The Health Care Manager

Volume 24, Number 2, pp. 132–140

# 2005, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.

Managing Human Resources to

Improve Employee Retention
Edwin Arnold, PhD
Managers face increased challenges as the demand for health care services increases while the
supply of employees with the requisite skills continues to lag. Employee retention will become
more important in the effort to service health care needs. Appropriate human resource
management strategies and policies implemented effectively can significantly assist managers in
dealing with the employee retention challenges ahead. Key words: challenge, employee,
retention, strategy, turnover

ANAGERS FACE IMPORTANT challenges

M in health care organizations today as they
are expected to:
 create a motivational environment to
implement organizational strategies and
achieve objectives in environments that
are increasingly competitive;
 accomplish objectives through the effec-
tive management of employees in a high-
ly dynamic environment;
 blend people and technology into an ef-
fective work system to improve organi-
zational performance;
 exercise leadership by empowering em-
ployees and working with ever increas-
ing spans-of-control;
 operate as coaches and facilitators;
 change their organizations to be more
competitive.
These challenges are as difficult as they
are real. To meet them, it is very important
to implement and sustain an effective em-
ployee retention strategy.
A culture that fosters high employee mo-
tivation is necessary for an organization to
compete successfully in highly dynamic, com-
petitive environments. Managers need to
From Auburn University Montgomery, AL.
Corresponding author: Edwin Arnold, PhD, Auburn
University Montgomery, Montgomery, AL.
132
implement effective human resource man-
agement strategies and policies to establish
and maintain an appropriate culture in an
organization. They need to select employees
whose attitudes, values, and beliefs are con-
sistent with what is needed for the desired
culture (ie, employees who are a good fit).
They have to communicate effectively and
apply strong interpersonal skills consistently
to maintain the culture over the long run. If
managers have to spend a great deal of time
replacing employees, it becomes increasingly
difficult to develop and maintain an appro-
priate culture, to exercise leadership, and to
communicate effectively.
With experts predicting greater shortages
of qualified health care workers, and with
employee turnover rates as high as 20% or
more in some organizations, the supply of
qualified employees continues to decline,
making employee retention more difficult for
managers to achieve in their efforts to deal
more effectively with the challenges facing
their organizations. If employees continue
to leave at significant rates, it will become
more difficult to replace them with compe-
tent people. Additionally, as the supply of
qualified labor dwindles, the cost of attrac-
ting and retaining people will increase. It is
more important than ever to manage human
resources effectively and improve employee
retention.

Copyr ight © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
 Managing Human Resources to Improve Employee Retention
IMPACT OF HIGH EMPLOYEE
TURNOVER
High employee turnover rates can have a
significant, negative impact on operating re-
sults for managers and their organizations.
When an employee is planning to resign,
productivity and quality of work are likely
to decline because commitment and per-
formance become less important for the du-
ration of service. Additionally, replacement
employees have to be selected, oriented, and
trained by managers and fellow employees
to reach appropriate productivity and quality
levels. Overall performance is likely to de-
cline during the process. Workforce instabil-
ity can have a major negative impact upon
important outcomes sought by health care
organizations.
Improving employee retention can result
in a number of positive outcomes for an or-
ganization. Productivity and quality of work
should be higher because experienced em-
ployees know their jobs well and require less
training and development. Employee selec-
tion costs such as physical examinations,
drug tests, placement agency fees, back-
ground checks, and recruitment advertising
expenses will be lower. Managers should re-
quire less overtime and fewer temporary
workers, and they will spend significantly
less administrative time interviewing pro-
spective employees and integrating replace-
ments into the work system. Improved
patient care should occur when managers
can devote most of their time to their regular
duties and have a more experienced group of
health care workers who can do their jobs
with less continuous training and direct
supervision. Additionally, managers who
have a more experienced group of employ-
ees can operate effectively with a larger span-
of-control, and fewer employees may be
required in managerial roles. Higher reten-
tion rates should correlate with higher job
satisfaction, leading to higher productivity
and service quality with lower costs.
Clearly, managers who can retain their
employees, especially the best performers,
are in a much better position to meet the
Copyr ight © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
133
important challenges confronting their or-
ganizations and achieve better operating
results. The question then becomes: how
can managers improve employee retention?
