Employee Retention Saves Money
Employee retention is valuable in any industry, but in the healthcare industry, it’s vital. Hospitals need trained and qualified medical professionals for a range of specialized health issues. Recruiting, hiring, and onboarding a new employee comes at a high cost.
According to one source, it can cost roughly 150% of a position’s annual salary to replace an employee. Then add up the loss of productivity while filling a job along with the expense of hiring a temporary employee, and the costs continue to increase. Health entities could save quite a bit of money if they retained qualified employees.
Labor Shortages within Healthcare
Despite current, widespread labor shortages across multiple industries, labor shortages in the healthcare industry are nothing new. As we referenced in a pre-pandemic article, the U.S. has been on track to have a shortage of 37,000-124,000 doctors by 2034. But the pandemic has strained medical entities in new ways.
Since the start of the pandemic, healthcare employment has decreased by more than 500,000 jobs. Healthcare Finance News reports that healthcare employment decreased by more than 17,000 jobs in September 2021 alone. This number comes from the balance of ambulatory services adding jobs while nursing and residential centers lost jobs. In fact, residential care and nursing centers lost almost 38,000 jobs in September 2021. A recent survey revealed that only 1% of assisted living and nursing home facilities across the nation have a complete staff. It’s clear there is a significant need for employee retention in the healthcare industry.
Attractive Healthcare Facility Amenities
One source explains health entities across the nation are paying $24 billion more annually to their qualified clinical staff members than they did before the pandemic. But it will take more than a higher paycheck to retain a good employee.
One health entity conducted a survey and discovered that 45% of its nurses were not drinking enough water and were skipping meals. They added more breaks to the schedule, a benefit that worked best paired with an on-site cafeteria. And in addition to having a cafeteria, this medical system added amenities like vending machines to their facilities.
Meanwhile, a hospital in Rhode Island added a different employee wellness amenity. Miriam Hospital provided meditation rooms in their facilities. These additional spaces were a part of their plan to encourage an environment where nurses could reach out for help.
An article from 2019 suggests using versatile spaces to the health practice’s advantage. That idea is still valid today as health systems look for ways to add amenities and programs to improve employee retention.
Unique Real Estate Solutions
Two hospitals in Idaho are uniquely using real estate to fill their staff positions. They are building affordable housing for their staff members. St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center in Idaho is constructing 12 housing units. They are also looking into different types of housing to provide more options for their employees, including short-term rentals or even creating more housing units.
HBRE and Healthcare Real Estate
In some cases, the physical work environment can make a significant difference in retaining employees. HBRE is a full-service healthcare real estate practice that has experience guiding its clients in buying, selling, or leasing healthcare facilities. Our advisors are familiar with helping our clients locate or market facilities that fit the needs of their employees and patients.
We offer more resources on our website that provide insights for healthcare property owners or investors. Our blogs present healthcare-specific information, supporting our medical clients and their healthcare real estate needs. Read more about healthcare real estate or employee retention on hbre.us/blog.
If you are interested in learning more about investing in commercial real estate, or if you have questions about buying, selling, or leasing a commercial property, please contact an HBRE advisor. Our team of experienced CRE professionals have the skills and insight to assist with all property transactions. To reach out to us directly, email [email protected] or call 615-564-4133.
