4 Reasons Long-Term Healthcare Employers Need to Invest in Upskilling Opportunities

Healthcare today is facing a great challenge—staffing shortages.

Since the pandemic, the microscope on healthcare has revealed an even deeper need to invest in the healthcare industry. The good news is that looming government policy changes are creating a rare window of opportunity for long term care facilities to rethink upskill-training and employee retention.

Upskilling is defined as training or education to learn new skills and advance your career within your current role. (For more about that, check out Why is Everyone Talking About Upskilling and Reskilling?).

Here are four reasons why any long-term healthcare employer should invest in upskilling opportunity for their current employees.

1. Upskilling opportunities help you retain employees

A 2021 Gallop ^®/Amazon study of health care workers found that more than 50% of those working in healthcare say they are “extremely” or “very” interested in upskilling.

Why do so many healthcare employees want to upskill? They are looking for career advancement.

When healthcare employees choose a job, they cite the ability to upskill as the third most important consideration—behind health insurance and benefits, according to the Gallup findings.

2. Upskilling opportunities attract new talent

A clear upskilling process is important for healthcare employers who want to not only retain their talent, but also recruit new talent. This same study also found that a majority (55%) of healthcare workers indicated they would be likely to quit their current role and take a new one that provided upskilling opportunities.

3. Upskilling increases the effectiveness of your staff and your brand

Investing in existing employees also helps with productivity gain. With a targeted focus on skill development and recognition through raises and promotions, existing employees can quickly become more productive and contribute significantly to the company's growth, as opposed to external hires.

The value of retaining workers is a common enough refrain in the business world as well as in healthcare. But in long term healthcare facilities—employees with real tenure are well worth any investment upskilling and promoting requires.

For one, investing in existing employees bolsters loyalty and serves as a positive example to other team members leading to improved overall job satisfaction and retention rates. For another thing, Happy employees can double as brand ambassadors if they are willing to speak highly of their organization and culture. Their interactions and relationships with patients will grow and create more positivity over time, leaving happier clients and families.

4. Upskilling is cost-effective compared to the price of high turnover

Compare those benefits to the costs of recruiting, training and meeting skill gaps in new employees. Finding and attracting top talent can be an expensive process. According to the Society for Human Resource Management^®, a general average cost per hire is around $4,700; however, some experts believe that cost may be as much as four times a position’s salary, depending on which types of expenses you consider.

Additionally, new hires require orientation and training, which require time and resources from both human resources, management and front-line workers. This includes onboarding sessions, training materials and the time spent by trainers. Ensuring the cultural fit of a new employee can require additional effort and investment in social integration and assimilation activities.

Hiring externally can also hinder productivity. New employees often take time to reach peak productivity. During this adjustment period, existing staff may need to pick up the slack, potentially impacting overall productivity and damaging their contentment with work as well.

Better policies really do make a difference

Holding a meeting and launching a plan to help your employees upskill might not seem like it should be a top priority in today’s healthcare environment—but the ripple effects of a good upskilling program can impact everything about long term healthcare facilities.

If you are the kind of person who thinks big and wants to shape the future of a healthcare facility, you should know healthcare needs people like you in administration! These roles are facing more complexity than you might think. Check out What I Wish I Had Known Before Starting a Healthcare Administration Career.

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Society for Human Resource Management^® is a registered trademark of Society for Human Resource Management.