The purpose of this article is to discuss how
improved human resource management by
operating managers can be a very effective
employee retention strategy. Human re-
source management strategies and policies
for planning, selection and placement, train-
ing, development, performance appraisal,
compensation, and employee relations will
be discussed in conjunction with their im-
pact upon employee retention.
HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING
Successful human resource planning re-
quires that managers have the correct num-
ber of employees with the appropriate skills
available at the right time to implement
organizational strategies and achieve objec-
tives. It enables managers to blend people
and technology into an optimum work sys-
tem for their operations. Human resource
planning is very important because it is the
initial step in the effective management of
employees to improve employee retention.
If mistakes are made in human resource
planning, it can be very difficult to create
the motivational environment necessary to
improve retention.
Managers can improve human resource
planning by forecasting accurately the supply
and demand for services and employees,
determining the need for new technology
while permitting sufficient lead time for
proper implementation and training, moni-
toring the external environment to identify
trends, using employee replacement charts,
and communicating promotion potential to
employees. Human resource planning can
have a significant positive or negative impact
upon a manager’s ability to retain employees.
It is very important for health care
managers to prepare accurate forecasts of
demand for services so they can more ef-
fectively estimate future requirements for
employees with the appropriate skills. For
example, if a manager intends to install new
134 THE HEALTH CARE MANAGER/APRIL–JUNE 2005
technology, if the decision is made with suf-
ficient lead time, employees seeking career
advancement can be trained to work with
the new technology so the organization does
not have to hire someone from the outside.
Promoting the current employee will have a
far more positive impact upon motivation-
al levels of the remaining employees than
hiring an external candidate. If poor plan-
ning results in a lack of lead time without
an opportunity to train current employees,
they are likely to become discouraged about
career opportunities in the organization and
consider leaving.
If ineffective planning results in an over-
supply of employees, layoffs may be neces-
sary, especially if there is a lack of sufficient
lead time to implement less negative work-
force reduction strategies. Layoffs create a
climate of uncertainty for the remaining
employees, and many of them may turnover
voluntarily, especially those who are the
most marketable. These employees are the
most difficult to replace and their loss can
have a significant negative impact upon fu-
ture performance. If a manager faces a short-
age of employees because of poor human
resource planning (eg, inaccurate estimates
of demand for services), or a decision to in-
stall new technology with insufficient lead
time, operating results are likely to be well
below objectives. The manager will be in a
short run crisis and may have to pay higher
salaries, perhaps including sign-on bonuses,
to attract qualified employees quickly. This
can further inflate operating costs and cre-
ate motivational problems among employees
who may be making less money.
Managers need to scan the external en-
vironment continuously to ensure they are
aware of trends that could impact their
ability to forecast the supply and demand
for services and employees. Effective envi-
ronmental scanning enables a manager to
make decisions with sufficient lead time to
implement them well. For example, changes
in Medicare or health insurance coverage
could have an important impact on future
revenues for the organization that could
impact the demand for employees. Failure
Copyr ight © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
to scan the environment thoroughly can
result in a financial crisis that may create
employee concerns about job security, in-
creasing the probability that they will seek
employment elsewhere.
An employee replacement chart is an
effective tool for managers to use to improve
human resource planning and career advance-
ment. It is an organizational chart that also
includes in-house candidates for each impor-
tant role in the organization. Each position
includes a list of possible replacements, their
most recent performance appraisal, an esti-
mate of their promotion potential, and their
age to forecast when they might be retiring
and to minimize the probability of illegal
age discrimination in promotion decisions.
Employees who are on the replacement chart
should be informed about their career op-
portunities and what they can do to prepare
themselves for promotion. This will pro-
vide motivation and higher employee com-
mitment to the organization which should
result in a lower probability of turnover.
Effective human resource planning is very
important for a manager to perform all the
human resource functions including employ-
ee selection, performance appraisal, training,
compensation, and employee relations. Man-
aging human resources should be regarded
with a systems approach where human re-
source planning is the initial step that can
foster higher performance in the other hu-
man resource activities that are interrelated.
Human resource planning is arguably the
most important human resource function for
operating managers because it either im-
proves or lowers the probability of success
in managing all other human resource activ-
ities. A manager who is unable to plan well
for human resources is likely to have prob-
lems managing employees effectively which
makes employee retention more difficult to
achieve.
