Organizations across all industries, especially in the healthcare industry, are facing a growing problem: a shortage of qualified professionals. Not only can this shortage affect productivity and efficiency, but it can also lead to increased recruiting costs and decreased service quality. One approach to solving the skilled labor shortage is to increase hiring activities. However, this does not address fluctuation, which is expensive and unproductive for the company. Another strategy to combat labor shortage, which we will illuminate today, is retention management. Through targeted strategies to improve employee retention and satisfaction, companies can reduce turnover, increase loyalty and ultimately address the skilled labor shortage. This article highlights how retention management can be applied and provides inputs on how to meet the growing challenge.
Three forms of employee retention: Affective, normative and calculative retention.
Retention management, a practice that focuses on promoting employee retention and satisfaction, plays a critical role in addressing this shortcoming. Meyer and Allen (1991) distinguish three forms of employee retention: Affective, normative, and calculative retention.
Affective commitment refers to the emotional attachment of employees to their organization. Employees who feel high affective commitment identify strongly with the organization and tend to be more committed and productive.
Normative commitment, on the other hand, refers to the moral obligation employees feel toward their company. High normative commitment can lead to loyalty and team stability, even in difficult times. Affective and normative commitment are of great importance because they stand for a deep, emotional and value-oriented bond between employees and the company.
On the other hand, there is the calculative perspective, called the continuance commitment, which indicates that employees stay with a company primarily for financial or practical reasons. A high level of calculative commitment can be problematic, as it is often associated with lower engagement and higher turnover. Studies suggest that affective and normative commitment have positive correlations with job satisfaction and performance, while calculative commitment often has negative effects.
Strengthening affective and normative commitment
But how can affective and normative commitment be strengthened?
A key method for improving affective employee commitment is regular conversations and constructive feedback. This creates a work environment that is inclusive and where employees feel valued and heard. Another method is to promote development opportunities and career paths that give employees a sense that they can grow and succeed. Regular, constructive feedback can also help build employee loyalty by encouraging employees to continually improve and expand their skills. In addition, fostering a strong sense of community and shared values can help increase affective commitment.
Normative commitment can be strengthened by a strong organizational culture based on shared values and norms. When employees feel that their personal values are aligned with those of the organization, it increases their moral commitment to the organization. It is therefore important that healthcare organizations clearly communicate and consistently exemplify their values. In addition, providing training and development opportunities plays an important role. Employees who feel they can grow and learn in their current role are more likely to stay with the organization for the long term. This is especially true in a fast-changing industry like healthcare.
FLOWIT: Digital solution for employee engagement and retention management.
Now, this wouldn't be a FLOWIT blog if we didn't tell you exactly how you can use FLOWIT to boost employee commitment. Our FLOWIT app supports very classic methods of employee retention. FLOWIT allows for appreciation of each employee through its 360º feedback feature. Through our digital skill maps, FLOWIT helps each individual set individual goals and develop in a targeted manner. In addition, FLOWIT allows the digital mapping of review questionnaires and sends automatic reminders so that feedback conversations simply (almost) take care of themselves.
To hear and understand employees even better, FLOWIT also uses pulse surveys. The surveys feel like a chat and can be filled out conveniently from a cell phone. This allows every employee to be reached, whether in the office or on the road. Regular surveys allow the company to be aware of the issues that concern its employees and show that employees are being heard. Our pulse surveys are analyzed using artificial intelligence (AI). This AI can detect the emotional imprint (sentiment) of the texts and identify hotspots to improve employee engagement. Thus, after each survey, the People Team receives a report in a very short time that categorizes, organizes and summarizes the responses. In addition, the AI can suggest measures and generate questions for the next survey that test the effectiveness of the measures. Thus, the FLOWIT platform equips the People Team with the data needed to identify and justify appropriate measures.
In summary, retention management is an important tool to counteract the shortage of skilled workers. Regular discussions, surveys, and feedback strengthen employee retention. The challenge for the People Team is to involve all employees and create a positive communication culture.
With the right balance, strategy and tools, organizations can not only retain their employees, but also increase their satisfaction, well-being, and productivity.
