Addressing High Turnover and Compliance in Healthcare with Job Descriptions

Today’s healthcare organizations are facing epic challenges on many fronts. Talent is in short supply at every level, and maintaining compliance is always a concern as patient health and business continuity hang in the balance.

Current data indicates there may be anywhere from 200,000 to 450,000 fewer nurses by 2025. 6.5 million are expected to vacate low-paying jobs within the next five years. More than half of RNs in the US are over 50, meaning they will soon retire, and about a quarter of all hospitals already report a critical staffing shortage.

These alarming statistics do not bode well for our nation’s health. If steps are not taken to mitigate the risk, the industry will reach a critical tipping point very soon.

High-compliance industries like healthcare can’t afford to act in haste. The right people must be in place to ensure standards are upheld and to prevent litigation. Trying to “make do” with fewer employees is not a viable approach. It leads to higher caseloads per employee and results in burnout and turnover, ultimately affecting quality and continuity of care while forcing good, caring employees out of jobs they once loved.

Accurate, well-written job descriptions:

• Reduce the risk of a bad hire.
• Ensure the organization attracts and hires the right talent and offers adequate compensation. Help to maintain a sustainable pipeline in preparation for whatever comes next.
• Clearly outline the responsibilities and requirements of each role without ambiguity.

In today’s challenging HR climate, job description management is essential to reduce costs, mitigate risk, and help employees and management focus on what matters most.

Why Are Job Descriptions So Critical?

Job descriptions aren’t only used during recruiting and onboarding; they are an essential HR tool throughout the employee lifecycle.

When candidates are hired, the job description details the skills and experience required to do the job, where the job takes place, and the expected outcome. The more accurate the job description, the easier it is for a company to attract the qualified candidates they seek. When a job description is clear about responsibilities and expectations beyond the skills required, it also helps to ensure employees are adequately prepared to do the job.

To excel in any position, whether entry-level, clinical, management, or executive leadership, employees must understand what’s expected of them—as should their managers, supervisors, and HR. The job description serves as a blueprint for the job, removing ambiguities and providing HR and other stakeholders with a way to measure success at every stage of the employee journey.

How Job Descriptions Support Compliance

In healthcare environments, these points take on a more critical tone. Performance, skills, and experience are not just expectations; they are mandated by law. Employees must have the proper certifications and be trained to perform the job they are hired for. Otherwise, the organization risks non-compliance under state and federal regulations.

Facilities undergo audits regularly to ensure compliance, so there is no room for error. In many cases, auditors will specifically ask to see signed job descriptions for each position. They want to know that the employees are qualified to do the jobs they were hired for and have the proper licenses and certifications associated with their roles.

Accurate job descriptions ensure employees understand what is expected of them and outline obligations related to continuing education and maintaining their professional status.

Failing to uphold compliance standards could result in sanctions or financial penalties. Non-compliant organizations risk loss of reputation and could lose their accreditations entirely if the infraction is severe enough. Suffice it to say the spiral of adverse outcomes stemming from non-compliance could mean the end of the business altogether.

How Healthcare Organizations Stay Ahead of the Curve with Job Description Management

With so much at stake, it might be hard to imagine that something as simple as a job description could mean the difference between thriving and failure, but it can. Inadequate JDs can create ambiguity between employees and employers, leading to misunderstandings, conflict, and non-compliance.

Large organizations often struggle with job description management. How JDs are produced, updated, stored, and accessed creates even more complexities, especially when hiring needs are ongoing.

New skills, competencies, and changing compliance mandates with regard to pay equity, ADA requirements, and regulatory mandates present further challenges to keeping job descriptions current.

Without the right software to manage these processes, organizations risk falling behind in recruiting efforts and losing out on top talent. Expediency and efficiency are critical to staying ahead of the competition and ensuring quality candidates. JDs must be up to date and ready to deploy when needed; job description management software helps make that possible.

Job Descriptions at Scale

It’s not unusual for managers in healthcare settings to have 100 or more direct reports. Shifts run 24/7/365, so the needs are ever-present.

Job description management becomes high-stakes in this environment as roles must be filled quickly to ensure the organization has the right skills in-house.

With such high staffing volumes, turnover is inevitable, so it’s essential for HR to understand the needs and be able to act quickly to fill the gaps.

Healthcare organizations that have adopted job description management software enjoy a streamlined process, accelerated timelines, fewer revisions, easy collaboration, and a greatly simplified system to store, sort, and visualize job families, hierarchies, and more. Job description management software also helps HR with compliance-related audits, as JDs are instantly retrievable when requested.

Case studies are consistent in showing that JDXpert customers are able to reduce the effort and time involved in managing job descriptions by half, allowing HR personnel to focus on people instead of paperwork. JDXpert also integrates with many compensation, benefits management, and recruitment tools already used in the organization, so HR can start seeing the value immediately.

To further highlight the benefits of JDXpert for healthcare HR professionals, we invite you to download our Healthcare HR eBook, Job Description Management: Essential Considerations for Healthcare Service Providers. In it, you’ll learn more about how job descriptions can solve some of healthcare’s most significant HR concerns and how our advanced job description management tools can reduce turnover and improve compliance in every department.