5 Ways to Increase Employee Retention

Employee retention is crucial to every business, including healthcare practices. If an employee quits, the time, resources, and money you spend hiring and training them goes down the drain. Employee turnover not only impacts operational costs but also negatively affects your practice’s revenue, productivity, workplace culture, and patient experience. These losses may not directly reflect on your balance sheet, but it affects your business nonetheless.

Recruiting and onboarding new employees costs more than retaining existing employees. In fact, according to Gallup, “The cost of replacing an individual employee can range from one-half to two times the employee's annual salary.” Despite this, many businesses fail to prioritize employee retention. Those who do, however, reap significant rewards, including revenue growth, improved productivity, and higher quality of work.

Why is Employee Retention Important in Healthcare?

Employees in healthcare are more prone to burnout, face emotional exhaustion, and are required to work longer hours. The high-pressure demands of working in healthcare can drain even the most committed employee, pushing them to leave. The remaining employees are then forced to pick up extra shifts and the work left behind, creating a vicious cycle of employee turnover.

Burned out and dissatisfied employees negatively affect patient care. A good patient experience consists of building positive relationships with your patients. If an employee leaves, that relationship is lost and it may take some time to replace it. Losing employees also means the loss of institutional knowledge, leaving few people to mentor incoming healthcare providers.

Improving employee retention in your organization reduces stress in the work environment, boosts morale, enhances the patient experience, and improves your practice’s bottom line.

Employee Retention Strategies in Healthcare

Decreasing your employee turnover rate doesn’t happen overnight. Thankfully, there are actionable employee retention strategies your practice can implement that result in long-term benefits.

1. Address Burnout Factors

Simply asking your employees what causes their burnout and implementing ways to address it helps reduce their chances of leaving. Practices need to ask for feedback from their staff on what’s causing stress through one-on-one discussions or employee surveys. Then, brainstorm ways to reverse burnout.

One of the leading causes of burnout in healthcare is the long hours required by the job. Your practice can address this by creating more employee scheduling flexibility. Establish a calendar that lets employees live a balanced and healthy life with more time for their family and hobbies. Encourage employees to use their allotted vacation time.

The mental and emotional exhaustion that comes with a healthcare job also adds to employee burnout. Create a safe space where employees feel comfortable opening up when they are struggling with their workload. Foster a culture that prioritizes mental health. Bring in instructors to teach staff meditation techniques to help them feel calmer in stressful situations. Every employee is different, so practices need to be mindful of each employee’s well-being.

2. Provide a Competitive Salary and Comprehensive Employee Benefits

Many people in healthcare went into their field to satisfy a greater purpose rather than simply wanting a hefty paycheck. However, compensation is still a primary driver in job satisfaction. Research and compare your current compensation plan with other healthcare organizations in your area. Then weigh the high cost of turnover versus the cost of competitive compensation. If your practice can’t increase pay right now, you can provide other work perks like wellness programs, store vouchers, or free meals. Work perks attract potential employees and re-engage your current staff.

Even if your employees already feel great pride working in healthcare, adding a range of employee benefits, like retirement plans and health insurance, makes their job more rewarding. Fifty-six percent of employees say that good healthcare coverage is critical in their decision to stay at their current job.

3. Provide Opportunities for Growth

As healthcare continues to evolve, so does the need for healthcare professionals to learn and keep up with changes. Establish a positive learning environment for employees who are interested in learning new skills and furthering their careers. Supporting your employee’s continuing medical education and professional development will help them refine their skills which will, in turn, help them deliver better care. Creating an employee development plan helps your workers remain committed to your practice, knowing that there are growth opportunities for them along the road.

4. Create a Positive Company Culture

A positive company culture helps employees feel proud about their work and improves their attitude about coming to work every day. Glassdoor reports that company culture is one of the main reasons 65% of workers stay at their job. If employees like your company culture, they will likely stay with you longer, reducing employee turnover rates.

Create a culture where success and achievements are regularly recognized. Healthcare workers already know that their work matters, but routinely recognizing their impact on patients’ health improves morale and job satisfaction. Remind them why they opted for a healthcare career in the first place and reignite their passion for the work they do.

The healthcare industry is composed of professionals with specialized knowledge and specific duties. Positive patient outcomes depend on these providers working together, collaborating, and communicating often. Promoting teamwork and collaboration as part of your company culture creates a positive workplace environment that retains employees.

Establish a culture where feedback is valued. If your practice decides to implement a new EHR software or launch a new care program, ask for your employee’s feedback and opinion. Foster an organization where employees feel comfortable communicating any of their concerns without the fear of being sanctioned. Doing so ensures that their voice matters.

5. Boost Employee Engagement

According to Forbes, “Employee engagement is the emotional commitment employees have to the company and its goals.” When employees are engaged, they care about their team, their patients, and your practice. An engaged workforce leads to improved quality of care, higher patient satisfaction rates, and increased patient safety.

Disengaged employees, on the other hand, are harmful to your organization. They bring down other employees’ morale, discourage others, and deliver poor quality of care. To increase engagement in the workplace, offer invaluable work perks to make them more committed to the organization. Create peer support or mentorship programs to establish professional relationships within the workplace, boost morale, and increase productivity.

Team building activities create opportunities for your team to get to know each other and build trust. When people trust each other, it generates a positive work environment and builds well-functioning teams.

A Cost-Effective Employee Retention Strategy for Your Practice

Healthcare has always been a balancing act between patient care and business. Creating a successful business means taking care of your employees too. At the core of every healthcare organization is its people, so it’s worth looking into the direct link between job satisfaction and high-quality patient care.

With so much on their plate already, healthcare organizations often don’t have the time or staff to prioritize human resources. Increasing compliance demands, technological advancements, and changing patient trends may take your focus away from implementing an employee retention program. A proactive approach is key to reducing employee turnover rates. But you don’t have to do everything on your own.

Nexus HR offers complete healthcare HR services from recruitment to payroll to onboarding. From ensuring a potential employee is the right fit to creating an attractive benefits package, Nexus HR helps you reduce administrative burdens on your staff. As your remote HR manager, we take full ownership of all HR-related duties at a fraction of the cost of a full-time employee’s salary. Partner with Nexus HR and let us help you build a better workplace environment for your employees.