Recently, every industry has been struggling with retaining staff. The healthcare sector is no different. A shortage of skilled healthcare workers and the demand for qualified staff in healthcare is at an all-time high.
Staff retention has become a critical issue for healthcare organizations, as the cost of replacing employees can be significant, and a high turnover rate can negatively impact patient care and overall morale in the workplace.
The founder of PreferredMD, dr. Biraj Patel, and the Midtown Surgery Center administrator, Ashley Poulos, sat down to discuss the current employment market, generational behavior differences, and what strategies have worked for them to improve staff retention.
Check out this accompanying presentation to the webinar to enhance visibility and comprehension of the subject matter. This additional resource provides a more detailed overview and reinforces the key points covered in the discussion.
What have you experienced in the employment market over these last few years?
Dr. Biraj Patel: There’s no doubt that the biggest impact on the healthcare market has been because of COVID-19. Before 2019, the market was pretty stable, and then all of a sudden, because of the pandemic, we were all forced into a situation we weren’t in before. Everyone had a chance to reevaluate their life and work environment and to demand different conditions.
2021 was the year of Great Resignation. 47 million workers quit, which was much higher than has ever happened before. In 2022, we had an average of 30% of people who either switched jobs or quit jobs, and 10% of that was in the healthcare field.
Of that 10%, 50% were the non-clinical staff — administrators, anyone who participated around healthcare rather than through clinical medicine.
Ashley Poulos: With all of the factors that you’ve mentioned, how much healthcare was impacted? Do you find that certain individuals have made a stronger impact than others?
Dr. Biraj Patel: The impact on healthcare was significant. I think every sector in our economy has been impacted by this shift.
I think it’s important that we examine the different generations and how it pertains to an ASC because there are differences. If we look at the breakdown of the employees that we have in an ambulatory setting, you have predominantly Gen-Y’ers and Gen Z’ers.
Gen-Y’s are the ones we recognize as millennials. They are in their twenties and thirties and they are more like middle management. They are looking forward to having a well-established career and they want to provide some kind of reinforcement for their nest egg. They’re looking forward to their futures. They really care about being in a career that has a positive impact. Communication is very important for this group. They connect more on social channels, they’re very connected with platforms, like TikTok and Instagram.
But I think, more so, is the next generation, Gen-Z’ers. They’re in their twenties, they work as front desk staff, and schedulers. They are very connected to technology. They interact socially through technology and are very well-informed. So it’s this group of individuals, I think, we need to really focus on when we’re talking about retention because this is the fastest-growing sector of our society. This will be, by far, the largest group of employees in the next 5 to 10 years. So we need to focus on their needs and what they seek in their working environment.
Ashley Poulos: It seems like there are a bunch of different groups that affected what has happened over the last few years. Do you think that one group played a more significant role than others?
Dr. Biraj Patel: No, we need to look at issues that happen across generations and then focus more on younger folk. Gen Y’ers and Gen Z’ers make up the huge majority of our employees in our centers.
Ashley Poulos: So you think that they played a significant role in the shift that we’ve had or the Great Resignation that we’ve had?
Dr. Biraj Patel: Absolutely. I think we need to focus our retention methods across all generations, as well as more specific ones with the younger folk.
What are the ways to retain staff from different generations?
Dr. Biraj Patel: I think the ambulatory surgery center industry has done pretty well with compensation packages and benefits. We appreciate that everyone’s well-informed and more invested in their positions. It is beneficial to motivate staff with stock options, or another kind of incentive that is driven around the success of the business. We can also look at other benefits that are presented to our employees like 401K’s and retirement packages. Gen X and Gen Y are very focused on what they’re going to retire with, so 401k packages are important.
It’s also very important that employees feel connected to where they work. They should feel appreciated and recognized, and you can do a lot for that. A lot of facilities I work with make an employee of the month award, sponsor lunches, or a happy hour to allow everyone to connect and improve the whole experience.
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