HJBR Jan/Feb 2021

HOSPITAL HEALTH FORCE 14 JAN / FEB 2021 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE   from us. Understanding that not everyone is that at ease expressing themselves to their employer, we saw a need to offer an enhanced employee assistance program (EAP) that is offered to all staff and their family members. HALPHEN COVID-19 has made us look at the functionalities of all departments and not just recruiting for and staffing clinical areas. There is a new need among depart- ments brought on by COVID-19 to accom- modate for factors outside of our control such as required quarantine, home school- ing and remote working. We are support- ing our managers to ensure they have the capacity and the staff needed to keep their departments running efficiently. Editor What are the top three HR challenges you see today in your organization, and how are they being addressed? MANINT Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting! Staying competitive in a tight labor market. Our value proposition is to have as has- sle-free an existence for our employees as possible. Our approach to staff is that we employ the whole person – who may have a family and has their own set of external pressures or concerns – and seek to address their unique needs; if we can help take pres- sure away from work and help to meet the individual’s needs first, then they can con- centrate on patient care. SCHAFFER Healthcare talent demand is growing at an accelerated rate, healthcare worker burnout and fatigue, and healthcare worker expectations are changing. SEALS Nursing and workforce shortages, employee engagement and retention, and talent development are significant chal- lenges that we’re working to manage and overcome. We’ve put extensive resources into devel- oping several workforce programs that will help train the next generation of health professionals. This also helps people who are unemployed or underemployed. Our workforce development team is continu- ally looking for ways to partner with com- munity academic partners to provide new pathways for employment across our com- munity and new pipelines to help us fill crit- ical talent shortages. Employee engagement and retention are always a big focus, but our employees’needs have evolved in recent months. Some efforts to address this include creating a childcare program during school closures, imple- menting Zoom and other technology to sup- port communication with remote workers and continued retention and engagement coaching for leaders. So many aspects of our lives have changed rapidly over the last several months. It’s been essential that Ochsner be responsive to those changing “The nursing shortage is well documented, and the pandemic has caused more stress and strain – particularly at the beginning of the crisis. Allied health positions, specifically respiratory therapists, are having additional demands, and we are in an extremely tight labor market trying to recruit from a small pool of qualified individuals. Nursing support, which is so critical to any hospital, is also a challenge. It’s hard work that is not suited to everyone.” – Anne Segura Manint, Baton Rouge General