News: Healthcare executives more likely to factor in employee preference in return-to-work plans

Nearly one-third (32%) of healthcare leaders surveyed strongly agree that employee preference is the most important factor in developing their return-to-work plans, compared to 25% across all industries as reported by HealthLeaders. The survey, released by PwC on the future of work, provides insights into the changes executives across all industries are making as they redesign their workplace to accommodate how their employees want to work.

After a year of reconsidering their needs and ambitions, many employees want a new model of work; the survey found that 65% of employees are hunting a new job and 88% of executives are seeing higher-than-normal turnover.

Health organizations are mostly considering a mix of work locations for the fall, with 34% of those surveyed saying their workforce plans entail a blend of in-person, hybrid, and remote. Another 22% say they’ll concentrate on hybrid.

Though certain health industry roles have less flexibility, such as clinical care in hospitals, health leaders are finding areas where work can be done remotely, such as with back-office operations for insurers and health systems, HealthLeaders reported.

Concerns vary across the C-suite as executives evaluate the impact of employee turnover. Executives are experiencing the labor market churn in different ways:

• CMOs are acutely feeling the negative outcomes of staff shortages on customer experience, with 40% citing it as a major issue.
• CHROs say retaining employees will be their No. 1 priority over the next three to six months.
• CFOs are split; 36% say they’re very concerned about the turnover remaining high indefinitely and weighing on revenue growth while 45% are somewhat concerned about turnover and its impact on growth, but they also expect it to return to pre-pandemic levels more quickly.

Companies should expect job candidates to negotiate aggressively for what they now see as table stakes: competitive packages and perks coupled with flexibility and expanded benefits such as career growth and upskilling opportunities, HealthLeaders reported.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by HealthLeaders. Additional ACDIS coverage of remote working can be found here.