Trust not Money: 6 Things to Keep Your People

Our team has new research out on what things predict whether healthcare workers plan to stay within the organization and whether they will recommend it to others. Hint: It isn’t the money.

Great news—it turns out that the top 6 things are mostly fixable and mostly free.

Research from Pew Research Center shows that when people across industries leave a job right now, they are generally finding more money, benefits, flexibility, autonomy, and development opportunities in their next gig. In today’s economy with historically low unemployment, they would be crazy not to negotiate well on the way in.

But does that mean that people are leaving for the money? If you are in a leadership or management role in healthcare, odds are that you have gotten requests for pay raises from your employees. They might even threaten to leave for more money if you don’t.

Raises would fix a lot, right? Wrong.

The main factors that predict whether people plan to leave or fail to recommend the organization are not financial. They are durable, work culture elements, and leader behaviors.

Top 6 Factors Explaining Turnover Intention or Net Promoter Score

• Burnout- Can I stay here and preserve my mental health and energy?
• Organizational Support- Does the organization care about my well-being and value my extra efforts and contributions?
• Trust in Senior Leadership- Do I trust the people at the top?
• Availability of Resources- Do I have what I need to do my best work?
• Recognition- Am I appreciated for my contributions here?
• Belonging- Is this the place for me?

What about money?

Compensation needs to be fair and competitive, but…. Inadequacy of pay was #7 on the list.

When people say, “It is the money,” what they might actually mean is “You can’t pay me enough to put up with this bad environment.”

When people start to complain about pay, start by looking at the culture and environment. It may be that wages need an adjustment OR it may be that bad experiences make the job not feel "worth it" anymore for the same salary.

What about meaning and purpose?

Healthcare workers are deeply altruistic, and 87% report a high sense of meaning in their work. Because of this, they often tolerate conditions that would not persist in other industries. 30-hour call shifts in banking? Nope.

Our research also found that while people with a high sense of meaning in their work were more likely to stay and recommend, meaning alone wasn’t enough to counteract a broken work environment.

A system built on the altruism of the workforce isn’t sustainable.

What about the Manager? Their fault, right?

Isn’t it “all about the manager?” You have probably heard the phrase, “People don’t leave their job, they leave their boss.” Our research says otherwise. While trust in the supervisor was statistically significant, trust in SENIOR leadership explained much more of the story. Trust in senior leadership was the #2 predictor on the list. What’s going on with that?

Let’s think about it this way. Even if I have a great relationship with my supervisor, if I don’t trust the people at the top, ultimately I am not safe here.

More to come on each of these dimensions and how we can address them. For now, take heart knowing that there are things you can address for free (belonging, recognition) that can make a big difference in recruitment and retention. People want more money and you don’t have more money? Double down on recognition, creating a great culture, and building trust. Not easy, but it is doable.

This research was the foundation for my new book with Quint Studer , The Human Margin: Building Foundations of Trust available now online.

Thank you to our amazing research team! Laurence Boitet, PhD C. Allen Gorman David Rogers Katherine Sweeney Nisha Patel Lauren Nassetta

#healthcareleadership #healthcaremanagement #healthcareindustry #healthcaretrends #healthcareexecutives #healthcareadministration #healthcareeducation #burnout #physicianburnout #physicians #nurses #trauma #trust #humanmargin #organizationalbehavior #leadership #management #employeeengagement #humanmargin #humancapital