EMPLOYEE SELECTION AND
PLACEMENT
A careful, thorough selection and place-
ment process is one of the best employee
 Managing Human Resources to Improve Employee Retention
retention tools. The process can be imple-
mented successfully by using job analysis,
realistic job previews, multiple structured in-
terviews, ability, aptitude and psychological
tests, and assessment centers. To improve
employee retention, it is important to rec-
ognize that effective selection will not be
sustained if employees are placed in the
wrong organizational roles.
Managers need to consider how well a
person fits the job when selecting and
placing employees. The interests and abili-
ties of candidates must be matched with the
knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) re-
quired for the job. Candidate interests and
abilities may be obtained during the selection
process from employment applications, resu-
mes, tests, interviews, background checks,
and other sources. Job analysis provides the
KSAs required for the job.
Matching a person to a job may not by it-
self improve employee retention consistently
unless managers also consider how well the
person fits in the organization. For example,
the candidate’s values and beliefs should be
consistent with the organizational culture or
the person is likely to become dissatisfied
and eventually leave. The reward and work
systems offered need to be motivational for
each candidate. A candidate who prefers to
work and be rewarded as an individual
would not be a good fit in a team-based work
system with group incentive pay or organiza-
tional level rewards such as profit sharing.
The process of selecting and placing
employees begins with accurate and thor-
ough job analysis to establish the tasks,
duties, and responsibilities of each job along
with the KSAs required for successful per-
formance. Selection procedures such as in-
terviews and tests need to be based upon
job-related criteria found in the job analysis
to improve the probability of successful
selection and to minimize the probability of
losing legal challenges of job discrimination
where employees are selected on criteria
that are not job-related.
Realistic job previews should be used to
improve the probability that the candidate’s
on-the-job experience will match the expec-
Copyr ight © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
135
tations developed during the selection pro-
cess. Managers should be candid about the
positive and negative aspects of the job
during the selection process (eg, discuss ro-
tating shifts or significant overtime require-
ments). It is better for the candidate to reject
an offer based upon negative information
provided up front during a realistic job
preview than to hire the person, spend a
significant amount of time and money in
orientating and training, only to have the
employee leave when expectations do not
meet initial perceptions.
Multiple interviews should be used when-
ever possible to improve the probability of
successful selection decisions. The inter-
viewers can meet subsequently, discuss their
assessments of the candidate, and reach a
consensus on a course of action. Interviewers
should use a structured interview approach
where the same series of questions, based
upon job-related information from the job
analysis, are asked of each candidate for the
same position. The use of multiple inter-
viewers and structured interviews should
significantly improve the quality of selection
decisions and minimize the probability of se-
lecting people who may become problems,
create negative attitudes among employees,
and quit or cause others to do so.
To ensure a person is a better fit for the
job and the organization, managers should
use ability, aptitude, and psychological tests
in the selection process. To ensure the tests
have validity and are less likely to result in
legal problems, they should be administered
and evaluated by experts. If the organiza-
tion is relatively small and does not have the
volume to support an in-house assessment
center, managers should consider retaining
an external assessment center to provide
the service on a regular basis. Assessment
centers can evaluate candidates for initial
positions or promotional opportunities. By
conducting tests, interviews, in-basket exer-
cises, leaderless discussion groups, and other
techniques, they can provide a wealth of in-
formation to managers about candidates, sig-
nificantly improve selection and placement
decisions, help to increase the candidate’s
136 THE HEALTH CARE MANAGER/APRIL–JUNE 2005
probability of success in the job, and lower
the probability of turnover in the long run.
Assessment centers are especially helpful in
evaluating managers and leadership styles,
information that is invaluable in efforts to
reduce turnover. One manager who has a
leadership style that is not consistent with
the organizational culture or is lacking in
interpersonal skills can cause a significant
amount of employee turnover and do a lot
of damage to the organization.
Managers who implement more effective
selection and placement systems in their
organization are significantly more likely
to improve employee retention. Extensive
selection and placement systems, like any
other business process, require cost/benefit
analysis to determine feasibility. The costs of
not investing in selection and placement
systems in many cases are likely to exceed
the costs of doing so. Lower employee
retention is only one of the cost increase
factors that result from poor selection and
placement of employees. Lower productivity
and quality, costly lawsuits, and a poorer
organizational image in the local and invest-
ment communities are others.
