WASHINGTON, October 11, 2006 - U.S. health care organizations aren´t making
much progress in the war for talent, and are finding it especially
difficult to hold on to registered nurses and other critical-skill workers,
according to a survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a leading global
consulting firm, and the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources
Administration (ASHHRA).
More than two-thirds (69 percent) of the 110 health care providers surveyed
reported having difficulty retaining critical-skill workers to a moderate
or great extent. Across industries overall, only 43 percent of companies
have similar retention problems. Retaining registered nurses is the most
difficult staffing challenge facing health care providers, with 84 percent
listing it among their top three staffing challenges, followed by
pharmacists (39 percent) and rehab therapists (33 percent).
"Staffing in the health care industry is currently a losing battle of
supply and demand. As demand for services escalates, the supply of health
care professionals in the workforce shrinks," said Luellen Lucid, senior
consultant for compensation consulting at Watson Wyatt. "But these
shortages are now creating a serious situation for health care
organizations, and they have made little headway in solving the problem."
Voluntary turnover, while often uncontrollable, is also hitting health care
providers harder than other industries. Health care providers are
experiencing a median 14 percent voluntary turnover rate, which is
considerably higher than other industries overall. Nearly half of the
respondents (47 percent) cited relocation as one of the top three reasons
employees leave, followed by lack of promotional opportunity (41 percent)
and pay (33 percent).
According to the survey, health care organizations are implementing various
initiatives to address the staffing situation, including adjusting pay
levels to better reflect the market, providing reimbursements and forgiving
loan payments for educational studies, and implementing flexible work
arrangements. Some organizations are also enhancing their retirement
benefit programs, such as improving the match on contributions that workers
make to their 401(k) or 403(b) plans.
The survey noted, however, that few employers are improving other aspects
of their employee benefits, including health insurance, paid time off or
retiree medical benefits - possible opportunities to improve the attraction
and retention of critical-skill workers.
"Health care organizations know they need to take action and try new
approaches. Some of the top organizations are already doing so by
increasing incentive pay opportunities to better reward their best
workers," said Jamie Hale, a senior workforce planning consultant at Watson
Wyatt. "However, this problem will not be solved overnight. In the end, the
health care organizations that will be most successful are the ones that
take a broad-based approach and consider the long-term picture."
Copies of the survey are available at www.watsonwyatt.com.
About Watson Wyatt
Watson Wyatt (NYSE: WW) is the trusted business partner to the world's
leading organizations on people and financial issues. The firm´s global
services include: managing the cost and effectiveness of employee benefit
programs; developing attraction, retention and reward strategies; advising
pension plan sponsors and other institutions on optimal investment
strategies; providing strategic and financial advice to insurance and
financial services companies; and delivering related technology,
outsourcing and data services. Watson Wyatt has 6,000 associates in 30
countries and is located on the Web at www.watsonwyatt.com.
Contact
Ed Emerman, 609/452-5967, eemerman[at]eaglepr.com
Emily Rieger, 703/258-7634, emily.rieger[at]watsonwyatt.com