Employee Attraction and Retention in the Health Care Sector

Employee Attraction and Retention in the Health Care Sector

Employees play a very crucial role in the healthcare setting. Therefore, the ability to attract and retain the existing employees is essential for healthcare progress. There is a direct relationship between the performance of an organization and the motivation of the employees. Healthcare professionals who are highly motivated have a high quality of service delivery. Since health is right, every person deserves quality healthcare at affordable prices. However, challenges arise in attracting high-performing employees and making the process affordable to every player. A high-performance workplace ensures that the limited resources available are used effectively, and the policies of the organization are implemented well so that the company strategy and objective are achieved. It is, therefore, the task of employers to focus on creating encouraging workplace experience so as to intensify the quality of healthcare delivery. This paper examines the practices and strategies an administrator can use to attract and retain high-performing employees in the workplace.

Good employment practices

Different strategies can be put in place for fashioning a productive workplace environment for the employees. First, communication is an important element of good employment practices. Communications of organizational policies will make the employees become goal-oriented and keep them working for the objective of the clinic. Information sharing permits employees to raise concerns about their work experience and also have a chance to learn new work practices. Second, there is a need for flexible working conditions for healthcare professionals. A clinic would require physicians who can have time for work and time for family. Therefore, creating family-friendly policies will help improve the morale of the employees. They will be retained for a long time. Third, it is essential to develop welfare programs for staff thereby supporting them to get help when they face family or social challenges. The interplay of these factors discussed above is critical to enhancing workplace relations, which are also important in retaining and attracting more employees.

Factors that influence the attraction of physicians

In a study conducted by (…), employment of medical professionals in a clinic is a process that needs attention and strategies that will enable attraction of the right employees. The objective of the study was to examine the decision of medical workers to get employed by a particular company. The researchers did a cross-sectional study whereby they examined nurses from the local public health departments within the USA. Forty-seven states were involved in the study with 11,640 nurses responding to the research. Mean ratings were used to calculate the nurses’ decisions to accept and continue working for different clinics. The results of the study were as follows; first, more than 68% of the nurses pointed flexibility of work as an attractive feature for any employment opportunity. They further explained that family-friendly schedules that were flexible provided time for their social lives. Second, autonomy and employee empowerment accrued 20% of the respondents. Motivation to work and employer empowerment practices motivated to the nurses to work harder and retain their jobs.

Moreover, the ability to innovate, focus on the mission of the organization, and the chance to invent and innovate, took the third, fourth, and fifth positions respectively. The study concluded that employee factors influence their decision to begin and remain in the position of work depending on the provision of the specific factors by the employer. It is important for the employer to consider employee factors that are critical to his/her sustainability in the workplace. Given the importance of having high-performing employees in a clinic, it is essential to create a flexible work environment that supports innovation and give employees the chance to grow with their families. The study had a large sample population, and it covered 47 states of the USA. However, the study focused on nurses and there was no opinion from other medical professionals.

Training and continuing of healthcare education is also an essential factor that influences the attraction of employees. This can be achieved through continuous medical education CME.  In another study by (….), having chances for training and educating healthcare providers can also attract more employees and retain them. Forming local partnerships with colleges and universities will expand the opportunities to learn more from researchprojects and create room for more healthcare-related study programs. In the same study, (…) showed that young healthcare workers were demotivated due to lack of opportunities to learn more from the medical field. This study reinforced the importance of learning as pointed out by the previously discussed study. Besides, recommendations proposed by the Public Health Survey revealed that employers were likely to retain the existing employee pool by having Continuous Medical Education every week. In essence, having policies that encourage the participation of healthcare workers in continuous education is key to retaining them at the workplace.

High Involvement Work Systems HIWS

According to (…), the performance of employees and their continued support of organizational objectives requires input in multiple levels of the organization. The levels suggested here include deployment, negotiation, motivation, recruitment, consultation, and termination of employment. Therefore, employers should use an employee-centered approach in recruiting and retaining employees. Employee satisfaction should be a priority. Thus, there is a need to involve the employee in making organizational decisions and policies. The relationship between the employee and the employer is amplified. As a result, motivation is enriched and each employee appreciates job satisfaction. Through HIWS, information sharing is heightened such that employees can raise concerns and also share new ideas with the management. (…), analyzed the effectiveness of HIWS. A comparison was made between having employees aligned with the objectives of the company and using the HIWS to measure output. The results showed that HIWS had more organizational output than goal-oriented practices and more people were retained in the workplace. Having a good work design, creating flexibility, having proper incentives, and training the personnel are antecedents of HIWS. Besides, HIWS leads to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and more turnover intentions by the employees. Overall, the employees’ perceptions of an organization’s attractiveness and subsequent commitment to work for the organization is enhanced.

