Should a recent recruit emerge from a seamless onboarding process with a favorable initial impression, the transition into their role, and the crucial realm of patient care, will transpire more swiftly.
“While the advantages are evident, numerous healthcare organizations are still in the process of optimizing their onboarding procedures, especially in embracing online solutions,” states Woodward. “Our role is to foster an individual’s connection to the organization. The accessibility of information and assistance in a quick and effortless manner can be the determining factor between job satisfaction and an untimely departure.”
Robust healthcare onboarding yields a plethora of benefits:
-
Sustained Commitment to Enhancement: Onboarding stands as a continuous and integral facet of the employee journey, offering a means to counter attrition. Given the rapid expansion of medical knowledge, staying abreast of updates remains crucial. This is why the onboarding trajectory can span weeks, or even months, and is tailored to the role of the provider, particularly for those requiring ongoing training. For instance, practitioners involved in remote patient monitoring, imaging technology, or oncology may necessitate frequent training updates.
-
Amplified Performance: To address the call for cost-effective, high-quality care and enhanced patient experiences, pioneering training initiatives empower employees to drive organizational transformation.
-
Cultivating Employee Allegiance through Enculturation: Onboarding presents a golden opportunity for healthcare establishments to capture the allegiance of fresh recruits. By adeptly integrating newcomers into the organization’s culture, the process transforms outsiders into insiders with vested interests in the company’s success. This metamorphosis transpires as employees perceive how their daily contributions align with the overarching organizational mission.
-
Impacting the Bottom Line: In both nonprofit and for-profit contexts, cost control assumes paramount importance. Recruiting qualified personnel constitutes one of the most substantial investments for clinics and hospitals. According to the 2016 National Healthcare Retention and RN Staffing Report, nurse turnover can cost an average hospital between $5.2 to $8.1 million annually. On a positive note, the Human Capital Institute (HCI) reported in 2016 that structured onboarding programs enhance new hire retention rates by 82 percent and augment productivity by over 70 percent. The same report highlighted that a structured onboarding approach increases the likelihood of retaining employees after three years by 58 percent.
-
Sustaining Achievement: Ensure that staff grasp the nuances of compliance, while setting transparent expectations, offering constructive feedback, and facilitating the maintenance or acquisition of external licenses or certifications. This approach fosters a deep commitment among employees to both their work and the organization.
In summation, a well-executed healthcare onboarding strategy is a gateway to myriad advantages, ranging from swift assimilation and sustained commitment to increased performance and financial optimization. It establishes a profound connection between the workforce and the organizational mission, thereby creating a cohesive and thriving healthcare ecosystem.