The CFO Know How — Workforce Retention

Are CFOs contributing enough to staff retention?

The key to CFO success lies in balancing cost management with a human-centered approach and a forward-thinking mindset. One tricky area for CFOs to manage is staff retention, which can have a big impact on the bottom line.

One study found that the average cost of turnover for a regular position is between six and nine months of an employee’s salary. Additionally, replacing a highly specialized healthcare professional can cost as much as 200% of the employee’s yearly salary.

HealthLeaders just wrapped up its Workforce Exchange, and here are a couple things that we learned:

-Leaders must build a culture of wellness and psychological safety, where staff feel comfortable approaching leadership with questions and concerns.

-Leaders must strategize and build better educational pipelines into the industry, for both physicians and nurses. Create strong partnerships with academic institutions and consider innovative solutions such as tuition reimbursement or assistance.

-Leaders need to integrate technology like AI and virtual nursing to streamline processes and give clinicians time back at the bedside.

The industry message is clear: Leaders must create a safe and positive working environment, with room for advancement and education, while also giving staff access to tools that help them do their daily tasks more easily and efficiently.

CFOs can play an important role in fostering a strong team and improving staff retention, and clear communication is at the top of the list.

“It is my responsibility to make sure those managers have the tools, education and resources to find their answers about their budget, about what they can do to make money,” said Kyle Wilcox, VP of finance for MercyOne Medical Group.

One part of successful staff retention is ensuring health systems are recruiting the right type of workers. CFOs can ask themselves, ‘Do the physicians being recruited for the health system actually want to work at this specific organization?’

“On the physician side, we've also become more intentional around recruiting physicians that want to work for a not-for-profit health system or want to be in some of our communities that are very rural,” said Adventist Health CFO John Beaman. “In fact, we have a rural residency program where we actually train physicians to be practitioners in a rural setting.”

 A good company culture also plays a role in staff retention.

CFOs must lead by example. A CFO should demonstrate a commitment to the organization’s mission and values in their daily interactions. When team members see their leaders embodying these principles, they are more likely to adopt them. Additionally, recognizing and rewarding behaviors that align with organizational values can also reinforce an excellent culture.

Lastly, CFOs can invest in technology that specifically aligns with their organization to reduce burnout amongst staff. CFOs can collaborate with CTOs, and CIOs to examine which tech options are best to integrate into the organization for streamlined operations that keep staff happy.