Minimizing Burnout in Healthcare with a Human-Centric Workplace Culture

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By Pete Reilly

Industry and business-wide turnover rates are leading indicators of employee burnout just about everywhere.

Healthcare is no exception. Years after the onset of COVID-19, healthcare turnover rates remain high, ranging from 19.5% at hospitals to 94% at nursing homes.

In an industry stacked with highly specialized professionals, turnover can cost as much as 200% of an employee’s yearly salary. The burden extends to resources as well. Remaining staff stretch to fill gaps, and employee morale can quickly plummet and impact productivity, performance, and retention.

There is no easy solution to burnout, especially in an industry as reactive and influenced by global events as healthcare. We cannot predict the next global health crisis.

Instead, just like businesses in other industries, who in recent years faced record-breaking quit rates in the Great Resignation and in response are recognizing the value of having a human-centric workplace, healthcare can balance the stress of the job with initiatives that encourage employee well-being, connection and satisfaction.

One could argue that the healthcare industry is by its nature human-centric, with patients at the center. Human-centric workplace programs expand on this mission by focusing on the people providing the care.

Along with improved employee well-being and satisfaction, focusing on the strengths and interests of employees helps to create:

  • Increased innovation, creativity, productivity, and efficiency, as employees within these models are 3.8 times more likely to be high performing
  • Improved retention and recruitment of top talent, as employees are 3.1 times more likely to experience low levels of fatigue and 3.2 times more likely to have a high intent to stay
  • Increased connection across teams and the organization

Creating a human-centric healthcare environment

The right human-centric healthcare workplace combines empathy for what your people need with an understanding of the operational needs of the organization. Here are five steps to designing and maintaining such a workplace:

1. Determine organizational priorities. A truly human-centric workplace understands and responds to its employees’ needs and preferences. Common focus areas include flexibility, inclusivity and belonging, autonomy, and growth and development as they influence not only the person at work but their ability to thrive holistically. Determining your organization’s specific priorities should include establishing your baseline by asking questions about how the organization currently operates in these areas; collecting employee feedback through surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one meetings about the support employees want and need; and determining what success would look like for the organization in a human-centric environment.

2. Design the workplace. The programs you decide to implement should take into account the many life events your employees might face and how the organization can support them, whether it’s offering flexible work schedules to make room for other priorities or continuing education programs for doctors, nurses, and support staff that help them reach their next goal. Building hybrid options can also serve a wider group of individuals and provide opportunities for enhanced autonomy and intentional collaboration and connection.

3. Lean into technology. Technology will never replace healthcare professionals but it can make their jobs easier. In fact, 65% of employees believe they would be more productive at their jobs if they had better workplace technology. The right technology can do the following:

  • Reduce frustration and free up time by automating standard administrative tasks
  • Bring dispersed teams together through virtual meetings
  • Allow individuals to make better-informed decisions by reducing human error and streamlining communications and records

4. Make the transition as smooth as possible. The transition to a human-centric workplace should also be human-centric. New ways of working require training and mindset shifts. Attending managers will need change management tools to help their existing and future staff adapt. Especially if one of your goals is to create a more flexible workplace, leadership needs to be clear on policies and procedures to ensure a smooth transition. A strong change management plan not only outlines what is changing, but why, how and who will be impacted.

5. Measure its success. The ability to accurately measure the success of these programs is created in each of the proceeding steps. The better you understand your people and their needs, the better you can establish goals for sentiment and performance based on the changes you implement.

But remember, a human-centric workplace strategy is not a “set it and forget it” project. To be truly human-centric, an organization must continuously collect feedback and adapt their programs to fit the current needs of their people and the ever-changing world around them.

 Pete Reilly is the practice leader and Chief Sales Officer of global insurance brokerage Hub International’s North American healthcare practice.