When it comes to staffing, retention is half the battle. After all, when you hire new workers without fixing your retention problem, you could lose employees as quickly as you bring them aboard. It’s a bit like trying to dump water out of a sinking boat instead of patching the leak. But what exactly is the state of employee retention in healthcare? Here are 10 employee retention statistics you need to know.
1. RN Turnover Cost the Average Hospital $7.1 million in 2021
This might seem like a whopping amount, and it is. But it isn’t all bad news. While increased turnover can cost hospitals money, even small improvements have financial returns. For each percent that turnover is decreased, hospitals are predicted to save $262,300.
Learn how to fight nurse turnover
2. Staff Turnover Hurts Quality of Care in Skilled Nursing Facilities
According to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, increased retention can also increase quality of care in skilled nursing facilities. We don’t need to tell you how important it is to meet your ideal care standards. Retaining staff long-term can help you ensure that everyone is appropriately trained and familiar with the needs of your residents.
3. U.S. Nursing Homes Face a Median 94% Turnover Rate
The median rate of turnover in 2017 and 2018 was 94%, with a staggering average of 128%. While all healthcare facilities struggle with turnover, skilled nursing facilities have been hit particularly hard in recent years. Preventing turnover will need to be a focus for skilled nursing facilities moving forward.
Learn more about increasing retention
4. Employees With Work-life Balance Are 10% More Likely to Keep Their Jobs
Work-life balance is a priority for many workers. With the stress of the pandemic, however, a balanced life has become harder to maintain for employees and employers alike.
While you may never avoid overtime entirely, working towards a culture of work-life balance will help you prevent burnout and retain employees.
5. The Pandemic Decreased Retention—Especially for Underserved Populations
During the pandemic, employee retention statistics took a worrying turn A 2022 study published in JAMA Health Forum found that turnover in long-term care increased over the course of the pandemic. Significantly, the highest turnover rates belonged to marginalized workers, including women, minority racial and ethnic groups, and working parents. This could point to a trend of minority employees feeling unheard in the workplace. Employers need to offer support whenever possible.
Learn how to support working parents
Learn how to create to create a culturally competent workplace
6. CNA Salaries Increased in 2020, but Retention Rates Did Not
In 2020, CNAs saw their wages increase by 5.7%, with lead CNAs experiencing an increase of 7.3%. In the same period of time, CNA turnover in assisted living rose from 43.18% to 59.93%.
What does this mean for recruiters? Salaries don’t outweigh culture and safety concerns. Employees in direct caregiver roles need more than an increased salary to stay in their roles. It’s important to create a supportive environment with career paths that CNAs can follow.
Learn how to improve company culture
7. 96.1% of Hospitals Consider Retention Part of Their Staffing Strategy
If you’ve been focusing on retention, you’re not alone. A full 96.1% of hospitals have termed retention as a “key strategic imperative.” Retention can’t be neglected when it comes to the ultimate goal of sustainable staffing. Many healthcare employers monitor industry-specific employee retention statistics and use this data to drive their own staffing strategies. In other words, retention is competitive. in a high-demand industry, you can’t afford to leave turnover up to chance.
8. 65% of Employees Are Reassessing How Work Fits Into Their Lives
According to a report by Gartner, over half of employees are questioning their current work and employment. Only a third believe internal opportunities at their current workplace could ease these concerns.
While this statistic suggests that there could be more people leaving healthcare, it also means workers outside of healthcare are looking for new careers. This could be an opportunity to show professions from other fields why healthcare is such a valuable place to work.
Learn how to recruit CNAs from other fields
9. Employees Who Don’t Feel Recognized Are Twice as Likely to Be on the Job Hunt
Almost a quarter (21.5%) of employees who don’t feel like they’ve received the recognition they deserve have interviewed for a new position in the past 90 days. When employees do receive recognition, that number drops to 12.4%.
Employee recognition doesn’t reverse the need for compensation and a healthy culture, but it’s an excellent retention tool to keep in mind.
Learn more about effective recruiting and retention
10. Healthcare Has Lost 1.8% of Workers During the Pandemic
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the U.S. healthcare industry has lost 1.8% of its jobs. Healthcare organizations countrywide are struggling with turnover. But with a retention strategy in place, you can move your organization beyond the statistics.
Learn how to recruit and retain
Better Hiring With Apploi
We know that employee retention statistics paint a challenging picture. But decreasing turnover doesn’t have to be an uphill battle. With the right tools on your side, you can seamlessly integrate both hiring and retention.
Interested in learning more about how you can recruit, hire, and onboard healthcare staff quickly? Contact us today for a free demo of our end-to-end talent management solution.
