The Cost of Not Paying Attention to Your Physician Retention Rate

HELPING HOSPITALS KEEP GOOD DOCTORS

The Cost of Not Paying Attention to Your Physician Retention Rate

Every business is taught that it is more financially rewarding to keep your regular customers than to accrue new ones. Unfortunately, that does not trickle down to the treatment of their employees. This two-year old survey found:

Barriers to improving retention

Despite 87 percent of overall respondents calling improved retention a critical or high priority over the next five years, 20 percent said there are too many competing priorities to focus on fixing the issue.

In other words, HR is paying lip service to retention while spending most of their time elsewhere. And then there is this:

Recruiting new vs. retaining existing talent

Despite the costs of employee turnover, organizations are more likely to invest in recruiting new employees than in retaining existing talent. The survey found that 97 percent of respondents are planning to increase their investment in recruiting technology by 2020, including nearly a quarter (22 percent) who anticipate a 30-to -50 percent increase in spending.

Yup, all they keep doing is EXACTLY what they wouldn’t be doing for customers. Recruit, recruit, recruit when they should be trying to retain, retain, retain. 

Has this changed with the “Great Resignation”? Of course not. It’s gotten worse. How about in healthcare with employing physicians? Nope. It’s a catastrophe. Each doctor who leaves costs up to $1 million to replace. 

Stop paying so much attention to recruitment. Keep your good doctors!  Great leaders create great environments. That’s what retains doctors.