Staff Departures Research Articles

The Human Cost of Attrition: A Qualitative Study of Preceptor Experiences in an Acute Care Setting

There is a knowledge gap concerning preceptor experiences, feelings, and attitudes following departure of recently trained staff. Employee resignations and insufficient academic admissions to backfill current vacancies reinforce the critical need to support preceptors responsible for staff on-boarding. This paper presents a study on a qualitative approach to explore preceptor feelings, attitudes, and experiences following voluntary departure of recently trained staff. Themes included preceptor role commitment, feelings of inadequacy and emotional distress, the need to find closure following staff departures, variances in intrinsic motivation, and perceptions of disengaged and unsupportive managers. The results of the study emphasize the importance of manager-preceptor communication, strengthening preceptor mentoring, and educating managers on the preceptor role.

Analysis and Countermeasures On the Reasons of Employee Departure in Small and Medium-sized Private Enterprises

In recent years, China's small and medium-sized private enterprises have developed rapidly, providing more employment opportunities for people, but the phenomenon of personnel leaving small and medium-sized private enterprises in China is becoming more and more serious, and personnel leaving will increase the replacement cost of enterprise human resources, destroy the cohesion of the enterprise, and affect the development strategy of the enterprise, the problem of personnel leaving has become a big problem for small and medium-sized private enterprises in China. Excessive staff departures reflect the poor human resource management of small and medium-sized private enterprises in China, which can make enterprises pay high human costs. In this paper, we analyze the reasons for the separation of small and medium-sized private enterprises in China, and propose corresponding measures to solve the problem, hoping that small and medium-sized private enterprises in China will pay attention to the problem of personnel separation, and the phenomenon of excessive personnel separation can be improved.

Changing Times

Changing Times

Association of State COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates With Staff Vaccination Coverage and Staffing Shortages in US Nursing Homes

Several states implemented COVID-19 vaccine mandates for nursing home employees, which may have improved vaccine coverage but may have had the unintended consequence of staff departures. To assess whether state vaccine mandates for US nursing home employees are associated with staff vaccination rates and reported staff shortages. This cohort study performed event study analyses using National Healthcare Safety Network data from June 6, 2021, through November 14, 2021. Changes in weekly staff vaccination rates and reported staffing shortages were evaluated for nursing homes in states with mandates after the mandate announcement compared with changes in facilities in nonmandate states. An interaction between the mandates and county political leaning was considered. Data analysis was performed from February to March 2022. Weeks after announcement of a state's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Weekly percentage of all health care staff at a nursing home who received at least 1 COVID-19 vaccine dose, and a weekly indicator of whether a nursing home reported a staffing shortage. Among 38 study-eligible states, 26 had no COVID-19 vaccine mandate for nursing home employees, 4 had a mandate with a test-out option, and 8 had a mandate with no test-out option. Ten weeks or more after mandate announcement, nursing homes in states with a mandate and no test-out option experienced a 6.9 percentage point (pp) increase in staff vaccination coverage (95% CI, -0.1 to 13.9); nursing homes in mandate states with a test-out option experienced a 3.1 pp increase (95% CI, 0.5 to 5.7) compared with facilities in nonmandate states. No significant increases were detected in the frequency of reported staffing shortages after a mandate announcement in mandate states with or without test-out options. Increases in vaccination rates in states with mandates were larger in Republican-leaning counties (14.3 pp if no test-out option; 4.3 pp with option), and there was no evidence of increased staffing shortages. The findings of this cohort study suggest that state-level vaccine mandates were associated with increased staff vaccination coverage without increases in reported staffing shortages. Vaccination increases were largest when mandates had no test-out option and were also larger in Republican-leaning counties, which had lower mean baseline vaccination rates. These findings support the use of state mandates for booster doses for nursing home employees because they may improve vaccine coverage, even in areas with greater vaccine hesitancy.

Safety and Relational Continuity in Sport for Development With Marginalized Young People

Sport for development (SFD) is often used to engage young people in programs that target a range of issues, such as disengagement or marginalization. However, if designed inappropriately, SFD can do more harm than good by reinforcing social divides or past trauma. Consequently, scholars suggest that future research should delve beyond program impacts and examine the importance of safe spaces within SFD programs. In light of this, we explored how program design, delivery, and staffing can impact the creation and maintenance of a safe space and continuity in an SFD program targeting young people and how this can change over time. Adopting an ethnographic approach, findings highlighted how safety and relational continuity was fostered via social networks, support, belonging, and external opportunities. Conversely, instability and discontinuity became an issue with staff departures and participants’ personal difficulties.

