Strategies that address workforce recruitment and retention are essential to providing optimal health in Kansas. The Workforce Strategies Award recognizes a team of employees, providers or volunteers who have significantly contributed to the well-being, retention or recruitment of health care workers at their facility.
The Holton Community Hospital Recruitment and Retention Committee is dedicated to the continual progression, process and hard work necessary to address one of the biggest challenges that emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic – workforce stabilization. This committee has devoted countless hours to developing a charter, mission and numerable initiatives to be proactive rather than reactive to increasing job vacancy rates but also developing sustainable retention strategies.
The team started by tackling several sub-committee projects including exploring a retention roadmap, developing a manager training series, enhancing the employee onboarding experience through the Onboarding Ambassador program and development of a robust employee recognition system and annual ceremony.
“Listening to those who work at the bedside providing care is imperative as a more fulfilled and satisfied staff equates to happier patients. The All-Ideas Matter initiative has brought light to employee satisfiers such as improvement opportunities within the paid time-off structure. Employees are currently evaluating and having a voice in time-off policy changes that will be implemented in the upcoming 1-2 years,” said Cody Utz, Director of Quality and Informatics for Holton Community Hospital.
As part of this new recruitment and retention effort, the committee spearheads an Onboarding Ambassador program that supports each new employee especially during those first 90 days of employment. Each new employee is paired with a Service Excellence orientated, high performing, experienced employee (Onboarding Ambassador) from a different department to provide guidance on organizational culture and to forge a connection outside one’s workgroup.
In 2022, Holton Community Hospital transitioned and revamped the Onboarding Taskforce to a more robust structure and broader scope of work with the inception of the Recruitment and Retention Committee. The committee’s purpose is to provide multiple viewpoints, a large-scale vision, and guidance for the organization’s recruitment and retention strategy. The committee consists of thirteen members representing the organization’s various departments and reflecting the diversity and demographics of all HCH employees.
Some of the committee’s most notable accomplishments included a HealthCare Academy and Employee Recognition Ceremony. The HCA concept was brought to fruition as an annual summer program for local high school students. This unique opportunity is a weeklong shadow experience in twelve different career fields within the hospital, clinic and home health and hospice.
The Annual Employee Recognition Ceremony recognizes employees celebrating milestones anniversaries. During the ceremony, employees are individually honored by their direct supervisor sharing personalized commentary about the individual’s commitment to the organization. The entire staff attends as well as the family of those being recognized.
“The work of the Holton Community Hospital Recruitment and Retention Committee has been a great success. With organizational-wide collaboration and teamwork, the vision has become a reality,” said Katelynn Knudson, Nurse and Recruitment and Retention Committee Chair.
--Shelby Stacy