Employees are the backbone of a successful healthcare business. In fact, you could argue that having a stable, happy team is the number one indicator of long-term success or failure, especially in the healthcare industry, where “the human factor” is so influential. 

It’s wrong to assume that employees will stick with you once they’re on board. Unless you’re actively monitoring and improving your employee retention rate, then you could find that you end up having to replace employees more frequently than you’d like to — and that won’t only hurt your productivity and potential damage to your relationship with your patients and customers, but it’ll also result in big employment-related expenses that, during these trying times, you could very much do without; it costs a lot to hire and train a talented healthcare employee, after all.

In this post, we’ll run through some handy tips for keeping your employees happy and keeping your employee retention rate high. 

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Hire the Right Person

First thing first: you have to hire the right person. If you don’t, then it can’t be all that surprising if you find that you’re hiring a replacement within a few minutes. Now, of course, no healthcare business sets out to hire the wrong person. But it does happen, and that’s all because of the company’s hiring process. In this day and age, it’s essential to put together a robust hiring process that pushes high-quality candidates your way. If you’re throwing out any old job advertisement expecting great results, it’s time to step things up. If in doubt, consider working with a recruitment agency. 

Successful Onboarding 

Finding the right employee is the most difficult part. But it’s not as if you can just sit back and wait for them to work their magic. If you want them to stay with you on a long-term basis, then it’s essential that they get off on the right foot. Your onboarding process is essential to bring them into the family, ensure they know what they’re doing, and make sure they feel comfortable. New employees who don’t go through the onboarding process can often end up feeling confused about their role, the company, and, well, just about everything, and that makes it more likely that they’ll look for other work. Healthcare businesses in particular tend to have specific working processes that must be followed, but the employee can only know what those are if they’re told. 

Regular Salary Increases

It might be nice to think that your employees are there purely because of passion. Yet, while if you’ve hired correctly you will have passionate staff, it’s important to also keep in mind that the best employees know how good they are — and they expect to be paid appropriately. You don’t have to put your company’s financial standing in jeopardy to pay your staff well (don’t do this!), but equally, you shouldn’t be underpaying what they’re worth. If you are, then all it’ll take is one slightly better pay offer to get them to move. Be sure to give your staff regular salary increases in line with your business’ increasing profits and cost of living adjustments. 

Cover Everyday Expenses 

Keeping your employees on board is all about ensuring they feel valued. And one way to do that is to think about the additional work-related expenses that they may have to pay themselves if they’re not offered by the business. 

For example, in this day and age, many healthcare admin workers pay for a coworking space, but that’s a cost that should really be met by the business — not only is it the right thing to do, but it’ll likely boost productivity; employees that work from home, rather than in an office, may not work as efficiently. Equally, if your employee has to drive long distances as part of their employment, then it’s best to offer a fuel card; this article runs through features to look for in business fuel cards so you can get one that benefits your employees and your business. You may also consider paying for your employees’ internet connection and technological devices if they’re for work purposes, especially since they tend to be more secure, which is essential in the healthcare sector. 

Perks and Benefits

You’ll hopefully be paying your employees a salary that’s in line with modern standards. Yet, while that’s a good start, it should really only be a start. That’ll stop your employees from leaving at the first opportunity, but it won’t necessarily keep them on board forever. After all, many businesses pay well. One extra way you can stop your employees from looking elsewhere is to offer perks and benefits. There’s no shortage of things you can offer. For example, you may offer a gym membership, generous vacation time, or simple perks in the office such as free lunch, coffee, and snacks. This works best in healthcare startup companies, but you can usually find ways to reward your team no matter what type of business you run. 

Create a Sense of Teamwork

Studies have shown that employees are much happier when they feel they have friends in the office. And happy employees are much less likely to leave. An employee who doesn’t have any real connection to his or her colleagues won’t think twice about moving elsewhere. While sometimes work friendships happen all on their own, you can’t rely on it happening naturally. You have to make it happen! Invest in team-building activities and make sure that everyone feels included. This could take the form of after-work drinks, fun activities, or anything else — the main thing is that colleagues have a chance to talk to one another about non-work matters in a relaxed atmosphere. 

Invest in the Office Space

Your office space is primarily functional. But the broader implications matter, too. In this day and age, an office that’s all business — chairs, desks, computers — is seen by many, rightly, to be a little uninspiring, and that can have a corrosive impact on team morale. On the other hand, a workspace that’s bright, spacious, well-decorated, and in line with the company’s branding is likely to be much better received by the team. So take another look at your workspace: what kind of message is it sending your staff?

Manager Training 

It’s important that everyone at the business is respectful, works well, and has an understanding of how to work with others. But it’s more important for some roles than others. For example, someone in a manager role has a disproportionate impact on the working experience of other employees, so it’s essential that they are well-trained. Hiring someone with experience of working in a healthcare startup will be best.  

Good Work/Life Balance

There will be times when workers need to work longer hours than normal. But those moments should be rare. By and large, employees should have a good work/life balance. An employee that’s generally happy with their life won’t look to change; they’ll already have everything they need. 

Move With the Times 

Finally, it’s recommended to spend some time thinking about your working processes and making sure they’re in line with current trends. All aspects of the working world change, and that includes the ones relating to employment matters. Sometimes these shifts are seismic — think of the difference between pre-covid and post-covid employment — whereas in others they’re more subtle. It’s a good idea to read HR blogs and magazines related to the healthcare startup industry to ensure you’re kept fully up to date with the changing times, and then make adjustments when necessary.

Conclusion

As we said at the beginning of the article: your team will be the backbone of your success. You never know what you might achieve when you have a team of staff committed to doing brilliant things! But that can only happen if there’s consistency, rather than constant chopping and changing. Take the tips that we’ve outlined above, and you’ll find that your employees are, more likely than not, happy to stay with your business for as long as you’ll have them.