The employee length of stay is a strong measure of a company’s employee retention, recruitment, and morale program. Briefly, the length of stay or employee tenure is a statistic similar to that of behavioral health clients. It looks at the average amount of time between an employee’s first day of onboarding to their last day of employment.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average employee length of stay is about four years, which also applies to behavioral health. Traditionally, behavioral health employees view each agency as a stopping point in their career journey. Many are Bachelor’s level staff earning their Master’s degrees while working. Or they are Master’s level clinicians seeking hours for their licensure. Either way, they use the agency as a stop for experience while they attain their final goal (whatever that is).
The Great Resignation put a monkey wrench in this equation, possibly lowering the employee length of stay. Employees left their organizations due to wages, lack of recognition, no upward mobility, or burnout. But there are three ways to rectify this problem and regain employee retention.
1. Hire the right people. Joni Coccagna and David Murdock with Kaufman Hall and Associates discuss ways to improve the recruiting process. Along with their discussion, executives in behavioral health need to find the right person for the job. Jobs are more about the qualities a person has vs. their experience. For example, staff who work in the field need to be more independent, conscientious, and energetic. A candidate who does not fit these criteria, regardless of how long they’ve been doing the job, will not succeed.
2. Train employees. One of the major reasons for burnout is that employees lack the competencies to work with clients. And with clients having higher acuity of symptoms now than before, the need for skill-building doesn’t stop. Furthermore, documentation skills must also be a priority to ensure a longer employee length of stay. Because when their skills lack, they are frustrated and want to leave their job for greener pastures. Better knowledge of how to work with clients leaves employees more comfortable with their work.
3. Recognize employee achievements. In one company, when they had their monthly staff meetings for all employees, awards were given. Along with these awards were cash, gift cards, and certificates. The amount of these prizes was not large, mostly under $10. But the principle of acknowledging employees, especially when employees make an effort to improve, reaps huge rewards in loyalty, comradery, and longevity. And there are resources for these rewards.
Praxes provides employee retention and recruitment consulting services for behavioral health agencies. For more information, please contact us.
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PRAXES is a nationwide behavioral health software, consulting, and training company. No one in the behavioral health industry has a better reputation, and if you give us the chance, we’ll show you why! At PRAXES, our services improve the efficiency and structure of behavioral health agencies serving children and families nationwide. PRAXES brings over 45 years of administrative and clinical expertise. With more than 100 client companies nationwide, we offer the expertise to advance the quality of behavioral health services. We accomplish these goals through our new clinical decision software, our training of best practices, and helping companies meet regulatory standards. At PRAXES, we believe in being creative and fostering new ways to serve children and their families. Our vision is to empower the families our agencies serve with skills that not only improve their functioning, but help them to thrive in their everyday lives. When you give us the chance, you’ll be connected directly to our friendly staff, so you can expect immediate attention to your inquiry. So, don’t wait, call now!
Dan Thorne has unique perspectives on the field of mental health. As a clinician, he has had over 40 years of experience working with clients in the Southern California area. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Irvine, he worked with children in the Orange County Juvenile Hall. Here he honed his earliest techniques on at-risk children. After that, he obtained his Master’s degree in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton.
In the 1990’s, Dan turned his attention to the clinical and administrative side of behavioral health organizations. For three years, he was the Assistant Administrator of Starting Point, a chemical dependency facility in Costa Mesa, CA. In 2001, he took an opportunity to be the Director of Harbor View Community Services Center in Long Beach. When he arrived, the Center had only 80 clients and 13 staff. When he left, there were over 400 clients and 75 staff. Dan created several programs through their contract with the Los Angeles County Departments of Mental Health and Child and Family Services. Under his guidance, Harbor View became one of the leading providers of children’s services in Los Angeles County.
While improving the results of the client’s parents at the Center, Dan reflected on his experiences as a parent. His children themselves had special needs such as mental and intellectual challenges, and Dan knew the toll it takes on the parent. In order to help the child, the parent has to be healthy. From this concept, he created his parenting program. After years of refining it, teaching it to his staff at the Center, and then taking the results and comments from these efforts, he became the developer of the current PRAXES program. It is a culmination of Dan’s personal trials and tribulations as a parent along with empirical results and research of over 40 parenting programs.
Our vision at PRAXES is to advance the strength of parents and caregivers of children with special needs (mental health, intellectual, or physical) through education, support, and empowerment. Thus, they can live healthy and functional lives while caring for the child.
Apogee is a clinical decision software designed to help behavioral health practitioners with their treatment and patient engagement. It provides evidence-based and research-based components. Not only do they consist of elements from such practices as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Seeking Safety, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Functional Behavior Analysis, but also the Intensive Models for Parents, Youth, and Children.
PRAXES has over 30 years of accreditation experience. We know what it takes to get your organization accredited. Whether it’s Joint Commission, CARF, or COA, our team can provide an evaluation of your current status and review the standards which need improvements. We will assist you with the policies, documentation, and training required to be accredited.
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