As Employee Value Proposition Evolves, Be Mindful of What Drives Top Performers

Editor’s note: At the recent Treatment Center Investment & Valuation Retreat West, David Long was a co-presenter on a session highlighting best practices for behavioral healthcare organizations developing a robust workforce. Below, Long shares insights from his portion of the presentation.

The teammate value proposition across many industries—notably healthcare—has undergone seismic shifts, and employers would be wise to take heed. While a competitive salary and affordable healthcare are “table stakes,” teammates are now looking for much more. Living and working through the pandemic has helped to redefine the “value equation” that employers and teammates create together—shining a brighter light on purpose-driven work and the daily teammate experience.

When considering the value proposition, it’s important to be mindful of 2 things:

1. What attracts a candidate to an organization is not always what will keep a teammate at an organization.
2. The value proposition will often vary by role, requiring different messaging and programming.

What attracts and retains front-line clinical and medical teammates is often very different from what attracts and retains administrative or support staff. Therefore, it’s critically important to have an open line of communication with your prospective candidates and current teammates on the items that they find valuable.

Take a nurse for example. What attracts a nurse to an organization is often a competitive starting wage, schedule flexibility, and an organization with a strong reputation of high quality of care. Additionally, what will often retain a nurse with an organization is ongoing professional development, recognition and “frictionless” patient care.

Pinnacle Treatment Centers (PTC) worked with the consulting firm Gartner to understand, on a deeper level, the drivers of the new value proposition—which they have called “The Human Deal.” The Human Deal is made up of 5 distinct areas that teammates across industries—especially healthcare want more of. These areas consist of the following:

Shared purpose. Make teammates feel invested by taking action on societal and cultural issues. At PTC, for example, we learned that the No. 1 attractor for nurses to our organization was the ability to work with patients suffering from the disease of addiction.

Radical flexibility. Make teammates feel autonomous by giving them flexibility to decide where, when, how much and how and with whom they work. Creative scheduling can be accomplished by providing four 10-hour shifts, remote work arrangements (where able), and through fostering work-life “harmonization” vs. “balance” as a concept.

Personal growth. Make teammates feel valued by providing them with personal growth opportunities. PTC often pays for counselors’ supervision to be able to secure next-level certification or licensure. Employers can also partner with local universities to secure scholarships and discounts for continuing education. All activities should be detailed in an individual development plan process that is outside of regular annual reviews.

Deeper connections. Make teammates feel understood by helping them be themselves and maintain their personal connections. At PTC, for example, the Pinnacle of Excellence platform recognizes staff for important milestones, such as tenure, promotions, and shout-outs, and for living our core values.

Holistic well-being. Make teammates feel cared for by providing them a complete set of well-being offerings and ensuring they use them. Wellness can be encouraged through different programs, such as paying folks to keep up on preventative healthcare, providing rich time-away offerings (holidays/PTO), step challenges, and other fun committee activities.

In summary, to compete for a limited talent pool, especially in behavioral health, employers need to routinely communicate with their candidates and teammates to understand what attracts prospective candidates and the various drivers that retain them.

David Long is chief talent officer for Pinnacle Treatment Centers.

The views expressed in Perspectives are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Behavioral Healthcare Executive, the Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Learning Network, or other Network authors. Perspectives entries are not medical advice.

Reference

Davis J, Long D, Carvalho J. Building a robust workforce at all organizational levels. Presented at Treatment Center Investment & Valuation Retreat West. November 27-29, 2023; Scottsdale, Arizona.