Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/545309
Mandatory overtime is often a deal-breaker," she said. "Additionally, they are looking for more rapid career progression, development opportunities and upward mobility than their baby- boomer counterparts did." As reimbursement declines, maintaining a highly engaged staff is critical for both the patient experience as well as the bottom line. With the workforce typically accounting for 50 percent or more of hospital operating costs, many organizations are shifting their focus to impact the aspects of labor costs they can control. 4 Turnover, training and recruitment are costly. In general, turnover costs are estimated to range between 0.75 to 2.0 times the salary of the departing individual. 2 More specifically, nurse turnover costs are estimated at 1.3 times the salary of a departing nurse. 3 Even though staff satisfaction affects patients and costs, healthcare organizations are still struggling with how to put that knowledge into practice. Fewer than 1 in 5 respondents use automation to manage engagement. Some respondents said they were not aware of many automation tools for staff satisfaction, while others said staff satisfaction is important, but often falls behind their competing priorities. "In the current state, staff satisfaction is a distant third to (1) the patient experience and (2) keeping the doors open," said the leader at the physician-led healthcare system in the Mideast. The chief human resources officer at the 13-hospital system in the South said systems view engagement differently depending on their senior leadership and the process improvement methods employed in the organization. One mature system may deploy automation tools, systematically review staff engagement and employ strategies to support it, whereas others "may still be in the infancy stages and only use turnover as a reporting metric." " In the current state, staff satisfaction is a distant third to the patient experience and keeping the doors open. " ARE YOU UNDERMINING YOUR PATIENT EXPERIENCE STRATEGY? | 7