HR Pulse - Fall 2008 - (Page 38)

Retaining Scarce, Critical Talent How the Best Health Care Organizations Do It By Patricia K. Zingheim, Ph.D. and Jay R. Schuster, Ph.D. wards.” So what is best practice? Is it the same as prevailing practice, or is it what the “winners” do? Where do you ﬁnd winning medical centers to explore? U.S. News & World Report (August 2007) deﬁned excellence in terms of reputation, mortality index, and other care-related factors and published a list of the 173 “America’s Best Hospitals” based on reviewing 5,462 hospitals. This article studies a sample of 21 of these leading organizations ranked by U.S. News & World Report, primarily from the top-ranked 18. These 21 organizations had CEOs, major operating and staff executives, and heads of human resources who participated in this study by providing detailed information in a structured interview based on an extensive openended questionnaire. Defining Scarce/Critical Talent One CEO said, “The only reason we are one of the best in the world is our talent, and this is our focus until we learn that something other than top-performing people are why we are so good.” Organizations in this study deﬁne scarce/critical talent as some combination of scarce in the labor market, critical to the organization’s mission, possessing the medical center’s core competences and/or professionals working in centers of excellence. Without exception, these study participants center their retention, pay, and reward resources on scarce/critical talent, not the general workforce. Who are the scarce/critical talent? RNs and the nursing profession are universally viewed as core talent. Also mentioned are physicians, technologists in the chemistry sciences, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, nursing support technicians, some other licensed professionals, and managers who retain and help develop talent. Research-based organizations include research scientists investigating new cures and treatments. An executive explained the double standard as follows, “Some people are going to leave; we need to make sure those who stay are those we really need.” 38 HR Pulse Fall 2008 H igh-performing, skilled professionals are scarce, yet they are the differential advantage for an organization to reach and sustain a high level of performance in quality patient care and clinical outcomes. What do hospitals that are top performers on patient-focused metrics do to attract and retain more than their share of scarce/critical people, and is it working? This study began with a request by a medical center CEO struggling for differential advantage and unable to ﬁnd it. His challenge was, “I don’t really care what medical centers that are just performing okay are doing. I want to know how the best medical centers manage talent, pay and re-

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Pulse - Fall 2008

HR Pulse - Fall 2008 Contents Pulse Points Executive Director’s Letter President’s Message HR Leader Profile: Irma Pye Sammy’s House: Making a Difference in Austin Working Mother Magazine’s 100 Best Companies Increasing CEO Engagement Pastoral Care Retaining Scarce, Critical Talent The Engagement Dilemma Diversity Considerations…More than AAP & EEO Quashing the Workplace Bullying Bug How to Become a Strong Human Resources Partner Citizen Lobbyists Descend Upon Capitol Hill Conference Highlights Schedule at a Glance Sponsors Exhibitors Advertisers’ Index

HR Pulse - Fall 2008

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