Across industries, people are quitting their jobs. But in healthcare, people are quitting at some of the highest rates. In November 2021, the healthcare industry had the second-highest quit rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And many healthcare workers are leaving altogether with no plans to return to the industry.
This shortage of healthcare professionals certainly impacts the standard of patient care. With fewer workers on hand, more pressure will be put on healthcare professionals to play varied roles, care for more patients, and operate in an even more tumultuous environment. On top of that, fewer healthcare workers mean the cost of labor will increase, and perhaps the cost of services too, both of which threaten the availability of care for those in need.
The best strategy that healthcare organizations can implement right now—to ease the impact of worker shortages—is to invest in what they already have. In other words, prioritize employee retention. Organizations can prevent a continued mass exodus of employees by creating better workplace experiences, investing in their teams, and reducing the burden of training processes. Here are three ways training can help healthcare organizations survive the worker shortage.
Training opens up more career opportunities for healthcare professionals.
When it comes to creating a positive workplace environment, one factor has been at the top of employees’ minds across industries: room to grow, advance, and explore their careers. McKinsey & Company reported that redeployment, upskilling, and reskilling were critical factors in the success of companies across industries during the pandemic. By leveraging training strategies, companies could pivot to new strategies that sustained business even in fully remote environments. And simultaneously, this showed employees that the company deemed them an integral part of its future.
Instead of pigeonholing healthcare workers into a single role for life, organizations can support and sustain their teams by offering new growth opportunities. This will require advanced training so that employees can understand the nuances of a new skill and pass certification courses to ensure both their safety and the safety of patients. By giving employees the chance to explore new avenues in their careers, healthcare organizations show that they want to keep those team members around for a long time and that the future of an individual person’s career is worth an investment from the company.
A digital training platform streamlines the upskilling process.
In order to support new needs for more complex and varied training, healthcare organizations must equip their teams with functional training tools. The ultimate goal should be that healthcare professionals can access their training whenever they need it and wherever they are located. ExpertusONE is making it easier for busy employees to upskill by providing an adaptable learning management platform (LMS) that offers mobile functionality and offline training. This way, whether the learner is a travel nurse headed to a new location or an in-home healthcare provider, they can access essential learning materials when they need them.
Upskilling training initiatives will only be as effective as the platform they are housed within. Healthcare organizations cannot expect to see any financial benefit with training and development until they invest in training tools designed for the digital age. Too many organizations rely on outdated healthcare training platforms that make learning cumbersome and difficult. According to the Association for Talent Development, healthcare workers spend 34% less time on training a year than other industries. There is certainly a disconnect if workers in one of the most essential and most specialized industries spend less time training than other less-essential industries. Coaching, training, and professional development have been notoriously difficult initiatives to implement across the healthcare sector. This is largely due to the nature of shift work and the range of positions, skills, and certifications needed.
For healthcare personnel to be equipped with essential training, they must have access to technology that streamlines the training process. This healthcare training strategy workbook can help to guide healthcare organizations on what types of digital tools will best serve their companies, and how to implement them into their compliance strategy.
Automated compliance tracking keeps personnel on track and reduces the burden on administrators.
Compliance training and tracking is a critical component of the healthcare worker’s experience, but when organizations are understaffed and unsupported, the burden of compliance administration is heavy.
When compliance falls behind, it causes a huge disruption in the function of healthcare organizations.
Providers cannot work or administer care to patients if they are out of compliance or if their credentials have lapsed. Healthcare organizations cannot afford this downtime when there is a shortage of workers. Instead, leaders and managers must take a proactive approach to healthcare compliance tracking. With a digital LMS platform, compliance regulations are automatically tracked, and managers can easily run reports. On the ExpertusONE platform, managers can assess compliance at both the organizational and individual levels. Additionally, when creating courses, managers can set post-completion or overdue statuses that indicate the learner’s next steps after they complete training. When it comes to compliance, HR leaders can now use an award-winning, ONE-Profile Card, named “Best Advance in Technology for the Remote Workforce” by Brandon Hall, that offers single-step QR scan to verify their healthcare worker’ skills, certifications, and credentials — anytime, anywhere.
A digital LMS platform lifts the burden of tracking certifications and recertifications and automates the process, making it more reliable and proactive than a manual method. This is a game-changer for understaffed healthcare organizations because it keeps healthcare personnel on track to work and free from delays due to lapsed compliance. According to a new report by iSolved that surveyed 500 HR business leaders, 38% of the healthcare industry plans to invest in an LMS.
The global worker shortage has adversely affected healthcare organizations, which has negatively impacted patient care. In order to prepare for the future of healthcare, leaders should invest in the employee experience—starting with training technology—and provide room for employees to grow in their careers. Investing in employees is the best way to mitigate worker shortages. A digital LMS platform is the solution to the problem of the healthcare worker crisis. Healthcare providers can equip their teams, proactively manage compliance, and care for their patients with the right technology in hand.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ramesh Ramani
Ramesh Ramani is the co-founder and CEO of ExpertusONE, the company behind the award-winning digital LMS platform. ExpertusONE serves learners across industries—from healthcare to manufacturing—with training technology that boosts engagement, tracks compliance, and streamlines the learning experience. For more than 20 years, ExpertusONE has paved the way for companies to train their employees, partners, customers, and sales teams.