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News and briefs: Retaining talent starts at the interview

Medical Staff Leader Connection, December 15, 2011

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The quality recruitment of physicians by an organization can be nullified if retention rates suffer, according to a recent article from HealthLeaders Media. Baystate Health, a not-for-profit, three-hospital delivery system in western New England identified this problem. Attendees at one of their retreats were pooled together as a task force to identify ways to remedy this issue. They identified six guidelines for better recruitment and subsequent retention:

-          Hire for cultural fit: Add “How would you handle it?” questions about difficult situations to the interview to better gauge personality and attitude.

-          Optimize on-boarding practices: Develop a pre-hire to post-hire checklist to ensure new employees are guided through initial months at your organization. Make check-in meetings with managers mandatory.

-          Establish a buddy program: Any member, not just a senior team member, fits with the culture of the organization better if they have someone at work they can ask questions .

-          Build social and community connections for the family: Host family events to encourage a stronger connection.

-          Build leadership: Physician leaders should get to the know the physician personally, set clear expectations, give feedback, provide recognition, listen, provide opportunities for the physician to be involved, hold team members accountable for effective on-boarding of new physicians and help the physician and his/her family adjust to new environment.

-          Create a “workplace of choice”: Ensure fundamental needs for work (i.e. sense of belonging) are met.

 Baystate’s tactic reduced turnover from 9.2% to 5.7% in one year. To read more about ways to reduce physician turnover, click here.

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