The healthcare industry evolves quickly, and healthcare workers remain one of the most important workforce in our society. Doctors, nurses, technicians, and support staff are essential in keeping our healthcare system running smoothly, and our need for these professionals will rise sharply in the next 3 to 5 years. Investing in the talent you have now will help you stay focused and optimistic about how your company can lead the way for new hiring challenges the industry will face.
Here we’ll explore ways to recognize, reward and compensate your greatest asset, foster a supportive workplace culture, and encourage your employees to do good things for their communities and themselves.
RECOGNITION AND REWARDS
Caregiver of the Month – This is the simplest and most effective way to acknowledge outstanding employee performance company-wide. A program like this can boost morale throughout the organization and for individuals whose efforts and accomplishments often go unnoticed. It’s important to devise a strategy that includes eligibility, determination, and recognition and to ensure the program is served regularly. You don’t want employees wondering "Where did that Employee of the Month program go?"!
Peer-to-Peer Recognition – By giving your staff a chance to nominate each other for awards and recognition, you’re enabling them to be a part of retaining talent while they strengthen bonds with their colleagues. You can add a simple form to a page on your intranet that gets approved and added to social sites and internal newsletters, and even gamify and monetize submissions and votes. There is great joy and appreciation when you read your company newsletter and see that one of your fellow employees said something nice about you.
Social Media Recognition and Stories - You can feature employee contributions and achievements on your company’s social channels to showcase your organization as an employer of choice. It’s an effective employer brand tactic that gives an authentic view into what it’s like to work for your company. Even if you can’t think of any other content to curate on a regular basis or decide on the particulars of an employee recognition program of any kind – this is the simplest and most visible approach to take.
Merchandise – The great thing about giving your employees exclusive clothing, gear, and accessories as rewards is that you gain so much back in terms of brand awareness. The visibility, the first-hand experience, and the pride of showing off your brand to colleagues and everyone else goes a long way when the item is useful and high quality. Hoodies, custom sneakers, water bottles, and power banks are in demand swag right now. But you don’t have to spend a lot to have your brand in front of your staff all the time.
Role Promotions – As you think about hiring needs for the upcoming year, think about who you can promote internally first and then fill the role they left. Sure, that sounds like Hiring Manager 101, but when you have a role-based hiring plan up front and even let employees who are eligible for promotions know about future hiring needs, you set them up to strive to attain the elevated role. You absolutely want your most experienced staff to have grown with and adapted to your organization, so promotions in lieu of hiring externally save you time and money and boost loyalty.
Flexible Work Options – When you give your role eligible employees options such as working from home (corporate-based positions), flexible scheduling, part-time work, and role-sharing, you enable them to have better work-life balance leading to increased job satisfaction and retention. Arrangements like this can also help reduce burnout and work-related anxiety. Policies have drastically changed pre- and post- COVID, and it’s okay to be trying to figure out what’s best for your employees and the success of your organization at the same time.
REFERRAL PROGRAMS
Technology – An (1) easy to use website or app, that’s (2) elegant on any device, with (3) engaging and action-oriented content, and (4) built for both internal and external referrals are key elements of referral technology that’s built for success. Eliminate extra paths and complicated rules for making a referral and meeting the requirements by partnering with a company who specializes in referral technology. Employees should be able to refer someone to a job from any work or personal device within a few clicks, allowing hiring teams to understand the data behind all referrals. Using technology to match employees to referrals, administer payouts, and to create an environment of competition is a healthy way to engage your work force.
Financial Rewards – By strategically offering financial compensation for referring talent, companies can attract top performers who already have a light connection to you. It’s an incentive for the employee to make the referral, and for the candidate to leverage their connection to the employee. Referred employees stay at organizations longer, make better employees, and when you offer money to turn your employees into recruiters, you are empowering them to be gatekeepers of your brand, fostering a culture of inclusivity and ownership.
Gamification – A fun and engaging way to increase participation in employee referral programs is to incorporate a gaming component. By adding things like leaderboards that track and highlight referrals on your intranet or referral site to awarding badges for milestones, a friendly competitive spirit is ignited. The program becomes a talking point among your teams, and when you add elements like posters in common areas and visibility on employee newsletters, you can be sure you’ll reach all your employees and drive first time and repeat participation.
EMPLOYEE ADVOCACY
Social Media Recognition – Just like an employee may follow your social media accounts and engage with and share your content, you can do the same for them. When your team members post about their positive work experiences or a milestone they achieved, it becomes an opportunity to tell that story to your followers. It’s an authentic, unscripted view into the connection between employee and company that can serve as a component of your employer brand and help attract candidates.
Employee Ambassadors – You can identify passionate brand advocates and empower them to share their stories at industry events, community gatherings, and hiring fairs. They don’t need to be a part of your recruiting team, just positive caregivers and non-clinical staff who love working with you, or industry influencers who work at your company whose networks may intersect with the talent you are trying to reach. These folks can facilitate and participate in panel discussions and podcasts, give facility tours to prospective candidates, and serve as the "faces" of your employer brand and recruitment efforts.
