Archived Publications eBook: The Dollars are in the Details | Page 11

The overall retention rate had jumped from
75% to 88%. This rate equated to 1,064
employees being retained who would have
otherwise been lost, saving the System
millions of dollars.
In addition to the portal, HR would regularly send reports
to managers, reminding them who first year employees
were. They would also send reports to remind managers
which employees were ready for 6-month stay interviews
and other key events. In return, managers were asked to
report to leadership on why any first-year employee left
the organization.
Impressive Results
Memorial Hermann’s program to reduce turnover was
launched in the spring of 2015. By the end of 2016, the
overall retention rate had jumped from 75% to 88%. This
rate equated to 1,064 employees being retained who
would have otherwise been lost, saving the System
millions of dollars.
Here are a few additional outcomes the team noted along
the way:
• The System realized its highest retention among
employees who participated in Stay Interviews.
• The System saw a 95% retention rate among
employees who participated in the student loan
repayment program.
Advice for Others
Based on these experiences, Knowles makes the following
recommendations to others:
• Base your efforts on research.
• Build your coalition early in the process, during
project design if possible.
• Be sure you know your key metrics on the front
end of the improvement effort.
• Confirm your cost-of-turnover calculations early
on with your CFO.
• Make sure manager accountability is built into
the program.
Conclusion
As part of the corporate road show, Knowles would describe
the first-year journey of a new employee—how it felt at
Day 1 and at Day 90. Interestingly, managers agreed with
her account and often went on to share their own horror
stories during those first days on the job. According to
Knowles, “We found that regardless of your position,
the first year feels the same more or less.”
Not content to rest on their laurels, Knowles and her
team are already working on a more advanced training
program for managers—Retention 2.0. They want to
address these questions:
– How do we bypass the first-year dip in
employee satisfaction?
– What specific things can we do to impact retention
in high stress areas such as the ER and OR?
HealthStream.com/contact • 800.521.0574 •
Reprint from JUL 2017 PX Advisor
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