Staff turnover, particularly in healthcare, poses a significant challenge. The first step is to quantify the problem. Learn how to calculate it and explore ideas for retaining employees.
Mical DeBrow (Ph.D., RN) is a highly accomplished healthcare professional with a wealth of hands-on experience spanning various sectors of the industry. With a deep understanding of operations, policy implementation, and education in clinical settings, Mical brings a unique perspective to...
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Editorial PolicyPublished July 19, 2024.
The U.S. healthcare workforce is experiencing an alarmingly high turnover rate. This mass exodus of workers has consequences.
An average hospital has lost and replaced 100% of its workforce in the past five years. It leads to a depletion of institutional memory and vital experience within the healthcare system. It also incurs substantial costs associated with recruiting and onboarding staff.
Let's quantify this worrying trend. By calculating your staff turnover rate, you can gain valuable insights into the scope of the problem at your facility and take proactive steps to address it.
Meet the Expert
Mical DeBrow is an accomplished healthcare leader and clinician with extensive expertise spanning pharma, healthcare payers and providers, and healthcare information technology.
What Is a Turnover Rate?
A turnover rate refers to the percentage of employees leaving a company within a specific period, typically a year. The healthcare industry is losing talent, particularly nurses and doctors.
While some departures are inevitable, the sheer number of healthcare professionals leaving the field altogether is troubling. We need to understand the reasons behind this exodus. The human cost-not just the financial one-is unsustainable.
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What Causes a High Turnover Rate?
A CHG Health survey from 2022 revealed that 8% of the reporting physicians had retired, and 3% had left clinical work altogether - but a remarkable 43% had made a career move within the field.
The move happened for several reasons, including increased compensation, work flexibility, and location. But, the main reason most physicians made a move was work-life balance, which 35.2% of respondents highlighted.
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How to Calculate the Employee Turnover Rate
A high turnover rate in healthcare masks a deeper problem. While it's a well-known metric, it is crucial to understand why qualified professionals are abandoning the field. The first step in this process would be to calculate it.
Here's the formula to calculate your turnover rate:
(Number of employees separated during the period/Average number of staff during the period) x 100
6 Steps to Reduce Employee Turnover Rate
- Analyze the Results: Dig deeper to understand the reasons behind the turnover and where it's concentrated. Are there specific areas where it's higher? Are employees leaving for better opportunities, burnout, or something else?
- Look for Trends Over Time: Check if turnover is increasing, decreasing, or staying steady. How does your rate stack up against others in the field? You can find industry benchmarks through professional associations or HR publications.
- Identify the Root Causes: Once you understand where the turnover is happening and why, start to address the underlying issues.
- Provide the Useful Tools: Do you provide the technology and resources necessary to streamline administrative tasks, allowing clinicians to focus on patient care?
- Develop a Retention Strategy: Based on your analysis, create a plan to address the root causes of high turnover. For example, creating a centralized knowledge base for protocols and procedures and adopting real-time communication platforms can significantly reduce wasted time searching for information and duplicating efforts, helping to reduce staff burnout.
- Track Your Progress: Once you've implemented your retention strategies, track the turnover rate to see if your efforts are paying off.
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The Hidden Cost of High Turnover in Healthcare
Staff shortages create a dangerous situation for patients. Less experienced staff may overlook crucial signs, like early stages of infection, increasing the risk of complications. Continuity of care is essential, and constant departures disrupt this vital connection between patients and caregivers.
Everyone becomes overworked, and staff burnout can be a severe threat. Facilities with frequent employee turnover may develop a negative reputation that takes years to overcome, making it even harder to attract new talent. This creates a vicious cycle.
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Building a Holistic Employee Retention Toolkit
To manage stress, having the right support system is also essential. This doesn't mean just venting to colleagues but having access to resources and people who can offer solutions. Remember, we all need help sometimes. Technology-enabled tools like C8 Health allow teams to gather feedback and suggestions, which can help encourage your team to share their ideas for improvements.
Finally, sharing updates and protocol changes efficiently can improve teamwork and ensure everyone's on the same page. C8 Health can effectively disseminate guidance and notifications on changes in guidance across your entire team, boosting collaboration and reducing workplace stress.
