The healthcare industry is facing a crisis: a critical shortage of qualified workers.
A study in the JAMA Health Forum describes the mass healthcare worker exodus as “substantial and persistent,” while a report by Elsevier Health discovered that 47% of healthcare workers in the U.S. plan to leave their jobs by 2025.
Although the numbers are frightening, there are proactive approaches that can be taken by healthcare leaders to alleviate the burden on their workers. The most prepared healthcare organizations are taking steps to invest in learning and development programs for employees, as well as technology to optimize workflows and promote productivity.
Because our world of work is becoming more and more digitally focused, you have more options than ever before to empower your workers with powerful digital solutions, such as digital training programs and digital adoption platforms (DAPs).
Digital Training and Adoption in Healthcare Organizations
DAPs are innovative tools revolutionizing how healthcare organizations leverage their technology investments and tackle employee onboarding and learning and development efforts. For more information on DAPs and why they are necessary for a successful digital adoption, read this blog post.
By providing interactive walkthroughs and in-context guidance layered directly on top of your existing applications, DAPs empower your employees to quickly and successfully utilize complex digital software. This is particularly crucial for the healthcare industry, where staff often juggle multiple applications for electronic health records (EHRs), patient management, and administrative tasks.
In addition to DAPs, digital training can help healthcare organizations upskill their existing workforce and prepare them for evolving roles. Online courses, step-by-step practice tutorials, and interactive modules offer flexible and scalable learning opportunities.
Accelerating Onboarding Efforts
When it comes to onboarding new employees, the healthcare industry faces unique challenges, some of which are outlined below:
- Ever-changing regulations that are time-consuming and complex to train new hires on
- Variety of training modalities due to the wide range of professionals employed by healthcare organizations, from physicians and nurses to administrative staff, making a one-size-fits-all onboarding program nearly impossible
- Time crunches due to the need to quickly fill vacancies, which can result in new employees not feeling adequately trained
- Access to sensitive patient information requires all new hires to fully understand and adhere to data privacy and security regulations. In 2024, the penalties for HIPAA violations include civil monetary penalties ranging from $137 to $68,928 per violation, depending on the level of culpability. Yikes!
A well-structured, comprehensive onboarding program tailored to your healthcare organization’s specific needs is crucial for retaining new staff and getting them contributing effectively as soon as possible. Utilizing online learning platforms, such as a digital adoption platform (DAP) or a digital training program, can provide new hires with a more interactive and engaging onboarding experience.
DAPs are revolutionizing employee onboarding by eliminating the need for lengthy in-person training sessions, ensuring your new hires get up to speed quickly and confidently by providing guidance within the applications they are using in real time.
In today’s healthcare workforce shortage, a positive and intentional onboarding process is critical to attracting and retaining top talent while protecting the company from hefty compliance fines. Investing in digital training tools for new employee onboarding can accelerate new hires’ acclimation into the workplace and create a culture promoting staff satisfaction and ultimately, retention.
Maximizing Efficiency
While an effective onboarding process and ongoing support is paramount to retaining valuable workers, new hires aren’t the only population that you should be focusing on.
It’s no secret that today’s healthcare industry is extremely different than it was just five years ago. And as the healthcare industry continues to expand its utilization of technology and digital solutions, you must ensure that your workforce is staying on top of inevitable changes to maintain high-quality delivery of patient care. To successfully achieve this, your existing employees must be offered upskilling and reskilling opportunities.
Digital training and adoption are key parts of successfully upskilling and reskilling your healthcare workforce. “Upskilling” refers to training that expands on an employee’s existing skillset and aims to avoid skill gaps in their current role. “Reskilling” refers to training an employee in completely new skills to prepare them for a new position. The success of upskilling and reskilling your healthcare workforce hinges on the effectiveness of the training you provide employees.
Digital training programs, along with digital adoption platforms (DAPs), provide the following benefits when it comes to upskilling and reskilling your workforce:
- Insight into skill gaps: A DAP offers employee data analytics to determine specific skills and knowledge required to meet current job requirements and stay ahead of any future challenges.
- Increased efficiency: Using the collected data, you can ensure that employee training is prioritizing areas where upskilling or reskilling is most critical to improve efficiency and patient outcomes.
- Flexible training offerings: Digital training programs allow employees to access their training on their own time, no matter where they are, increasing flexibility and accessibility.
- Higher retention rates: DAPs break down complex topics into bite-sized, easily digestible modules, sometimes referred to as “microlearning,” so employees are not overwhelmed by a large amount of training content at once. To learn more about microlearning and how it promotes higher retention rates, read our blog.
- Interactive learning: Designed around practical application and interactive learning experiences, digital training programs allow your employees to walk through new processes in a safe practice environment before having to perform them in your live environment. And once in your live environment, a DAP offers real-time, targeted support if employees need a refresher.
- Boosted workplace morale: Providing intentional training solutions for your workforce is a great way to foster a culture where employees are motivated and encouraged to learn and develop new skills, boosting overall employee satisfaction.
By implementing these strategies, your healthcare organization can build a highly skilled and adaptable workforce that is equipped to meet the challenges of the future and deliver exceptional patient care.
The Winning Formula: Efficiency + Onboarding =
A Stronger, Compliant Workforce
By maximizing efficiency and accelerating onboarding, healthcare facilities can empower their existing staff and integrate new hires seamlessly. This reduces burnout, improves morale, and creates a more productive and resilient workforce. Remember, a happy and efficient team is better equipped to handle the demands of a growing patient population.
Technology is a powerful tool, but it’s not a fix for everything. It’s about using these strategies to free up caregivers’ time, not to replace them. When healthcare organizations care for, support, and empower their staff, they can deliver the exceptional care your patients deserve.
Digital adoption platforms and digital training are innovative and essential tools for healthcare organizations looking to overcome the workforce shortage crisis. By investing in these technologies, healthcare providers can optimize their existing staff, accelerate onboarding initiatives, and focus on providing exceptional patient care. It’s time to embrace digital transformation to build a stronger, more resilient healthcare workforce.
Maverick provides both digital adoption AND digital training through our ENGAGE platform, so that your healthcare organization has the tools required to successfully attract, onboard, upskill, and retain valuable employees.
If you are interested in learning more about how Maverick ENGAGE combines digital adoption and digital training to empower and equip your healthcare workforce, click the button below to send our team a message and we’ll get in touch with you.
