In the current socio-economic environment, health care is undergoing substantial innovation. Human resource (HR) development and management have become central to the operations of any organization. The process of efficient health care service delivery which begins with health systems inputs depends on human factors such as employees and patients. A competent human resource management (HRM) model in a health care organization focuses on providing adequate support and supervisory communication to focus on the relevant issues of patient satisfaction and staff retention.
Health Care Hiring Practices
Patient satisfaction has become a leading priority for health care organizations. It is a major indicator of quality assurance of care, which results in positive feedback and an increased rate of return from patients. The rising level of consumerism and the availability of information drastically influenced the expectations of health care delivery in the community. The US health system is shifting its emphasis from volume to value-based care. Patients now expect thorough access, engagement, and communication.
Through a holistic and humanistic approach, the structure of essential medical facilities and services should be optimized to the patient’s needs. The hospital governance and all sections of the workforce should be oriented towards the patient-centered approach. This allows for decreased costs, streamlined operations, and delivery of superior outcomes in the hospital function (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013).
However, patient-centered care is actively implemented and developed through the organization staff and workplace culture. Employee satisfaction is directly linked to the level of productivity and patient-centered behavior. Fatigue, stress, and burnout all contribute to employee success and retention in an acute care environment (Berman, 2016). Staff retention and lack of specialists have become an acute issue with the population gaining broad access to health care as per the Affordable Care Act.
The profound costs associated with hiring and training employees, especially nurses, should be a worthwhile investment. Competent hiring practices and further orientation training should be focused on molding a culture of commitment to accountability and patient-centered care. Human service management is responsible for developing a recruitment process that properly filters potential employees based on core values. While clinical functions can be taught, no amount of training can alter attitude and behavior. Therefore, it is crucial to find people with a proper fit in the organizational culture which will reduce the staff turnover rate and streamline the hospital’s financial solvency (HealthcareSource, 2012).
Hiring practices are strictly guided by federal labor laws which must be considered. One common law is the Americans with Disabilities Act which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. It seeks to eliminate unfair treatment or any harassment, with employers expected to provide reasonable accommodation in performing or applying for a job. In an acute care environment, there are a variety of positions.
While some require physical stamina and ability, some duties can be fulfilled by qualified individuals with the necessary accommodation. As a health care facility, it is the focus of the system to maintain and promote health and acceptance. It is important to maintain impartiality and seek out qualified individuals to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2011).
Human Resources Model
One of the primary roles of human resource management is to make meaningful changes to the system through the reorganization of human capital. In turn, it will improve operational efficiency, create a workplace culture, and optimize costs. The framework for this transformation design should be human-centered, from both the employee and the patient perspectives. An ideal HRM model to fit the needs of an acute care facility in the restructuring process is the 5 Ps of organizational architecture.
It consists of purpose, passion, partnership, potential, and prosperity. Purpose and passion serve as the foundations to change as leaders undertake the task of transforming the culture with calculated intent and input from numerous perspectives, such as HRM, which is passionately engaged in the process. The partnership aspect is key to a cohesive workforce that can methodically find solutions through the cooperation of various professionals in the industry.
It is also important to consider partnerships with patients and their families, as their input is critical to patient-centered quality care in an acute care hospital. Investment in community partnerships is necessary for transformational changes by collaborating on projects that improve population health. Potential is exhibited through a compelling implementation of the previous steps as investments show promise of desired outcomes. Finally, prosperity revolves around attaining the returns on all applied investments and operational changes. The organization grows culturally and financially; therefore, able to invest further in the human capital and local community. A thorough and holistic approach to HRM using this ideological model creates a successful hospital environment and finds solutions to any ongoing issues with patient care quality and staff retention (Balik, MacAllister, & White, 2016).
Organizational Strategies
The recent evolution of the role of human resources in organizations gives the department a more strategic role. HR now participates in the formulation of strategy with executive management, directly involved in the decision-making process. The involvement of HR in the process provides a perspective of staff competencies and mobilization opportunities towards certain projects. Further, the department engages in recruitment and training to develop necessary roles and optimize organizational performance. The growing role of HR in strategic partnership provides the metrics and analytics for accurate human capital practices and programs in an organization (Khan, 2014).
In many hospital environments, there is an apparent lack of strategic objectives and coherent direction for the workplace culture and cooperation. The HR departments have been overlooked lacking the organizational capacity or competent management to provide significant input to clinical and employee practices. Acute care facilities require a streamlined operation that provides quality care by trained staff at an efficient budget capacity. By restructuring human resource management and involving it in the highest level of organizational strategy creates a more effective hospital function.
In addition to strategic decision-making on the operational direction of the organization, HRM directly cooperates with department managers and top executives to develop a greater return on the workforce investment. This includes leadership roles, workforce planning, and talent management. Advanced workforce analytics provides an indispensable tool for executives when selecting strategies or identifying critical data that needs immediate attention.
The most efficient method to establish a continuous and meaningful relationship between HRM and executive leadership is through the implementation of a performance management system to maximize employee efficiency. An acute care medical facility should be flexible and adaptable to changes in operation while maintaining stable human capital effectiveness. By working with top executives on general strategy and individual department heads on smaller occupational objectives to develop and monitor, HRM fulfills an essential role in the organization (SAGE HRMS, 2015).
References
Balik, B., MacAllister, L., & White, K. (2016). How to use the 5 P’s of transformational design to build better health care spaces. Hospitals & Health Networks. Web.
Berman, S. (2016). Why human resources policies and practices are critical to improving the patient experience. Patient Experience Journal, 3(2), 9-11. Web.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Healthcare service delivery transformation: Trends in care delivery and community health. Web.
HealthcareSource. (2012). Healthcare HR and the bottom line: 5 focus areas for improving HCAHPS scores. Web.
Khan, D. (2014): HR as a strategic partner: A critical review. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 4(1). Web.
SAGE HRMS. (2015). The critical relationship between the CEO and human resources. Web.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2011). Questions and answers about health care workers and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Web.