TRAINING, DEVELOPMENT, AND
APPRAISAL
Effective training, development, and ap-
praisal of employees can significantly improve
the probability that employees will be suc-
cessful in their organizational roles and im-
prove retention. Managers need to identify
training and development needs and estab-
lish programs to improve employee and
organizational performance. Training and de-
velopment is very important for managers to
blend people and technology into an effective
work system. Appraisals of employee perfor-
mance provide opportunities for managers
to learn where training and development is
needed. Appraisals are important because
they can identify fast-track employees for
further development whose retention is a
very high priority.
Training and development programs pro-
vide many benefits for employees and or-
Copyr ight © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
ganizations including higher productivity
and quality, increased motivation, improved
implementation of new technology and
avoidance of obsolescence, lower costs, and
improved safety. Managers should identify
training and development needs and prepare
programs for implementation. Employees
should be selected to participate based upon
training needs for current and future roles,
and rewards should be linked to successful
completion or people are likely to take their
newly developed skills elsewhere. Cross-
training can be very effective in improving
employee motivation and commitment be-
cause people can learn new skills that
improve their marketability. If employees
believe that remaining in the organization
will enable them to develop their careers
and move up, they are less likely to leave.
Managers need to provide orientation to
new employees or those who have been
promoted and follow up with continuous
coaching and appraisal. Mentoring, 360-
degree feedback, cross-training, and career
tracks can significantly improve perfor-
mance and job satisfaction while reducing
the probability that employees will seek
employment elsewhere. Employee percep-
tions of career security will be improved as
they develop their skills to maintain market-
ability in the event their jobs or organiza-
tions are eliminated.
Employee development begins with orien-
tation for a role in the organization as a new
employee or one who has been promoted.
The employee is more likely to begin the
new role effectively, thereby increasing mo-
tivation and job satisfaction and lowering the
probability of turnover. A mentor can be ap-
pointed to help the new employee learn how
to do the job and better understand organi-
zational culture and norms. The mentor can
serve as a role model and improve the
employee’s expectancy that effective perfor-
mance can be achieved.
Managers can orient employees effectively
by discussing the job description thorough-
ly with the new person, providing clear
information about organizational policies,
socializing them into the work group, and
 Managing Human Resources to Improve Employee Retention
providing information about any formal or
informal problems in the organization that
could impact upon performance. Time and
money invested initially in orientation can
result in a significant rate-of-return when
turnover is reduced and the manager does
not have to select and orient new people
constantly.
Once employees have been oriented suc-
cessfully, managers need to follow-up with
effective performance appraisal feedback. A
360-degree approach where an employee
receives performance and development feed-
back from people who surround them in the
performance of their jobs, including super-
visors, customers, suppliers, and subordi-
nates can provide valuable information for
employees to use in improving their perfor-
mance and developing themselves for the
future. Performance appraisals should use
outcome-based criteria for assessment to
improve employee performance and job
satisfaction. Employees should be coached
continuously on how to improve. Positive
and negative feedback should be provided
by managers in a timely manner so that
employees can see why and how their ef-
forts impacted upon performance. Apprais-
als should focus on employee development.
Managers need to be very careful when
administering merit pay programs so that
pay does not become the only focus of
appraisals in the perception of employees
or development efforts may be far less
effective. They should be trained concern-
ing how to conduct appraisals and com-
municate feedback effectively. Employee
perceptions of the organization and their
jobs can be negatively biased by poor com-
munications during appraisals and turnover
is likely to result.
Effective appraisals should include career
counseling and feedback to employees con-
cerning development efforts that should be
implemented to improve their promotional
opportunities in the organization. Effective
career counseling can help employee moti-
vation and commitment and increase the
probability of retention. The employee’s po-
sition on replacement charts should be
Copyr ight © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
137
communicated if the employee has been in
the organization long enough to be consid-
ered for advancement. If not, career tracks
should be discussed so the employee can
consider the choices.
COMPENSATION
Compensation is one of the most impor-
tant human resource functions in the effort
to retain employees. Managers may put forth
a great deal of time and effort improving
planning, selection, training, development,
appraisal, and employee relations, but if the
organization has significant problems in com-
pensation, the efforts may be for naught. Pay
and benefits issues often have to be first and
foremost when employees consider whether
they can remain in the organization. Addi-
tionally, when employees are unhappy about
compensation, they often complain more
about other issues, especially if they do not
believe it is possible to correct the problems
without leaving the organization.
