The CFO Workforce Wrestle: Post-Pandemic Recruitment, Retention and Culture

Recruitment and retention strategies look different after the COVID pandemic.

In a post-pandemic world, CFOs are facing countless workforce woes. And they don’t have stimulus funding to help them out anymore.

Executives attending the recent HealthLeaders CFO Exchange offered a few observations on the differences between the pre-pandemic workforce and what they’re dealing with now.

Recruitment

While some health systems have found recruitment success in their local markets, others are struggling. Exchange members spoke about the importance of showing support for the communities they serve by partnering and providing opportunities for local medical students.

Many have started partnering with local universities and tech schools, recruiting for positions such as ultrasound technicians. Some CFOs said the main idea is to “put your money where your mouth is” and ensure the health system is supporting schools and the incoming workforce with consistent outreach and offering shadowing opportunities.

“We have been paying out market adjustments to ensure our team members are being paid a living wage and that they feel fairly compensated,” said Kaitlyn Anderson Advent Health’s VP of finance. “We also offer tuition assistance as part of our benefit package. That has been a really big part of our recruitment and retention strategy.”

Retention

CFOs are diving deep on how they create and keep “homegrown employees,” as well as what retention programs provide the most value

Some Exchange attendees said they are looking at repurposing positions to fill gaps rather than just removing positions. CFOs talked about the struggle of going through long interviews and credentialing, only to have an employee decide to leave anyway.

Executives discussed how today’s healthcare “churn” of employees feels more prevalent, with staff seemingly moving more often, and chasing better opportunities rather than staying. Nursing in particular is a consistent challenge, as nurses can now command higher wages, more flexible schedules, better nursing staffing ratios, and more nurse safety measures.

Culture

CFOs are also grappling with the challenge of fostering culture. Attendees emphasized that this is a team act, and having all C-suite leaders at the table and on the same page is a must.

CFOs highlighted a few key elements in fostering the right organizational culture:

• Close-knit communication.
• Making infrastructure and platforms that work seamlessly with each other.
• Advocating for the tools that CFOs and staff need.

Culture is especially important during and after mergers, when clashing cultures might take the spotlight. This sometimes lead to challenges integrating workforces and workflows.

CFOs can examine how they can create the creating resources to educate staff around new workflows and technology. CFOs should work with the C-suite, particularly CTOs, to make sure that all resources align with the organization and are available. The CFO’s role in fostering culture begins with ensuring access to the appropriate tools and resources.

“[It’s important to] really listen to our employees to try to understand what it is that they need, ‘how can you be more efficient?’” said Brandon Williams, CFO of Providence .

The HealthLeaders Exchange is an executive community for sharing ideas, solutions, and insights. Please join the community at our LinkedIn page.

To inquire about attending a HealthLeaders CFO Exchange event, email us at exchange@healthleadersmedia.com.