Five key findings:
1. Hospital turnover occurs most often among medical professionals with tenures of one to three years. The survey found that 62% of hospitals reported increased turnover among nurses, 41% experienced higher departures among non-physician clinical positions and 22% said that physicians are leaving more often than the prior 12 months.
2. Over the last year, to address talent recruitment and retention, 70% of hospitals implemented or bolstered sign-on bonuses, 59% increased new hire pay, 54% upped minimum wage scales and 52% increased or added referral bonus programs.
3. In 2023, hospitals also provided premium benefits to reward employees. Following is a breakdown of the benefits hospitals reported they are offering to recruit and retain talent:
- Tuition reimbursement programs (95%)
- Flexible work options (93%, up from 78% in 2022)
- Personal leave (84%, up from 74% in 2022)
- Financial wellness/planning (80%, up from 72% in 2022)
- Gender-affirming benefits (64%, up from 45%in 2022)
- Enhanced behavioral health benefits (57%, up from 40% in 2022)
- Reduced hours for benefits eligibility (53%)
- Paid parental leave beyond state and city mandates (45%)
- Student loan repayment plans, (44%, with an additional 37% considering this option in 2024)
- Subsidy for adoption (43%)
- Back-up childcare (34%)
- Expanded fertility coverage beyond the medical plan (30%)
- On-site daycare (28%)
- Subsidies for back-up elder care (25%)
4. Aon also found that average annual health plan expenses per hospital beneficiary increased 6.7% year over year to $16,151 in 2023. Eighty-two percent of hospitals aim to pay 76% or more of their employees’ healthcare costs and 13% offer a no-cost health plan option to some segment of their employee population. Seventy-six percent of health systems also provide a discount to employees to access their own facilities and providers.
5. Despite increases in total rewards, health systems remain concerned about their workforce heading into 2024. Top concerns include:
- Access to mental health services (89%)
- Employee burnout/workforce resiliency (8%)
- Offering competitive total rewards to attract and retain talent (85%)
- Increasing healthcare costs for the health system (85%)
- Improving health outcomes (83%)
“The top priority for hospitals is to attract and retain front-line medical professionals in the face of a nationwide talent shortage and a surge of demand for medical care after the pandemic,” Sheena Singh, senior vice president of Aon’s national healthcare industry practice, said in a news release. “This shortage threatens to impact patient care and accelerate burnout among clinical staff. As a result, health systems have prioritized investment in total rewards and support for workforce resiliency and mental health.”
Click here to access the full survey from Aon.
