In this episode of Elevate Care, host Kerry Perez speaks with Leora Westbrook about the importance of retention strategies in the healthcare workforce. They discuss the challenges faced by healthcare organizations in retaining talent, the evolving needs of a multi-generational workforce, and effective strategies to reduce attrition. Leora shares insights from clinician surveys and highlights the significance of data-driven decisions in developing tailored retention strategies. The conversation emphasizes the need for continuous evolution in workforce management practices to ensure long-term sustainability and success.
In this episode of Elevate Care, host Kerry Perez speaks with Leora Westbrook about the importance of retention strategies in the healthcare workforce. They discuss the challenges faced by healthcare organizations in retaining talent, the evolving needs of a multi-generational workforce, and effective strategies to reduce attrition. Leora shares insights from clinician surveys and highlights the significance of data-driven decisions in developing tailored retention strategies. The conversation emphasizes the need for continuous evolution in workforce management practices to ensure long-term sustainability and success.
Learn more about the show: https://www.amnhealthcare.com/podcastselevate-care-podcast/
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Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Retention Strategies
01:51 Understanding Workforce Dynamics and Retention Challenges
05:12 Effective Retention Strategies and Success Stories
07:10 Key Takeaways and Future Considerations
About Leora
As President of Workforce Strategy & Optimization (WSO) at AMN Healthcare, Leora leads the WSO team in strategy, technology, analytics solutions, and consulting. She has over 15 years of experience in healthcare services, business development, and program management. She holds an MBA from Nova Southeastern University and a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Miami.
Connect with Leora: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leorawestbrook/
About Kerry
Kerry Perez leads the design and development of enterprise strategy in addition to overseeing Marketing, Corporate Communications, and Creative Services.
Ms. Perez joined AMN Healthcare in 2007 and has held various roles during her tenure, including recruitment, marketing, innovation, strategy, and M&A. She most recently served as the company’s Vice President of Enterprise Strategy. She also stood up AMN Healthcare's Diligence and Integration Management Office, which led the strategic and functional integration of new acquisitions to drive synergy. She was named among Staffing Industry Analyst’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2021, and she hosts the AMN Healthcare podcast, Elevate Care.
Ms. Perez maintains the guiding principles of being customer obsessed, thinking big and delivering results. She has a passion for mentoring emerging leaders and building effective teams.
Ms. Perez holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the University of California at Santa Barbara. For more than four years, she has served on the board of Dallas-based nonprofit, CitySquare, which focuses on fighting the causes and effects of poverty.
Connect with Kerry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerrycperez/
AMN Healthcare Podcasts (00:00.116)
Welcome to Elevate Care. I'm your host, Kerry Perez, and I'm joined by Leora Westbrook. She is the president of our workforce strategy optimization solutions, and we are thrilled to have you today. Welcome, Leora. Thank you so much, Keri. It's great to be here. Awesome. Really excited to talk today about retention strategies. But before we dive right in there, tell me a little bit more about how does retention strategies fit into your portfolio of work? Well, it is all-encompassing. We are so
driven in the workforce strategy and optimization space. And that is really an underpinning of how do we not just attract, but retain our workforce and create that workplace that helps them thrive. And so through our talent advisory practice, we are helping our clients bring these tools, these strategies around retention to bear in a way that works for them. Awesome.
Before we dive right into retention, what other services are under that advisory services? goodness. We have quite a few. I need to first say that we have advisory happening today in so many different flavors. And it would be, we would need a longer session to talk through all of them, but I'll hit through some of the highlights. We are really looking at the assessment components from an operational aspect as well as a workforce.
And we are also looking at how they can drive an enterprise resource center. So that resource central staffing office to mobilize their workforce at an enterprise level, despite how they operate today. And that's a key offering. We also do talent strategy scorecards, leadership executive assessments and coaching and succession planning.
and so much more. Wow, the whole shebang. OK, well, thanks for just giving a little bit more of that oversight. But back to retention, so critical right now. Burnouts all around us. It is a critical thing for hospitals to retain PERM, as well as contingent folks. So what are some of the strategies that clients are looking for? Yes, it is certainly a challenge today.
