A hospital is not just a building but a haven of hope and healing. Healthcare professionals, both skilled and unskilled staff have the responsibility to not only do their jobs efficiently but also be committed and compassionate. They have to have something beyond their qualifications and their certifications…an X factor called as emotional quotient. This attribute encompasses a spectrum of qualities like patience, understanding and empathy.

A hospital is like a mammoth train and the workforce are the tracks on which it operates. A hospitals physicians are definitely the founders of the hospital’s success but equally important are the assisting staff like the nurses, ward boys, receptionists, administrative staff, and paramedical staff.

All over the country, there is a severe paucity of trained medical staff. Hence, you must be extremely sensitive and sensible in matters of employee mobilization i.e., recruitment, training, and retention of your healthcare workforce.

Healthcare HR management is a complex field as it involves numerous challenges

1. Healthcare workforce has to be recruited thoughtfully

If a salesperson in a boutique switches jobs, it is easy to replace him/ her. This is not true of healthcare. The job profile in healthcare institutions necessitates a high degree of expertise. Each member of the staff, be it a skilled surgeon or an ambulance driver, has to be trained and adept in his/ her work. It takes a lot of HR skill to recruit such a diverse spectrum of people and assign them their job responsibilities. It also takes tremendous time and efforts to collect resumes for each skillset, conduct interviews and then appoint the best-suited candidate.

Since the talent pool is limited, you must angle for talent in medical schools and universities. You must also keep a pipeline of potential candidates ready to fill vacancies and deal with any sudden hiccups of turnover. You should advertise in leading newspapers and also leverage social media apps to source hospital staff.

2. Healthcare workforce needs on-job training

Healthcare technology is constantly getting upgraded and upscaled. It is not just enough to be qualified and have the right certificates, it is essential to keep abreast of trends and changes in the specific fields in healthcare. Hence, you need to organize training sessions and specialized workshops for your hospital workforce. These regular training sessions can help to improve the patient experience offered by your healthcare facility.

3. Healthcare workforce has to be assessed

Appraisals and assessments are a part of any organization’s HR protocol. Workflow assessments are done on the basis of predetermined parameters to scale your employees’ performance. Take performance feedback from your patients to assess your staff to check if they are adhering to your standards of patient care.

4. Healthcare workers should be retained

There is a lot of attrition in the healthcare industry. People are willing to change jobs at the drop of a hat, for the difference of a few thousands in salary. Your workforce is the main driver to your success and losing them can throw obstacles in the productivity of your hospital. The repeated processes of searching, interviewing recruitment, training, and grooming new personnel are exhausting and expensive. Hence, you should make efforts to retain your workforce.

Some ways to reduce hospital staff turn-over

1. Pay wages in accordance with the best in the market
2. Ensure an excellent work environment.
3. Bring transparency and trust into the work culture.
4. Arrange training sessions for staff to stay updated.
5. Offer perks like flexible timings, family health packages, conveyance, best employee bonus etc.
6.  Announce reward and loyalty programmes for members who complete a decade.
7. Reinforce loyalty through effective portrayal of hospital’s vision, ethos, and community social responsibility {CSR} activities.

To summarize, healthcare team mobilization is a tough and tedious task that requires tons of time and efforts. In fact, it is better if you outsource this function to a reliable Healthcare consultancy firm. One such firm is Hospertz, a leading firm of hospital consultants in Mumbai which has more than two decades of experience in healthcare mobilization. We also offer a spectrum of other allied healthcare services including healthcare licensing services, hospital interior design services, hospital branding, healthcare marketing and financial planning services.

Blog has been written by Dr. Vishal Jadhav, a veteran in the field of hospital consultancy with a rich experience of more than 20 years and founder of the Healthcare Consultancy Firm, Hospertz.

Dr. Vishal Jadhav, Director
hospertz@gmail.com
+91 9867712705/ 9820833149