Mitigating risks is a key component of human resources. There are inherent risks associated with hiring, retaining, training, and managing people — and to avoid those risks, it’s important to take a proactive approach to HR planning. If you ignore potential problems, hoping they will go away or resolve themselves, you can face serious operational and financial consequences down the line. Here are three major HR risks to address in your healthcare organization.
Workplace Culture:
Culture is made up of many different pieces, and no two workplaces have exactly the same culture. A strong, supportive culture makes team members feel seen, heard, respected, and cared for. It can help employees learn, grow, overcome challenges, celebrate wins, and continue to invest in the organization. A negative culture, on the other hand, can encourage unhelpful or toxic dynamics, values, and processes.
A positive culture doesn’t just develop on its own; you have to build and cultivate it intentionally. What kind of workplace culture do you want to create? What are the values that form the foundation of your organization’s culture? HR plays a crucial role in both defining and fostering culture, from the top leadership down to the newest hires.
Make culture a key element in how you hire, train, and manage employees. Take a hard look at how you communicate across all levels of the organization. Strive to get ahead of risks before they become real problems. How are you promoting transparency, accountability, and respect? How are you addressing concerns voiced by employees? How are leaders actively working toward strengthening the organizational culture? You won’t have control over all the challenges you encounter, but you can control how you plan and react.
Training & Professional Development:
Investing in the long-term training and development of your employees is a win-win. They stay on a path of continuous learning, which often makes them more satisfied and engaged at work, and you keep talented team members who want to grow with your organization.
Evaluate the current opportunities you offer for employee education and training, and look for areas needing improvement. How are these programs setting up your employees for success? Are there any competency or knowledge gaps that need to be addressed?
Employee Turnover:
Staffing challenges in healthcare are well documented, so when you find top talent minimized turnover is key. Not only is turnover costly and disruptive, but excessive turnover can also result in remaining employees feeling overworked and underappreciated. The good news is that if you are proactively building a positive workplace culture and offering ongoing opportunities for learning and growth, you’re already taking steps toward combating turnover.
But don’t stop there. Seek to understand what your employees value most, whether that includes work-life balance, rewards and recognition, or more robust wellness benefits. How can you allocate your resources to prioritize keeping your employees happy, healthy, and engaged at work? Where can you make improvements that have the most impact?
Learn how MedHQ’s HR services can help your organization mitigate risks and build greater efficiency.