Clients of mine work in various industries, each with their own unique challenges and goals. I have come to find that certain kinds of recognition and incentive award programs can be tailored to these industry-specific goals to overcome challenges and help companies create or sustain a competitive advantage. Over the next three weeks, I will discuss how employee award programs can be particularly designed to benefit organizations in the healthcare, manufacturing and public utility/municipality industries.
Part One: Healthcare Staff Recognition Programs
Despite the dour economy, healthcare jobs are expected to grow by 25.4 percent and add 4 million new jobs by 2016. Employee recruitment and retention has been a difficult challenge for healthcare related employers as 7 out of the top 20 fastest growing occupations are in the healthcare industry according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. From hospitals and clinics to nursing facilities and medical laboratories, employee recognition programs have helped many organizations attract and retain quality healthcare workers in an increasingly competitive job market.
Healthcare staff recognition programs feature personalized recognition awards that can be privately or publically presented to employees for reaching a plethora of goals. There are many common reasons clients in the healthcare industry present recognition awards to their staff. Some of these include: rewarding newly recruited employees, meeting/exceeding budget guidelines, reaching job-specific objectives, making safety achievements and celebrating anniversary milestones.
“People who feel recognized,” Katherine Mehr points out in her recent podcast on linking pay to performance with employee incentives, “demonstrate a stronger desire to help the company grow and succeed.” This helps to explain why in an industry facing retention challenges, organizations in the healthcare industry that utilize employee recognition programs can effectively increase retention, boost recruiting top talent and promote employee engagement in the workplace.
Motivating and recognizing healthcare staff is a strong tradition for one hospital client as HR Magazine explains, “[The Hospital] has a nursing staff turnover rate of 4 percent compared with the national average of 18 percent and an overall workforce turnover is 9 percent compared to a 15 percent industry wide rate. La Porte's CEO Jonathan Goble credits these impressive numbers to the organization's commitment to motivating and recognizing its 1,400 employees on a constant basis.”
Healthcare staff recognition programs, whether in print form, online or a combination of the two, work to combat the challenges previously thought to be inherent in the healthcare industry. Please check back next week for information on safety incentive program impact on the manufacturing industry.