AMN Healthcare Podcasts (02:20.174)
I would say the workforce is still in recalibration mode. And so what I mean by that is, yes, it's absolutely paramount to attract that right workforce. And we are seeing a pull in that longer term FTE planning, which is great. But then how do you retain that workforce? We see about 30%, sadly, 30 % of hires in their first year or years leave.
between one and three years, that's a considerable investment when you think that 50 to 75 % of an employee's cost is essentially lost, you know, in just opportunity for that health system, and it creates undue burden on the clinicians and the staff around them. And so, a considerable investment goes into hiring that right talent. What do we do to make sure that
Not only that the employee value proposition is strong to keep that interest through onboarding, but what does that talent journey map look like? How do they work through becoming a potential Canada on through onboarding and beyond? And so these are multifaceted, multi-layered strategies that we build out with our clients. And again, I always go back to the data. It's really understanding where they are.
And what are the pieces in technology that they have at their fingertips today that they could maybe lean into differently? obviously there's going to be unique journeys for every sort of client, but are there some top pain points that you typically see that you're solving for for retention? Absolutely. Again, I think it's largely the understanding of where your trends are across your workforce. So we are in
an amazing time and place where we have this multi-generational workforce. And some of the tried and true retention practices, employment practices just don't resonate with all of those generations. And the workplace of today, particularly the workplace that's entering into our market now, they have options. They're looking for flexibility.
AMN Healthcare Podcasts (04:44.278)
And they're also looking for that workplace where they can thrive and they will have personal development, professional growth opportunities. And it's interesting, Carrie, because as we look at some of the feedback from our clinician surveys that we do within AMN, and they're so fruitful in the insights, we see this need and this desire from our clinicians to not just grow, but help other clinicians grow.
And so how are we providing that space for that to happen? Yeah. So there's a lot to pull on there and I'm sure you could brainstorm a billion different solutions. Do you have a specific example of maybe one of your favorite retention strategies that you saw fruitful results? Absolutely. I think when we look at the attrition component and really identify where we have our biggest pockets and then putting together that
talent strategy to retain that workforce. The workforce in its totality, but also where we're seeing those pockets and why. And we have typically seen about a 20 % reduction in attrition and cost savings. One of our clients has seen $5 million year over year in driving some of these retention strategies forward. And I think it really starts at being focused and understanding.
Again, from the data where those opportunities are and truly partnering. Advisory is a journey and it's a long term path with our clients. And we really pride ourselves on being that partner to provide those insights and data driven decisions to align around the strategies that work for them and their workforce, most importantly. So a client is thinking, I might have a retention problem.
What should they be asking themselves to determine whether this sort of service might be right for them? I think it's being able to see the force amongst the trees. And I know that's difficult for everybody when you're in it. And so that's why it can be really powerful when you bring in our advisory practice. Our trusted advisors really look at the holistic framework of the workforce and help to uncover end to end. We talked a little bit about that talent journey mapping.
AMN Healthcare Podcasts (07:10.528)
as well as we have a talent acquisition operational assessment that allows us to see how are we bringing in talent and what does that process look like. Understanding what those KPIs are are so powerful. And I think that's really where we see the most traction. Excellent. So is there anything you want to leave our listeners or viewers with that would be a key takeaway for them?
key takeaway, and I know this is not new news, but the workforce is different today. And you have to have strategies that you are consistently evolving and you have to have the right structures, the right governance to manage those. And so through our advisory practice, it's not a point in time and walk away. These are paths to long-term sustainability.
and the understanding that that needs to evolve so that your workforce can be successful. Excellent. So if people wanted to learn more, where should they find out more about WSO and our advisory services? Absolutely. Well, I will ask, if I may, to include a link in our podcast video and certainly reach out directly to me. I love to talk workforce strategy and optimization and talent advisory.
excited to continue the discussion. Awesome. So if you want to nerd out, call Leora. She's ready. Yes. Thank you so much for bringing this important solution to our listeners. Thank you for joining us today on Elevate Care. If you found this episode valuable, please consider sharing it with a colleague and subscribing to our show on your favorite podcast platform. You can learn more about this episode and our show on our website at amnhelfcare.com and follow us on social media to stay updated on new episodes,
and the ever-changing world of healthcare.