Managers need to be concerned about
important compensation objectives to im-
prove employee retention. They must consid-
er internal equity in pay between employees,
jobs, and sections of the organization. When
analyzing internal equity issues, managers
must recognize that employee perceptions
of equity may be more important than
reality. If employees believe their pay is
unfair, whether or not it is, they are likely to
consider leaving. Managers need to ensure
that pay systems have internal equity be-
tween jobs by paying them in accordance
with their importance to the organization
based upon job evaluation, establishing equity
in pay between employees by proper distri-
bution of rewards, and maintaining equity in
pay between organizations by proper budget
allocations.
Compensation must be externally compet-
itive as well. Pay and benefit surveys of
comparable jobs should be analyzed at least
annually to ensure the organization is offer-
ing competitive economic rewards. Pay
schedules must be adjusted to be competi-
tive. If the organization does not have the
138 THE HEALTH CARE MANAGER/APRIL–JUNE 2005
funds to move pay scales upward, reorgani-
zation may be necessary. Headcount may
be reduced to raise more money for pay
increases, but this must be done only as a
last resort because the resulting employee
concerns about job security may result in
more turnover than was expected, especial-
ly among the most marketable employees
that the organization can least afford to lose.
The pay system must be motivational for
most employees. People must see the con-
nection between successful performance
and rewards if they are to be motivated to
work effectively and remain in the organiza-
tion. Managers must be certain to reward
their employees appropriately and in a time-
ly manner. Time spent on developing em-
ployees to improve their performance will
be wasted in many cases if employees are
not rewarded subsequently in accordance
with their expectations. Many employees
are more likely to leave over perceptions of
unfair rewards than other human resource
management related reasons.
Managers must be careful implementing
merit pay. It is difficult to assess employee
performance accurately and to allocate re-
wards accordingly. If employees believe
their performance appraisals and pay in-
creases are unfair, they are quite likely to
leave. Managers have a tendency to rate
employees either higher than average or
equally to avoid conflict. Although issuing
higher than average performance apprais-
als to most employees may result in high-
er pay increases and lower the probability
of employee turnover, the impact on the
compensation budget may be disastrous.
Additionally, employees tend to expect a
certain level of pay increase each year as if it
were an annuity. Acquiring the money to
render merit awards each year may be very
difficult, especially since merit pay increases
need to be significantly higher than cost-
of-living increases if they are to have any
motivational impact. The pay budget also is
challenged each year as organizations strug-
gle to fund increases in statutory benefits
such as social security and worker’s com-
pensation.
Copyr ight © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
One approach to be considered is tying
employee pay to what the labor market is
paying for the job at a point in time and
updating pay each year as market rates
change. Organizational level incentive pay
also could be implemented to motivate
employees to work toward the achievement
of organizational goals.
It is very important to maintain the com-
pensation system by updating job descrip-
tions and evaluations, analyzing pay surveys
regularly, and modifying pay ranges as re-
quired. Pay increases must be distributed
equitably. Even the best pay system will not
be effective very long if it is not maintained
properly. Improper maintenance may lead to
employee retention problems if employees
perceive their compensation is no longer
competitive and based upon their worth.
Employee benefits can help to improve
employee retention, especially if they are tied
to length of service. Health care coverage,
investment and savings plans, and child care
are examples of benefits that employees may
consider carefully before deciding to move
elsewhere. Flexible benefits where employ-
ees can select a package that would be best
for their circumstances may help motivate
employees to remain.
It is important to share with employees
appropriate compensation information such
as salary survey data and pay ranges. Other-
wise, they may perceive inequities that do
not exist. Managers should allocate sufficient
time to communicate with employees regu-
larly about wage, salary, and benefits issues.
EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
Managing employee relations effectively
is very important in the effort to improve
employee retention. Managers must estab-
lish and maintain effective, multidirectional
lines of communication in their organizations
to inform employees about important pol-
icies and issues that could impact upon
decisions about employment and career
status. At the same time, managers need to
have feedback from employees concerning
issues considered important in determining
 Managing Human Resources to Improve Employee Retention
whether they should remain in the organiza-
tion. Managers need to communicate human
resource management policies that impact
upon employee perceptions of the organiza-
tion as an employer of choice, for example,
those relating to compensation, job security,
selecting people for promotions, grievance
handling, safety and health and suggestion
systems.
