As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), “health systems can only function with health workers; improving health service coverage and realizing the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is dependent on their availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality.”

(Source: World Health Organization)

The importance of workforce planning has become more apparent following the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. When considering staff recruitment and retention, it is important to take a holistic approach and consider factors beyond compensation and benefits. Employee satisfaction, employee engagement, open communication, and workforce culture should all be taken into consideration in order to create a healthy work environment for all.

This resource repository is meant to serve as a starting point for health centers when developing a workforce plan to support their future development and growth.

• High-Functioning Health Centers in the areas of:
  • Retention & Employee Engagement
    1. Staff Satisfaction Surveys: Staff satisfaction surveys are an effective tool to provide management and leadership with information regarding the condition of the health center. The responses and recommendations from these surveys can be used to improve the center’s workplace environment, leading to improved patient care.
       1. An example of successful utilization of staff satisfaction surveys is Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center (ANHC).
       2. STAR² Center resources:
          1. STAR² Center – Understanding Moral Distress, Moral Injury, & Other Dangers of Helping Others!
       3. Outside resources:
          1. Gallup – Employee Engagement Survey
          2. Gartner – The 9 Questions That Should Be In Every Employee Engagement Survey
          3. National Academy of Medicine – Clinician Resilience and Well Being
          4. Harvard University – The Work and Well-Being Initiative
    2. Staff Engagement, Staff Development & Career Ladders: Employee Engagement has benefits beyond employee retention. As described in the Harvard Business Review, analysis of data from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) shows an association in improved hospital ratings when patient experience and employee engagement are positively perceived.
       1. West Hawaii Community Health Center (WHCHC) provides a great example for ensuring staff engagement and development.
       2. STAR² Center resources:
          1. STAR² Center – Manager Feedback Webinar
          2. STAR² Center – The ACE-15 Survey Tool: Measuring “Teamness” in Your Organization
       3. Outside resources:
          1. Gallup – What Is Employee Engagement and How Do You Improve It?
    3. Leadership for Retention: According to Forbes, a recent Gallup poll shows that more than half the American workforce have left positions due to poor experiences with leadership. Following COVID-19, an organization’s leadership has become increasingly vital to employee retention. Leaders should be empathetic, provide support, remain flexible, and encourage growth within their staff.
       1. An example of leadership for retention can be found through West Hawaii Community Health Center’s Dental Department.
       2. STAR² Center resources:
          1. STAR² Center – Manager Training for Employee Engagement –Part 1 & Part 2
          2. STAR² Center – Managing in the Time of COVID
          3. STAR² Center Coffee Talk – Chief Workforce Officer Toolkit
       3. Outside resources:
          1. Harvard Business Review – What Does It Mean to Be a Manager Today?
          2. LightHouse – What Managers Must Know From the Gallup Employee Engagement Survey
    4. Other General Promising Practices in Retention
       1. STAR² Center resources:
          1. STAR² Center Turnover Tool Webinar Series
          2. STAR² Center Financial Assessment Tool for Provider Turnover
          3. STAR² Center – Creating an Organizational Culture of Resilience
          4. STAR² Center – Addressing Stigma, Health Disparities, and COVID-19’s Role in Affecting Workforce Retention
          5. STAR² Center – Retaining & Recruiting MAs & DAs – Part 1 & Part 2
          6. STAR² Center – Special Considerations for R&R of Mental Health Providers
       2. Outside resources:
          1. Columbia Southern University – Recruitment and Retention in Health Care
          2. Public Health Foundation – Recruitment and Retention
  • Recruitment of New Employees
    1. Job Postings: To create a comprehensive, effective job posting, employers should expand beyond a basic description of required skills and expected duties. Effective job postings should highlight the health center’s mission, company culture, community/area details, and any included competitive benefits (e.g. loan repayment assistance, tuition assistance, sign-on bonuses, etc.).
       1. NEW Health provides a great example of how to format postings on your website to ensure ease of navigation for potential employees.
       2. STAR² Center resources:
          1. STAR² Center – 2020 Recruitment Boot Camp
       3. Outside resources:
          1. Alabama Media Group – The 6 Most Successful Healthcare Recruitment and Retention Strategies
          2. 3R Net – Employer Resources
          3. HRSA Health Workforce – Health Workforce Connector
          4. CHAMPS – Job Bank
          5. Denver Health – Careers
          6. LinkedIn
    2. Pay Equity: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women held approximately 76% of all health care positions as of 2019. As diversity and inclusion are pushed to the forefront of organizations, pay equity (equal pay for work of equal value) has become an increasingly vital factor for recruitment and retention of staff.
       1. Refer to the STAR² Center Pay Equity Checklist for information on how to facilitate pay equity within your organization.
       2. Other STAR² Center resources:
          1. STAR² Center Talks Compensation Planning Webinar Series
          2. STAR² Center Compensation Self-Assessment Tool
       3. Outside resources:
          1. Northwest Regional Primary Care Association – Measuring Employee Satisfaction with Healthcare Benefits
          2. Harvard Business Review – How to Close the Gender Pay Gap in U.S. Medicine
          3. Cardinal Health – Pay Equity
    3. Education and Training Pathways, Tuition Assistance Programs, & Staff Development: Staff education & training encourage staff retention by creating opportunities for employees to progress up the organization’s career ladder. Additionally, tuition assistance and loan deferment programs help reduce future turnover costs.
       1. A great example of an offered training pathway is NEW Health’s Dental Assistant Training Program which provides prospective dental assistants the opportunity to become trained in exchange for working within a specific NEW Health clinic for a year. NEW Health also offers consulting services based around their numerous successful training programs at “NEW Health University“
       2. STAR² Center resources:
          1. STAR² Center – Health Center Partnerships for HP-ET Development 
          2. STAR² Center – Advancing Health Center R&R Through HP-ET 
          3. STAR² Center – PCA & HCCN Workforce Professional Development 2021-2022
       3. Outside resources:
          1. National AHEC Organization – What AHECs Do
          2. HRSA – State and Regional PCA Cooperative Agreements Workforce Funding  
          3. CHAMPS – Pipeline Development Resources
          4. University of Massachusetts Global – Weighing the pros and cons of offering tuition assistance for your employees
• Other resources for workforce planning
  • STAR² Center Strategic Planning Workbook
  • STAR² Center R&R Template
  • Migrant Clinician – Clinician Recruitment and Retention
  • 3R Net – Employer’s Guide to Workforce Programs
  • Missouri Health Association – The Impact of COVID-19: 5 Ways Workforce Planning Will Never be the Same
• Feedback from Health Centers – What is a promising practice you would like to share?