Employee Generated Content (EGC) Programs – There are several ways to get employees involved in content creation for your organization. For example, you can encourage your clinical and non-clinical employees to explain their roles, comment on why they love working for you, and highlight the work culture you nurture on their own personal social media accounts and on LIVE sessions – managed by you - on your owned social media platforms. With EGC, you gain credibility, engage employees, deliver fresh perspectives, even combat negative reviews by presenting a first-person view into life at your company. All of this progress can improve brand trust and application rates when candidates see, hear, and feel the true voice of your organization.
RETENTION
Competitive Pay and Benefits – Pay and benefits should be reviewed regularly to ensure your compensation packages are competitive within your local market. Often times, compensation review can give insight into the reasons talent may be leaving as well why talent stays. A 4% raise can be worth more but cost less to you from a recruitment perspective than paying new talent a signing bonus or offering a higher salary or hourly amount because you are desperate to fill an open role.
Career Pathing and Professional Development – Providing clear pathways for individual career advancement and the resources to get your employees to where they want to be professionally are likely the most underused tactics to retain talent. By investing in your staff’s growth, you are sending the message that you value them and want them to stay. When you offer opportunities to learn about advancements in the field, promote skill certification, and even pay for classes to help advance one’s knowledge in their specialty, you help motivate employees to stay committed to you, even as the competition for their skills and experience intensifies.
Work/Life Balance – This is a direct reflection of company culture more so than the implementation of flexible work options. To recognize that your staff are people with full lives outside of their career is at the core of employee support, leads to better decision making, and can ultimately improve patient care. The last thing you want is for your employees to burn out or to think that the grass may be greener with your competitor because of a more robust work/life balance promise.
Internal Surveys and Exit Questionnaires – Anonymous surveys are important tools to gauge employee sentiment. Through gathering honest feedback, organizations can learn what is working, what’s not, and what employees want in the future leading to decisions that can boost morale and job satisfaction. Doing this regularly (we recommend every 6 months) shows employees that their voices are valued, strengthening their commitment to the company. You can also build dynamic surveys on your internal portals to engage employees regarding current events, programs, and input on company decisions that affect them directly. Speaking with an exiting employee or offering them an unrequired exit survey can also provide valuable data and insight into changes that may be necessary.
Mentorship Programs – Assigning your new and junior level staff to experienced employees to act as mentors can help facilitate knowledge transfer, encourage new and deeper skill development, and maintain an environment of inclusivity and support. Mentors can strengthen their leadership abilities and gain fresh perspectives from younger colleagues while continuing to learn about the changing healthcare landscape and the expectations that candidates have when considering a career in healthcare.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND SUPPORT
Volunteer Programs – When you offer ways for employees to volunteer, you create a number of positive benefits. Giving employees paid time off during working hours makes it easy for them to dedicate their time to causes they feel strongly about, building a stronger connection to the company’s social responsibility initiatives. This increase in engagement can lead to higher productivity and a better overall work environment.
Matching Donations – This is an easy way to double the impact of employees’ donations to charities that are important to them, and shows the company’s commitment to supporting the positive change these contributions can deliver.
Event Sponsorships – Hosting and sponsoring community events enhance your company’s reputation and gives your brand ambassadors an opportunity to shine. And this is not just about supporting local charities and participating in 5K runs. You should encourage parents to attend Career Day at their kids’ schools. You can sponsor the popsicle stand at the summer fair or help build a new playground. Co-branding on a healthy food truck at a local music festival is also a fantastic way to introduce your brand to a younger audience. There are so many more ways to participate in community events than there are reasons not to!
MENTAL, PHYSICAL, AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Employee Assistance Programs – EAPs are a vital benefit to healthcare workers, offering confidential mental health resources, counseling, and support programs during challenging times in their lives. The demanding nature of working in this industry can lead to stress, anxiety, and burnout and exacerbates work/life balance struggles. You are in the business of healthcare, and caring for the health of your employees should be of the highest importance. By supporting your employee’s mental, emotional, and spiritual health, EAPs are an effective measure to create and nurture a positive work experience and improve patient care.
Mental Health Days – As part of an effective EAP, allowing your employees to take paid days off to take care of their mental well-being is a generous and caring approach to recognizing their contributions to your company. No matter the industry - but healthcare in particular - there are days when caregivers just need to be the recipients of care, or simply disconnect temporarily and recharge. This gives them the fuel they need to come back stronger and with greater clarity and focus the next day.
Mindfulness Training and Stress Reduction – Workshops focusing on stress management and mindfulness are relatively new to the healthcare industry, gaining popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Programs like these help healthcare workers cope with the common and also uncommon workplace stressors – those in and out of their control. By providing these resources in a team setting, employees also learn how to rely on each other to get through difficult situations.
Gym Memberships and Dieticians – By offering these benefits, companies can improve employee health leading to increased energy and stamina, better focus, and higher productivity. Employees who learn to eat well – at work and at home – and who are in good physical shape have more confidence, manage stress better, and are able to take on new projects more effectively. There is no question that good physical health (including getting proper sleep) is a key factor in overall happiness and living a longer life.
Nurturing your greatest asset is about fostering a supportive, giving, and empathetic work culture where employees feel recognized, valued, and empowered. While some of these programs can be easily executed, some may be more difficult to implement. We can help you navigate the right approach and ensure your company prioritizes the health and well-being of your staff, cultivates an environment where talent wants to stay, and drives employer brand and hiring success.