Policies relating to compensation are very
important for retention and must be com-
municated clearly to ensure employees are
properly informed about how they can
receive pay increases, what the salary range
is for their job, what employee benefits are
available to them and what they cover, and
how rewards are allocated equitably be-
tween employees and jobs. If employees do
not understand how the compensation sys-
tem works, although it may be very effective
policy, it is unlikely to improve employee
retention. The system may result in increased
turnover if employees perceive it to be less
effective than in reality. A few employees
with negative attitudes can initiate rumors
about the policies that may not be true, and
effective communication will enable employ-
ees to know the facts.
Managers should keep employees informed
about any policies, rumored acquisitions, or
factors that can impact upon their percep-
tions of job security. Few issues are more
important to employees today, and fears of
job loss may motivate employees to seek
employment elsewhere before the axe falls.
The employees who are most likely to leave
are often those who are most marketable,
the very employees the organization can
least afford to lose. If an organization faces
a situation where layoffs are imperative,
communication becomes critical. Employees
who are not selected for layoff will fear
they may be next, and they will most cer-
tainly investigate the market for their ser-
vices. If managers have to institute a layoff,
it should be done at one time, not on a grad-
ual basis. Employees should be informed
about why the layoffs had to occur and that
further reductions will not be made unless
absolutely necessary.
Copyr ight © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
139
Many employees in health care organiza-
tions today have highly marketable skills and
an interest in advancement. Managers need
to discuss career opportunities and tracks
with employees during performance apprais-
als. Opportunities for promotion should be
reviewed, and managers should be candid
with employees. If it does not appear that
an employee can be promoted in accordance
with expectations, the person should be
informed. Turnover of this nature is prob-
ably advantageous for the employee, the
manager, and the organization. If the person
remains, a negative attitude may develop
that could cause employee relations prob-
lems subsequently. On the other hand, op-
portunities for promotion may be better than
perceived by the employee, and discussion
can clarify the situation and perhaps salvage
a competent employee who may otherwise
have left the organization.
An important tool to improve employee
retention is an in-house grievance processing
system. The system should enable employ-
ees to bring problems and questions to the
attention of managers without fear of retri-
bution. Such a process can be very helpful
for managers to determine issues that could
lead to undesired turnover if they are not
resolved. Employees may be less likely to
leave if they feel their problems can be
addressed equitably in-house. To improve
employee perceptions of equity in the pro-
cess, the organization may want to consider
alternative dispute resolution with an arbi-
trator selected to decide the issue if the em-
ployee and management cannot reach a
mutually satisfactory outcome.
Few workplace issues are of greater con-
cern to health care workers than safety and
health. Safety committees should be imple-
mented to conduct self-inspections of work
areas and to bring problems to the attention
of management. Immediate action should
be taken to correct hazardous conditions.
Few employees will remain in organizations
where safety and health problems go unre-
solved. Additionally, any health care orga-
nization that develops a reputation as an
unsafe workplace will have a very difficult
140 THE HEALTH CARE MANAGER/APRIL–JUNE 2005
time attracting candidates in already very
tight labor markets for many skills.
A suggestion system can provide oppor-
tunities for health care workers to feel
empowered to recommend changes in the
workplace that could improve conditions
for everyone. The system provides opportu-
nities for managers to receive important
upward feedback about issues that are of
concern to employees that may motivate
them to leave if not resolved. Suggestions
should be implemented where feasible or
those making the suggestions should be
informed about why their ideas could not
be adopted.
CONCLUSIONS
Employee retention will become even
more important for managers in health care
organizations in the effort to deal with the
Copyr ight © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
many challenges they face while trying to
improve operating results. Environmental
trends such as the aging of the baby boom
generation will continue to increase the
demand for health care services which will
create more job opportunities for those
with health care industry skills. Because
the shortage in the supply of workers with
the requisite skills is expected to increase,
employee retention will become an even
more important goal.
Managing human resources more effec-
tively can significantly improve employee
retention in health care organizations. Im-
plementing the proper strategies and poli-
cies in human resource planning, employee
selection and placement, training, develop-
ment and appraisal, compensation, and em-
ployee relations will enable operating
managers to increase the probability of
success.