Reference no: EM132254799

Alegent Health, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is a non-profit health-care system composed of seven hospitals with about 2,000 beds and more than 200 clinic and outpatient locations, 1,200 physicians, and more than 7,500 other employees who work throughout the organization. Several years ago, Alegent recognized that HR issues needed “acute care treatment.” Turnover rates of 24%, coupled with more than 500 unfilled positions, were costing the firm more than $15 million annually.

Four years later, the turnover rates had declined to 12% and open positions had dropped to fewer than 100. Because of their improvements, Alegent’s HR practices, and especially its retention successes, won several local and national awards. Alegent was named one of the

“Best Places to Work in Omaha.” The award was based on surveys of employees that asked about credibility, respect and fairness, pride, and camaraderie. Alegent also received a Workforce

Management Optimas Award in the financial impact category for its success at recruiting and retaining key staff. Winning these awards indicates that Alegent is clearly being effective with its HR activities.

Specifically regarding retention efforts, Alegent created an Employee Retention Task

Force whose focus was to decrease turnover and increase employee satisfaction. The task force identified several strategies to be used.

One program illustrates how Alegent approached retention of nurses. The Nursing Residence Program has caught national attention. Each resident (or new nurse) is paired with an experienced nurse or “preceptor” based on interests, personality, and so on. Also, a mentor outside the nursing department adds support and encouragement to individuals. Nursing staff meet monthly for training. In addition, they can visit various other departments (pediatrics, cardiology, etc.) in which they may have career interests. Nurses interested in management can shadow the department director to see how the department is managed. Returning nurses who have been out of the fi eld fi ve or more years are enrolled, retrained, and paired with recently finished residents.

Alegent Health is the exception to the turnover levels in nursing. Compared with the U.S. health-care industry rate of 20%, Alegent’s turnover rate of 7.6% is exceptionally low. Another key to aiding nursing recruitment and retention is an extensive training and development program. Many different short courses and classes are provided to Alegent employees at no cost. As part of this program, Alegent pays up to $20,000 for employees selected for a career advancement program to obtain nursing degrees.54

Questions

Discuss how Alegent’s practices match with the recommended retention practices covered in the chapter.

Why was Alegent’s broad-based approach to nursing retention important?