Assignment: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION
Part 1: Retention Strategies
Recruiting and training staff is a costly and time-consuming enterprise. As a result, a key focus of human resources is retention of staff. It is not easy to predict what strategies will be effective for different staff members. What is meaningful to one may be less so to another. The human resources responsibility is to develop an assortment of strategies that are most likely to have the greatest impact on a wide spectrum of employees. How do you create an environment where employees want to work? With your selected organization in mind, prepare a Retention Strategies Report that could be utilized in the organization. Your report should include the following (3-5 pages):
• Describe the healthcare organization and its goals for retention.
• Describe three specific retention strategies that are working for this organization, and explain why they are effective.
• Evaluate specific challenges this organization has faced regarding retention.
• Analyze gaps in retention efforts this organization is faced with. Explain the ramifications of the gaps.
• Consider what the organization is planning to do to close the gap, and recommend three retention strategies that might be effective in promoting retention in this workplace. Explain why you think the strategies would be effective in closing the gap in the retention strategies in in this organization.
Part 2: Retention Metrics
How does a human resources (HR) department know in which areas it is effective and which need improvement? How does it know if retention strategies are working, hiring costs are in line, performance goals are met, and training/development hours are appropriately allocated and achieved? There are many metrics that can be applied to obtain important human resources-related data and some will be more critical than others to a specific organization. For Part 2 of your Retention Strategies Report, outline the metrics that can be applied to the organization. (4-5 pages). Include the following:
• Describe human resources metrics currently being used to evaluate outcomes of human resources functions in your organization. Explain how they are of value to the organization.
• Identify gaps in the metrics being used. Analyze what is happening as a result of these gaps.
• Consider what the organization has planned for changing their metrics, and then recommend five human resources metrics that would provide data of particular value to the organization. Include at least one metric that addresses retention and onethat addresses professional development.
• Describe how you would apply the data collected from each of these metrics to improve human resources outcomes.
Part 3: Professional Development
Professional development opportunities within an organization can cover widely diverse areas; greatly impact employee satisfaction and production; influence retention; and help ensure a balanced, informed, skilled, and compliant workforce. Professional development offerings are prompted by many factors, including legally mandated content required of all employees, such as sexual harassment training in some states, EEEO training, training for specific positions that involves certification or licensing, compliance with professional regulatory organizations, and organizational training on a myriad of job-specific topics. The human resources manager needs to know that staff is provided the opportunities they need to succeed both within the organization and as professionals.
As Part 3 of your Retention Strategies Report (5-8 pages):
• Describe key training for at least three different positions (e.g., nurses, radiology technicians, etc.), required of the organization by state or federal regulations.
• Describe at least three training and/or certifications required by relevant accrediting bodies and professional organizations.
• Describe training/professional development opportunities currently being used by the organization that are providing value. Analyze how they are providing value to the organization and/or individual.
• Identify gaps in the training/professional development program. Recommend training/professional development opportunities that would fill those gaps. Explain how.
• Describe four training delivery methods that might be most viable in your organization. Include at least two technology-based methods. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each.
• Recommend two training delivery options for the organization. Explain your rationale for these recommendations. Include influence of the organization's mission, vision, and values on making these selections.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2014a). How to observe children [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Talent Retention: Six Technology-Enabled Best Practices
Oracle. (2012). Talent retention: Six technology-enabled best practices [White Paper].
Retaining Talent: A Guide to Analyzing and Managing Employee Turnover
Allen, D. G. (2008). Retaining talent: A guide to analyzing and managing employee turnover.
Quits Are Up: 7 Employee Retention Strategies Your Company Must Have
Conerly, B. (2013). Quits are up: 7 employee retention strategies your company must have.
How to Keep Your Top Talent
Martin, J., & Schmidt, C. (May 2010). How to keep your top talent.
For this Exploration, select a specific organization, preferably one in which you work or are very familiar. Consider retention strategies used by this organization as you complete the following:
• Briefly describe the organization (without identifying it).
• Describe one specific retention strategy that is working for this organization, and explain why it is effective.
• Describe one specific challenge this organization has faced regarding retention. Evaluate and explain why the organization is facing this challenge.
• Identify one gap in retention efforts this organization is faced with. What is one ramification of this gap?
• Finally, recommend one strategy that might be effective in promoting retention in this workplace. Explain why this strategy might be effective in closing the gap in the retention strategies in this organization.
How does human resources (HR) management know if its organization is appropriately staffed and well positioned to address future staffing needs? How does an organization know if compensation rates are appropriate and competitive? How does HR track turnover rates or turnover and recruitment costs? All of these issues and many more are within the purview of HR and all can be informed by applying appropriate metrics.
It is essential for a manager to be familiar with various types of calculations that can assist with measuring HR-related concerns. Read Chapters 13, 14, 15, and Appendix A with these thoughts in mind.
• Chapter 13, "Workforce Planning in a Rapidly Changing Healthcare System"
• Chapter 14, "The Nurse Workforce in Healthcare Organizations"
• Chapter 15, "Human Resources Management Practices for Quality and Patient Safety"
• Appendix A, "Human Resources Metrics"
Fried, B. J., &Fottler, M. D. (Eds.). (2015). Human resources in healthcare: Managing for success (4th ed.). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.
How to Compute a Firm's Incidence Rate for Safety Management
U.S. Department of Labor. (n.d.-a). How to compute a firm's incidence rate for safety management.
Improving Performance Evaluations Using Calibration
Miller, S. (2014). Improving performance evaluations using calibration. Employment law, employee relations, credentialing, and organizational development are all key HR issues that healthcare managers must understand and appropriately address if an organization is to meet its strategic goals. Consider the relevance of these topics to your own professional goals as a manager.
• Chapter 2, "Employment Law, Employee Relations, and Healthcare"
• Chapter 4, "Credentialing of Healthcare Providers"
• Chapter 11, "Organizational Development and Learning"
Fried, B. J., &Fottler, M. D. (Eds.). (2015). Human resources in healthcare: Managing for success (4th ed.). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.
The Affordable Care Act is influencing many employer responsibilities with regard to provision of healthcare to employees. Managers need to be aware of the ramifications of new requirements and impact on costs. The following report looks at opportunities within this environment for strategic change.
An HR Perspective: The Future of Healthcare Benefits-Employers' Opportunity for Strategic Change in the New Healthcare World
PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2014). An HR perspective: The future of healthcare benefits-Employers' opportunity for strategic change in the new healthcare world.
To yield productive results, learning, training, and professional development cannot be approached haphazardly. Within healthcare organizations today, learning must be viewed as a continual process, and opportunities have to be provided for targeted continual development. Healthcare managers today need a solid understanding of the value of training and the variety of delivery methods available. The resources provide guidance.
Learning, Training & Development: Implementing An Employee Training & Development Program
HR Council. (n.d.). Learning, training & development: Implementing an employee training & development program.
Any manager, within any healthcare organization, needs to have a working understanding of key U.S. labor laws. An overview is provided.
Summary of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor
U.S. Department of Labor. (n.d.-b). Summary of the major laws of the department of labor.
There are many opportunities to improve an organization's HR functions, and it is important for a manager to be able to identify gaps for process improvement. The following resource provides an approach for human resource management assessment.
Human Resources Management Assessment Approach
Marsden, P., Caffrey, M., & McCaffery, J. (2013). Human resources management assessment approach.
About the Joint Commission
The Joint Commission. (2015). About The Joint Commission.
Health Information Privacy
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.) Health information privacy.