Employee Retention
Consider the importance of morale and satisfaction to employee retention. It is likely that you or someone you know has had a bad experience with a particular job, business, or company. Reflect on that bad experience. Was it unsatisfactory because of the work environment, the coworkers, the wages, the management, or some other factor? Are you or the person you know still working in that job? Why or why not?
Worker dissatisfaction and morale is a key concern of an organization's HR department. HR professionals should be familiar with the various needs and challenges of a diverse workforce in order to identify ways to address those concerns. Financial, legal, and ethical factors influence the HR professionals' ability to provide compensation and benefits, mediate disputes, and otherwise aid in employee retention. In this Discussion, you will examine the needs and challenges of workers, and analyze how HR departments can address such concerns. In addition, you will discern how HR professionals can help motivate employees to give their best efforts.
To prepare for this Discussion:
Read Chapter 8 in the course text. Identify the importance of providing compensation and benefits for employees and the role the HR department plays in administering those provisions.
Review the media Good Samaritan Hospital Organizational Chart-Week 4: Retention, Compensation, and Benefits found in this week's Resources. (you can see this chart when you log into my student account under resources for week 4)
Read the articles, "The Lifelong Iterative Process of Physician Retention" and "Influencing Outlook: The Importance of Nursing Staff Satisfaction." Consider the issues these articles highlight and discern how those issues correspond to the information in Chapter 11.
Review the Amabile and Kramer article, and focus on suggestions that could be used for improving morale and supporting employees.
Identify the types of challenges that employees face that might negatively affect attitudes toward jobs, and consider how the HR department could mitigate those challenges through compensation and benefits.
Post by Day 4 a summary of the two different types of challenges that employees face that could result in a poor retention rate at an organization. Then, describe potential methods HR could use to improve morale and ensure retention of employees. Comment on specific factors that have motivated or unmotivated you in positions you have held. Finally, discuss potential setbacks or problems HR can face when attempting to address employee challenges while still helping those same employees feel valuable and necessary to the success of an organization. Describe one factor that an organization may consider when deciding whether to retain an unmotivated employee.
Read a selection of your colleagues' postings.
Respond to at least one of your colleagues' postings in one or more of the following ways:
Ask a probing question.
Expand on the colleague's posting with additional insight and resources.
Offer polite disagreement or critique, supported with evidence.
In addition, you may also respond as follows:
Offer and support an opinion.
Validate an idea with your own experience.
Make a suggestion or comment that guides or facilitates the discussion.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of your colleagues' comments. You are not required to post these final insights.
Resources:
To access the articles, you must log into my student account.
Readings
Course Text: Human Resource Management in Health Care: Principles and Practice
Chapter 8, "Compensation and Benefits"
PowerPoint: Chapter 8, "Compensation and Benefits"
Article: Amabile, T. M., & Kramer, S. J. (2011). The power of small wins. Harvard Business Review, 89(5), 70-80.
Retrieved from the Walden library using the Business Source Complete database:
http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=60156431&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Article: Cohn, K. H., Bethancourt, B., & Simington, M. (2009). The lifelong iterative process of physician retention.. Journal of Healthcare Management, 54(4), 220-226.
Copyright 2009 by HEALTH ADMINISTRATION PRESS. Reprinted by permission of HEALTH ADMINISTRATION PRESS via the Copyright Clearance Center.
Article: Fraser, S. (2010). Influencing outlook: The importance of nursing staff satisfaction.. Nursing Management, 41(9), 12-16.
Copyright 2010 by LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS / NURSING - JOURNALS. Reprinted by permission of LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS / NURSING - JOURNALS via the Copyright Clearance Center.
Web Article: United States Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (WHD). (n.d.). Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Retrieved, 2011, from http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/.