Len Carter, chief human resources officer at Freeport, Ill.-based FHN, has been with the regional health system since 1992. He told Becker's that throughout his tenure, one thing has remained constant: the organization's focus on retention.
"From day one, our philosophy has been on retention, not recruitment," he said. "Because you can spend a lot of money on recruitment, and then two months later, they are gone — or three months, or years. So, we've tried to build a culture where retention is the key focus."
Mr. Carter discussed the organization's retention efforts, which have contributed to an average of 12 years of service among FHN workers.
As part of these efforts, FHN is leveraging artificial intelligence to streamline leadership support through playbooks.
"Like a college football team has a playbook, we do a playbook on recruitment, a playbook on employee relations, plus more, and these are things that help our culture and help leaders understand the culture and how to handle situations, instead of having to call HR," Mr. Carter said.
By using AI for research assistance, FHN has reduced the amount of time needed to develop a playbook from three to four months to a couple weeks.
Mr. Carter said FHN is also using AI for some job descriptions, research and some internal communications. The organization is also working to develop an AI policy.
"The big thing [to consider] is security," Mr. Carter said. "How do you protect the patient health information, the security of the information that's on there from going outside the system? We've been working on that with our cybersecurity specialists, and we have a chief analytics officer, and he's now beginning to move that process along more rapidly."
He expects to see increased adoption and integration of AI across the health system in the near future.
Here are seven other takeaways from Mr. Carter regarding FHN's retention strategies:
1. Apprenticeships. FHN is involved in apprenticeships, holding the only healthcare position on the Illinois statewide apprentice committee.
2. Career pathways. FHN employs approximately 1,200 team members, and about 55% of its positions are tied to clinical or nonclinical pathways. "It gives the individual an opportunity to grow and develop which strengthens our ability to provide great quality care to our patients and our customers," Mr. Carter said. "And they all earn additional income when they're in those different tiers."
3. Scholarships. Mr. Carter noted that healthcare workers, particularly single parents, cannot stop working full-time to pursue education. With this in mind, FHN offers a program to help employees advance their healthcare careers through scholarships. For example, the program supports employees advancing from certified nursing assistant to registered nurse. Scholarship recipients maintain full-time pay and benefits, while reducing to part-time hours and must work for FHN for four years after completing their education.
4. Compensation philosophy. FHN offers salaries that are mid-range compared to other organizations in the region.
5. Internal float pool. FHN has built an internal float pool that allows individuals to work on 13-week contracts, as an alternative to a travel agency. "It's individuals who might normally go to agencies," Mr. Carter said. "We don't pay as much as the agency, but we pay a nice rate, and they don't have to move or relocate. They stay in the region."
6. Wellness incentive program. FHN employees may participate in a wellness incentive program whereby they earn points by completing workshops and other activities. At the end of the year, if employees earn enough points, they may cash them in for FHN-branded apparel or other items. Approximately 400 employees are participating in this initiative.
7. Leadership development programs. FHN has three leadership development programs, including a seven-month program for aspiring leaders. "We find that after that program, maybe a third might want to go into leadership on a regular basis," Mr. Carter said. "Many times they understand the commitment required of leadership and are willing to help on projects, but because of family [responsibilities], they are not ready to make that long-term commitment."
FHN also offers a program tailored to directors and operational leaders to build their leadership and critical thinking skills, as well as a third program for all leadership, including executives.