Status of Hospital Foodservice Training Programs and Turnover Rates

Abstract

Hospital foodservice departments have experienced higher than desirable turnover rates for at least twenty years. This study was designed to determine if the turnover rates were related to, or effected by, status of training programs. A randomized sample of 400 hospitals was chosen from a national listing to be surveyed for this information. The 28-item double pilot-tested survey was addressed to foodservice directors for completion and return. The survey asked questions regarding: presence of a training program, budget for training, qualifications of trainer/educators, components of the training programs, department demographics and turnover rates. By studying possible reasons for higher turnover rates and possible relationships to certain variables, foodservice administrators can propose departmental programs that may actually reduce future operating costs by reducing the high cost of turnover. Our results indicated no significant difference between groups in which training was provided, number of hours spent training, inclusion of performance appraisals, or budget for training. However, a significant difference in turnover was seen between groups of departments that had been under the same structure for 18 years or greater. Those departments whose management structure had remained unchanged for more than 18 years, had higher turnover rates.