MH clinicians decry SMI patient care in Massachusetts psychiatry department

As a Massachusetts health care system embarks on a new “patient‐centered” treatment model for patients with serious mental illness, mental health clinicians are expressing dissatisfaction following high staff departures, overwhelming caseloads, ER patient boarding and inability to communicate effectively with leadership.

Staff departures, program changes cause consternation for Iowa advocates

A convergence of events as the calendar turns to July has Iowa mental health advocates feeling uneasy about several developments, with last month's departure of the state's human services director at the center of their concerns.

How Knowledge Management Can Capture Untapped Alpha: A Case Study of Informed Rebalancing at the San Bernardino County Employees’ Retirement Association

Asset owners have to deal with the challenge of a potentially low-yielding investment environment for the foreseeable future and the likelihood of a market correction in the nearer term, with Q4 2018 providing a simple reminder of the downside risk of asset allocation. The traditional approach for many asset owners has been to use external managers to achieve their goals and hope that diversification will allow them to navigate difficult markets. A complementary strategy is to use knowledge management to improve returns and governance and capture a typically untapped alpha source in portfolios. Knowledge management in institutional asset management is defined as the explicit and systematic management of knowledge – and its associated processes of creation, organization, diffusion, use and exploitation – in pursuit of improving portfolio performance and managing risks. This paper highlights how the San Bernardino County Employees’ Retirement Association (SBCERA) used Knowledge Management and InvestTech to develop its own internal investment model to dynamically manage asset allocations and has added over $1billion (over 12 years) through its Informed Rebalancing program. In doing so, the portfolio and risks are better managed by the investment team and the program has survived many staff departures demonstrating that knowledge has been institutionalized. This approach is easily replicable by other asset owners, and each fund can develop its own bespoke approach based on their objectives and abilities.

SWOT-анализ государственно-частного партнерства в агропромышленном комплексе Российской Федерации

The study focuses on the project implementation as a part of the public-private partnership (PPP) by a case study of Russian agribusiness. The research provides a brief overview of the background to the PPP. The present-day PPP types are described in detail as well. The author raises the issue of insufficient investor activity while implementing the PPP projects in the Russian agrarian sector due to the emphasis placed on infrastructure and other projects. It is important to understand that the decelerated development of a settlement as a social and economic system leads to the departure of staff from the agro-industry. Therefore, the agricultural project implementation should be accompanied by a positive social effect. In addition, it is recommended to take into account the social effect in the target performance indicators of the projects that can promote the agribusiness in future. Moreover, the human capital formation in the agrarian sector will significantly increase the opportunities for the technological efficiency of agricultural production and indirectly lay the groundwork for improving the life quality in the municipal units related to the agro-industry. The study discusses the agribusiness clustering, since such a vertically integrated value chain has a synergetic effect and can provide more substantial returns from the PPP projects in the agrarian sector.

A Raisin Brings the Sun.

A Raisin Brings the Sun.

Moving On: Voluntary Staff Departures at Small Colleges and Universities

Although voluntary departures are frequent among new professional student affairs staff members at small colleges and universities, there is little systematic study of the processes involved in departing a job at one campus to accept a student affairs position at another. Potentially awkward dynamics surrounding staff departures can complicate professional relationships and reputations, and unanticipated staff departures often result in increased work demands for staff members who remain. This study explored professional and developmental dimensions of voluntary departures of student affairs staff members at small colleges and universities using aspects of the transitions model (Schlossberg, Waters, & Goodman, 1995) and the synergistic supervision model (Winston & Creamer, 1997) as principal theoretical frameworks. Findings indicate that supervisors and graduate faculty members can assist new professionals and junior colleagues to regard voluntary departures as predictable occurrences related to career advancement and/or personal fulfillment that, in cooperation with dedicated supervisors, can be professionally managed. Ideally, supervisors and supervisees should have early discussions about departure expectations and processes.

