Hiring the Right People

Have you ever had one of those moments where everything is just so busy, and you say to yourself, “next week it should slow down”; but then it doesn’t slow down? Honestly, that is just how it is for many health systems. There are always patients to treat, new programs, new technology, policy changes, etc. For many clinic managers, it can feel like organized chaos. This is especially true when dealing with employee turnover. 

Turnover costs us

The healthcare industry is growing, and it doesn’t look like it is going to slow down. However, employee turnover is the highest it has ever been. Those in the healthcare system probably understand that this is the norm. They are used to people coming in and out of a practice (or maybe they themselves have changed jobs also). What they might not consider is what this costs our hospital and clinical systems. 

Between training costs, absenteeism, unstaffed beds, pre-hire recruitment and other staffing costs (traveling nurses, agency nurses, overtime pay, etc.) turnover comes at a big cost. In fact, depending on the position filled and the location, turnover can cost anywhere from $35,000 up to $100,000 dollars; typically almost 3x as much as the salary of the person they are replacing. This doesn’t account for physician replacement, which can cost anywhere from $200,000 to $1 million. 

In order to continue providing the best healthcare possible, protecting profits, and maintaining a positive reputation, decreasing turnover rates should be a top priority. In fact, decreasing turnover by hiring the right people can be huge in helping a health system grow. However, one of the big obstacles we face in doing this, is the fact that things don’t ever seem to slow down.  When you are trying to play catch-up and your staff is getting burnt out from carrying the additional workload, getting someone to fill the position starts to become a larger priority than getting the right person to fill the position. 

Things to do to hire right 

There are things that HR and managers can do to help get the right person though, even when time is of the essence. First, consider learning about personality types. Oftentimes, those with different personality types have different strengths and weaknesses. Once you learn about these personality types, and are able to recognize these in your current team, it can help by knowing what personality types will be a good fit (or more importantly, NOT be a good fit) for your team. While yes, it takes a little bit of time to learn about personality types, that information will be useful to you in the hiring process from that point forward. Plus, you will also be able to gain some insight into your staff, and be able to help them be the best they can be. 

Another thing to consider, is taking the time to write out what you perceive the culture of your health system to be. Ideally, it should reflect the organization’s mission statement. If it doesn’t – taking the time to help cultivate that mission in your employees will also help with turnover rates. Plus, if you have a great understanding of the culture in your health system, you can make sure to ask interview questions that will give insight into whether that the person could make a good candidate to fit your organization’s culture.  

Even with these things, it will be impossible to reduce turnover to 0%, but it can still have a big impact for your employees and your patients. Plus, it is a big step in helping a health system grow.  

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The secret to successful hiring is this: look for the people who want to change the world!

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