Retention is the new Recruiting: Attracting and Retaining Top Clinical Talent

 Written By: Andrew Morgan PT, DPT, MBA, COS-C

Retention is the new Recruiting: Attracting and Retaining Top Clinical Talent

Search job vacancy icon. Symbol of finding a job to do business, Loupe career vector illustration on isolated background. Find people employer business concept.[/caption]If COVID taught those of us in healthcare one thing, it was this: quality healthcare providers can always find another job. I personally saw nurses leave my organization making salaries 4 and 5 times their previous earnings. Of course, the pandemic came to an end, but turnover rates remain high. In April of 2024, Forbes discusses the phenomenon of “the big leave” in its article Retention is the New Recruiting; moreover, marketing experts have long validated that it costs roughly 7 times the amount of money to find a new customer vs. keeping an existing customer. Unfortunately, many employers fail to recognize staff as the internal customers they are. Employers spend huge sums of money recruiting and hiring new staff instead of shifting time and resources to retain the staff they have. So, what are the secrets to retaining quality staff?

1. Understand the value of relationships

The healthcare industry is all about relationships. Why do patients go to the same doctor for years? Because they “love” their doctor. Too often employers in the healthcare industry fail to recognize the importance of relationships. Clinicians want to feel connections with other people, including their supervisor. Organizations spend countless sums of money developing values, but all of this comes across as lip service without personal relationships. Know your employees. Understand their needs. Recognize when something is off in their life.

2. Provide advancement opportunities

I recently left a large healthcare organization, with whom I planned to retire. During my exit interview I explained that I saw no opportunities for advancement. I had applied for a dozen internal positions, and I had not even received a call from a hiring manager. I had top scores on my annual reviews, and I had won several awards in the organization. Yet, I could not find an internal promotion. When I explained this during my exit interview, I was told, “I hear this way too often”. The interviewer went on to explain that the organization lays off thousands every year and hires thousands more. “Certainly, we should be able to find places for more of those displaced individuals”. Provide opportunities to advance. Advertise them. Promote them. Live by them.

3. Reshape your expectations

Many years ago, employers would hire staff who stayed for years and years. Today’s workforce is different. A June 2022 article from the Wall Street Journal discusses how the 90-day rule, keeping an employee for 90-days, is the secret to keeping employees long term, now defined as one-year. Yes, one-year is the new benchmark for success in long term retention. Employers must reshape their mindset and understand that 10-year retention is going to be a rarity.

4. Enforce a healthy work-life balance

Too many employers fail to understand the importance today’s healthcare providers are placing on work-life balance. It is unreasonable to expect your team to attend meetings at 7:30 when you have hired them for a shift that begins at 9:00, specifically if you have not explained this possibility at the time of hiring. Likewise, nobody should be expected or encouraged to work during their planned time off. I used to regularly attend meetings where multiple people would be celebrated for attending meetings during their time off. Their supervisors celebrated this “sacrifice” and “team dedication”. Unfortunately, this also sent the subtle message that if you want to be a top performer, here is the expectation. This is a recipe for a toxic working environment.

5. Face it, money matters

Money is not the only thing, but it matters. Employers must recognize and reward top talent if they hope to retain valuable team members. Advertising high salaries is great to attract new talent. Unfortunately, when these rates are higher than what existing staff earns, quality staff will look elsewhere. Employers must not only be cognizant of competitive rates to recruit new staff, they need to be sure they reward existing staff for their continued loyalty.

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