Turnover is expensive. Losing staff means you lose money. Period. So, agencies that struggle to keep employees need to really look at retention strategies to keep the good employees they have. Let’s consider what it costs you every time an employee hands in a letter of resignation and then what you can do to prevent it from happening.

What Does Losing An Employee Cost?

The Society of Human Resource Management reports an average onboarding cost of  $4,129 for each new employee. This is not a number specific to homecare. Healthcare is often a more expensive cost for employers related to background checks, certification processes, and the need for additional training time associated with the home care setting itself. This is tough on employers especially because the industry itself continues to grow. So, considering the challenges this industry faces related to reimbursement, turnover can mean the difference in keeping an agency afloat. Let’s look at ways to combat turnover.

Retention Strategies:

If it was just a matter of money for employees, then home care wouldn’t have any staff . That’s the solid truth. We know we can’t compete with the reimbursement of other clinical domains and by design, that is a problem. However, it’s a common misnomer that people’s main reason for leaving a job is more pay. So, how do you add value to employment for those you hire?

• Build Relationships: As an employee is cared for and nurtured in the employment process, it becomes more difficult to leave. Personal relationships with those at work make leaving a more personal decision. It’s harder as employees bond with others and have been made to feel a part of the working “family” unit. This will also help new hires see the sense of family as they onboard. Then, you must maintain those relationships. Some employees feel nurtured at the beginning of employment, but if the relationship is not maintained, it can lead to resignations.
• Recognize And Reward Your Best People: Recognize employees for what they do and reward those performing above the bar. Those contributions that go unnoticed lead to employees that feel neglected. When you are an employer who recognizes talent, you will have the reputation that attracts other potential employees.
• Allow Employee Participation In Your Vision: Your workforce is your best value in terms of reaching a strategic vision. Do you ask your employees for ideas on reaching your agency’s goals? You might be surprised to find ideas and solutions you had not considered. Be transparent about the good, bad, and ugly within the organization. Now, that doesn’t mean scare the employees about the potential issues within the agency. It means that there is value to an employee knowing and sharing in the success of the agency as well as knowing the struggles.
• Communication, Communication, Communication: Your employees need a clear path of communication upwards as well as an operational process where information flows downward effectively. An employee can easily become disgruntled when kept out of the loop of agency information or change.

This article entitled, "Losing Staff Means Losing Money: Retention Strategies In Home Care Should Top The List Of Your Strategic Plan" first appeared in Kenyon HomeCare Consulting blog.