of the organization and are uniquely positioned to understand how certain retention strategies are affecting the company.
Facility-Level Management
Facility-level management plays a pivotal role in organizational retention. They are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the physical workplace, which directly impacts employee experiences. Their direct interactions with employees allow them to identify issues early on and implement tailored solutions to enhance retention.
Just as executive leadership shapes the overarching culture, facility-level management shapes the tangible aspects of the work environment, making them essential stakeholders in the retention equation.
Human Resources
HR oversees recruitment and selection processes and can ensure that candidates with a higher likelihood of staying long-term are hired. When HR takes charge of retention, it’s likely that recruitment and retention efforts will be combined. HR also plays a crucial role in addressing employee concerns, which means that they have a direct impact on employee satisfaction.
Direct Supervisors
Supervisors play a key role in identifying and addressing any issues or challenges that may impact employee retention, such as workload imbalance or conflicts within the team. They can also provide immediate feedback on how retention strategies are affecting current staff. Supervisors can create a positive work environment by fostering open communication, promoting teamwork, and recognizing and rewarding employee achievements.
Retention is a Shared Effort…But Having a Point Person Will Help
Retention is owned across the company. Everyone at every level contributes to the company culture. However, you still need someone to help you stay organized.
Choose a team or a specific person to orchestrate your recruitment efforts, likely in leadership or HR. Communicate with other teams, and document what you’re doing so if there’s turnover the next “point” person will be able to pick up where you went off.
While your point person might initiate key retention strategies and look at the analytics to make sure you’re on track, they can’t work alone. Retention efforts won’t be fruitful without the support of everyone in the organization, from direct managers to executive leadership.
Better Hiring With Apploi
Retention efforts start with hiring, and continue throughout onboarding and management. Managing employee retention in healthcare is a lot easier with powerful software on your side. Schedule a demo today.
