The inability to attract and retain workers is a top concern of most healthcare executives. But leadership at Hollywood, Fla.-based Memorial Healthcare System isn't biting nails; it's currently experiencing its lowest employee turnover rate in the last five fiscal years.
"That's dramatic for us," Margie Vargas, chief human resources officer of the 16,000-worker system, told Becker's. "But it's not an accident."
During the pandemic, many health systems cut their employee offerings as a method of cost containment. Memorial Healthcare System made a conscious effort not to do this — instead investing even more in benefit offerings, learning opportunities and scholarship programs — and it's now reaping the benefits.
The battle to build a workforce extends beyond the healthcare industry, Ms. Vargas said. That's especially true in hospitality-saturated Florida, where hotels, restaurants, theme parks and retail chains are all tapping from a similar pool of nonclinical workers.
Compensation helps Memorial stand out from the pack, according to Ms. Vargas. In June, the system's board of commissioners approved a $16 minimum wage, propelling the system ahead of the state of Florida by several years. By comparison, the state's minimum wage will increase to $12 on Sept. 30.
The health system has also been pouring into its career development pathways. It's spent the past several months creating a program for employees who did not complete a high school diploma. Memorial will cover all expenses for those who enroll — from a laptop, to computer courses, to their dinners.
"So you come in as an environmental services tech, or a food nutrition employee or patient transporter, and you obtain this high school diploma," Ms. Vargas said. "We will then walk you through what you could be professionally in the next leg of your journey."
This pipeline is crucial for Memorial's next phase of life; it has become a "top-three priority," according to Ms. Vargas.
"We have launched a very intense succession planning process to identify those employees that want the next level up, and [we're] creating individual development plans customized to that individual's strengths as well as those opportunities for development," Ms. Vargas said. "We have a new generation of leaders that we are cultivating, that we're coaching and that we're mentoring."
When finances are tight — as they are for so many healthcare providers — HR can find itself on the chopping block. But the best way to ensure workers stay is to continue investing in them, Ms. Vargas argues.
"Healthcare is at a crossroads. We have to redesign the delivery of care while preserving the financial viability of an organization, and at the same time preserving high-quality, safe care. Prior to my time at Memorial, when we did reach that state of [financial trouble], the first thing that we would look for would be cost savings opportunities in the people space," Ms. Vargas said. "And so the one factor that has been front and center for Memorial that some organizations may not have front and center is the fact that we have to continue to invest in our workforce. It is a shifting of financial resources."