Improving retention with a recognition overhaul: Why Craegmoor Healthcare regularly reassesses its rewards and training
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390780000955 |
| Published date | 01 January 2007 |
| Date | 01 January 2007 |
| Pages | 32-35 |
| Author | Denise Keating |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
32 Volume 6 Issue 2 January/February 2007
RGANIZATIONS THAT ARE SERIOUS
about employee engagement need to look
closely at the motivation of their staff and
develop initiatives that meet the needs of both
the company and its employees. At Craegmoor we know
our staff are passionate about what they do; we really do
value their contribution and will continue to work hard
to find ways to make their life both in and outside of
work as fulfilling as possible.
Reward and recognition review
In 2004, Craegmoor’s board was presented with the HR
strategy and plan that outlined the findings from the
review and our approach to addressing three priority-
areas – management development, staff training and
recognition. A three-year plan was outlined together with
targets for reducing staff turnover:
The vision of creating a great place to work was to be
achieved through a two-phase approach, as indicated in
Figure 1, right. The first phase is aimed at attracting and
recruiting staff and the second at retaining and
motivating them to deliver business success.
In Phase 1, we proposed to tackle four areas that
would enable us to improve our ability to attract and
retain compliant staff. This aimed to deliver maximum
benefit in the short term, as well as laying the
foundations for the longer term. The outputs from phase
one were:
• More efficient and effective use of financial resources.
• Compliant staff as required by regulation.
• Reduced staff turnover.
• Improved staff satisfaction and motivation leading to
improved customer service.
A push to decrease staff turnover
Staff turnover is a key measure of our HR success. Staff
turnover in 2004 was approximately 60 percent per
annum. This was unacceptable and wasteful. It’s a
reflection of poor pay and training, low staff morale,
poor leadership and lack of engagement of our people on
whom we rely to deliver quality care, service and support
for the people who use our services. High staff turnover
also costs the business both in terms of direct financial
loss and the lack of continued care.
It was therefore proposed to target significant
reductions in staff turnover as the key measure of success,
as Figure 2, right shows. The bold line running
horizontally at 60 percent shows staff turnover
continuing at current levels, in the absence of the
proposed HR plan for 2005. It represents a direct cost of
UK£5.8 million per annum.
This is conservatively valued at £1,340 per employee
per annum, on the basis of the direct costs of criminal
records bureau (CRB) applications and necessary
statutory and other training that’s wasted every time an
employee leaves the company. This excludes indirect costs
associated with staff turnover (i.e., management time,
By Denise Keating, Craegmoor Healthcare
Improving
retention with
a recognition
overhaul
Why Craegmoor Healthcare regularly
reassesses its rewards and training
O
Keeping a close eye on what motivates employees
made all the difference to Craegmoor Healthcare’s
staff turnover rates, as its HR and IT director, Denise
Keating explains in this article. By focusing on three
priority areas for improvement (management
development, staff training and recognition), the
company was able to improve its retention rates by 35
percent, between mid-2004 and the end of 2006.
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