Cost of attracting new employees

Hiring costs for employees vary from one organization to another. The variations depend on the organizational objectives and the resources available to sustain the employees. In the clinic, there is a gap for five primary care physicians. The cost of recruiting the five members of the staff depends on the ability to reward them well and ensure that their output matches their rewards. First, the payments terms will be based on the number of hours of doing quality work within the organization. The salaries of the staff will vary. This is dependent on the roles they play in the clinic. The costs will also depend on the academic qualifications of the individuals which will also translate into their respective roles in the organization. Calculation of payment for every hour spent doing constructive work is key to enhancing accountability within the organization. Second, there is a need to consider motivational factors for the employees. Monetary motivation implies that people are able to get rewarded for their innovation and any quality of contribution to the clinic. Motivational costs will emanate from clinic budget that is set aside every month. The motivation money will depend on the level of input other than the organizational ranking. Motivation is the key to enhancinginnovation and creating a workplace competition that improves productivity.

However, the motivations costs should not be continuously distributed; instead, the activity can be carried out annually. The prices for motivations will range between $1000 to $5000. Increasingly, transport and house allowances are other costs that are likely to be incurred in the hiring of the five employees. Provision of housing and transport allowance is a strategy that is meant to retain more the personnel. All employees are subject to house and transport allowance. Chairperson of the department will receive a $5000 house and transport allowance every six months. And the cost of these allowances is bound to increase inthe case of economic shifts and changes.

Cost factors to consider when hiring employees

First, there is a consideration for the job board fees. This is the cost that will be used for the advertisement of the vacancy. The prices will vary depending on the consultant agency. However, it is essential to use an affordable company that is widely accessed by many people. The display for the job openings will last for about one month before the actual recruitment process. Second, there are fees for companies that will offer pre-employment tests. These companies are healthcare related organizations with qualified physicians who will conduct a review of the applicants. These costs for the activity is also considered in the hiring plan.

Moreover, the cost of organizing the recruitment day are key to consider. The expenses of conducting interviews and the provision of stationery are factored in the process of recruitment. Among the mentioned factors, it is also vital to consider affordability and effectiveness. Therefore, any move should be cheap and efficient to the goal of the process.

Internal recruitment costs are also crucial to consider. These costs are not strictly set instead they are customized to an individual’s work role. The total cost of the recruitment will depend on the average cost per hire, and the cost of projected internal and external expenses. Based on the size of the clinic, more charges will be incurred in monthly salaries and allowances as compared to the recruitment process. The attraction of new talents will be expensive due to the various advertisement is social platforms.

(….) conducted a study in the Netherlands to determine how sustainable employment of healthcare physicians would be enhanced. The objective of the study was to determine the initial employment of physicians for patient care and sustaining them in their positions. This was a qualitative study that involved the use of interviews to get responses from the physicians’ employers. Different medical specialties were sampled. Besides, recently graduated individuals were followed throughout the study period for their job satisfaction and their will to continue working in the wards. This study, which lasted for one year, involved more than 57 healthcare facilities within the country. The interviews were then analyzed and the results were as follows.

The physicians’ employers reported that incentives and resources were critical in motivating them to work for the hospitals. The employees of the hospitals considered the following factors as key to consider during the hiring process. First, the availability of resources was key to determining the remuneration process of the employees. Second, the physicians reported that the initial recruitment costs were lesser than the sustainability costs. Moreover, the study found out that motivational expenses are crucial to creating a competitive environment in the hospital setting. Innovation and inventions were enhanced in healthcare facilities that were constantly motivating their employees. The researchers concluded that the initial recruitment costs in the Netherlands were dependent on the organizational resource pool and the sustainability of the employees depended on the motivation level of the healthcare facilities. In essence, when hiring for the clinic, I will consider resources and then create a rewards system that encourages innovation and invention.

 

 

 

Chart 1. The Clinic Staff

 

The staff will be composed of the Medical superintendent who is responsible for the management of other staff members. The senior physician will coordinate the running of the wards while the general physician will attend to all presenting complaints. The paediatric physician will be responsible for childhood diseases. However, all physicians will participate in ward rounds and consultation by the public. Their salaries will vary depending on the role they play in the management of the clinic.

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