News: Quality, safety, and retention most critical issues facing hospitals, report shows

Leaders in human resources (HR) and chief nursing officers (CNO) view quality of care, the safety of patients, and employee retention as the most critical issues facing hospitals, according to a recent Cross Country survey. The report, entitled “2023 Workforce Trends,” surveyed 50 HR leaders and 72 CNOs nationwide. Of those, 84% considered quality of care and patient safety as the most important issue, followed by increasing retention rates (77%), improving caregiver experience (73%), optimizing the workforce (73%), boosting operational efficiencies/productivity (70%), and conducting strategic workforce planning (69%), HealthLeaders reported.

“Although many leaders are actively investing in solutions to enhance employee recruitment, heighten the caregiver experience, and optimize and manage the workforce, fundamental changes are needed,” John Martins CEO of Cross Country healthcare said. “There are sustainable and proven solutions that can help institutions invest in their employees from the ground up, curating a positive and safe experience for patients—the number one goal and priority.”

According to the report, when surveyed on how they would rank the top three solutions receiving the most amount of attention, HR leaders ranked “improve the caregiver experience” in first place, “improve employee recruitment” in second place, and “leverage technology” in third place. CNOs, on the other hand, chose “improve employee recruitment” first, “optimize and manage the workforce” second, and “improve the caregiver experience,” “strengthen employee engagement/retention,” and “ensure quality and safety” all tied for third place.

When asked to rank their priorities, 72% of all respondents rated “improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the hiring process” as number one, and 68% of respondents ranked “strengthening employee engagement/retention” as number two. HR leaders, when asked how they would rank what they were most effective at, reported that they were most effective at engagement and retention (57%), while also noting that they were second-most effective at maintaining appropriate staffing levels (55%).

In response to what their organization is doing to address HR-related priorities such as these, 46% of respondents replied that their organizations were making “timekeeping easier and more accurate,” while 43% of them said that their organizations were creating better plans for succession and leadership development.

On the topic of workplace culture and satisfaction, 80% of respondents said their workplace culture is one of trust and transparency, and that they regarded their place of employment as a great place to work. With respect to whether they thought they possessed the necessary skills to be successful at this time, 83% of respondents said yes.

Editor’s note: You can read HealthLeaders’ coverage of this story here. You can read the Cross Country report, “2023 Workforce trends,” here.