The Role of Staff Turnover in the Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices in Mental Health Care

This study examined turnover rates of teams implementing psychosocial evidence-based practices in public-sector mental health settings. It also explored the relationship between turnover and implementation outcomes in an effort to understand whether practitioner perspectives on turnover are related to implementation outcomes. Team turnover was measured for 42 implementing teams participating in a national demonstration project examining implementation of five evidence-based practices between 2002 and 2005. Regression techniques were used to analyze the effects of team turnover on penetration and fidelity. Qualitative data collected throughout the project were blended with the quantitative data to examine the significance of team turnover to those attempting to implement the practices. High team turnover was common (M+/-SD=81%+/-46%) and did not vary by practice. The 24-month turnover rate was inversely related to fidelity scores at 24 months (N=40, beta=-.005, p=.01). A negative trend was observed for penetration. Further analysis indicated that 71% of teams noted that turnover was a relevant factor in implementation. The behavioral health workforce remains in flux. High turnover most often had a negative impact on implementation, although some teams were able to use strategies to improve implementation through turnover. Implementation models must consider turbulent behavioral health workforce conditions.

Achieving a balanced organizational structure in professional services firms: some lessons from a modeling project

AbstractWhile many factors affect the organizational shape that managers in professional services firms should achieve, one has the greatest importance: the ratio of junior, mid‐level, and senior staff, usually referred to as a firm's leverage. The tensions between short‐term (market demand and firm profitability—a static equilibrium issue) and long‐term issues (organizational structure and professional development—a dynamic equilibrium issue) were analyzed in a modeling for learning project. Managing a professional service firm implies important trade‐offs between satisfying staff development and financial performance. A hiring and promotion proactive policy aimed at satisfying professional staff development leads to an expensive organizational structure without any certainty for future growth perspectives. However, a reactive hiring policy is not better since it burns out mid‐level staff due to delays in training and hiring, which increase staff departures. Therefore, a widely applied “up‐or‐out promotion system” seems to be the right policy for managing professional services firms. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Durable Improvements in Efficiency, Safety, and Satisfaction in the Operating Room

Enhanced productivity and efficiency in the operating room must be balanced with patient safety and staff satisfaction. In December 2004, transition to an expanded replacement hospital resulted in mandatory overtime, unpredictable work hours, and poor morale among operating room (OR) staff. A staff-retention crisis resulted, which threatened the viability of the OR and the institution. We report the changes implemented to efficiently deliver safe patient care in a supportive environment for surgeons and OR staff. University of Alabama at Birmingham University Hospital OR data were evaluated for fiscal year 2004 and compared with fiscal years 2005 and 2006. Case volumes, number of operational ORs, and on-time case starts were evaluated. OR adverse events were tabulated. Percentage of registered nurse hires and staff departures served as a proxy for staff satisfaction. Short, intermediate, and longterm strategies were implemented by an engaged OR management committee with the guidance of surgical, anesthesia, and hospital leadership. These included new block time release policies; use of traveling nurses until new staff could be hired and trained; and incentive-based, voluntary, employee-scheduled overtime. Mandatory nursing education time was blocked weekly. Enforcement of the National Patient Safety Goals were implemented and adjudicated with a "surgeon-of-the-day" system providing backup for nurse management. We demonstrated an increase in operations per year, on-time starts, and registered nurse hires in fiscal years 2005 and 2006. During this same time, we were able to markedly decrease the number of adverse events, admitting delays, and staff departures. Change is difficult to accept but essential when vital clinical activities are impaired and at risk. To maintain important clinical environments like the OR in an academic center, we developed and implemented effective, data-driven changes. This allowed us to retain critical human resources and restore a supportive environment for the patients, the doctors, and the staff.

Navigating Pennsylvania's Dynamic Workforce: Succession Planning in a Complex Environment

Through its workforce and succession planning efforts, Pennsylvania is committed to proactively identifying, preparing for and maintaining pools of well-trained and motivated state government employees to assume critical positions of leadership. But the concept of leadership extends beyond senior-level positions within agencies. The goal in Pennsylvania is to improve leadership capabilities in every work unit and to encourage all employees to use their skills to build stronger teams. Leadership at all levels means equipping employees with the tools, skills and expectations to communicate effectively and foster leadership at every organizational level. Leadership at all levels ensures that no lack of business continuity results from staff departures such as retirements, resignations, promotions or reassignments or other situations in which an individual is unable to or unwilling to continue his or her role within an organization. As a follow-up to the case study “Pennsylvania's Changing Workforce: Planning Today With Tomorrow's Vision” ( Public Personnel Management, Vol. 33, No. 4, Winter 2004), this article advances workforce planning and details the manner in which the commonwealth actualizes sound succession planning principles and practices.