Strategies to Retain Employees in the Health Care Industry

Health care leaders who fail to apply effective retention strategies could negatively affect employee well-being, patient outcomes, and business performance. The purpose of this single case study was to explore effective strategies that leaders used to retain employees in a health care organization. Human capital theory was the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected via on-site semistructured interviews with 10 leaders of a Texas health care organization who had a history of retaining employees for a minimum of 2 years from the date of hire, and from the review of organizational documents pertaining to employee retention. Data were analyzed using coding and word frequency to discern patterns. Three key themes emerged from the data: (a) healthy work environment, (b) manager relationships, and (c) training and development. The implications for positive social change include the potential to retain top talent in health care organizations, which could improve customer service, promote affordable health care, increase job satisfaction, and improve quality service to patients