Healthcare organizations are finding themselves in a bit of a quandary these days as they deal with staffing shortages and increasing patient demands. They’re also finding themselves in an environment marked by rapid technological advances—like generative AI (GenAI)—and increasing competition from new sources that are no longer physically present in their market areas.
Today healthcare consumers have a wide range of options and they’re continually searching for the best of the bunch.
Maintaining that trusted position in consumers’ minds, though, requires ensuring that staff is well-trained in both clinical and service competencies—and that they’re able to maintain productivity in the midst of new technology demands.
But how can organizations decide to invest in training—and the time off required to participate in training—when they’re already facing a myriad of demands? How can they afford to make these training investments?
We like to flip this question. What you should be asking yourself is: “How can we afford to NOT make this investment in training?”
The problem is that healthcare organizations invest significantly in training without tangible ROI. We have an antidote to that problem.
The Baird 4-Phase Model for Training Impact
We advise the organizations we work with—whether training, coaching, or consulting—to take the time to plan and follow a 4-phase model for impact. This is how it looks.
Successful training that demonstrates a positive ROI requires assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. Too often organizations only take one of these steps—implementation—and ignore the other three. Instead, we recommend:
- Assessing the need and expected outcomes for the training. This requires articulating the primary goal of the training and how training will contribute to organizational priorities and strategies. What metrics will you use to measure impact (including both leading and lagging indicators). Who will be included in the training—what do they already know, what are the gaps that need to be filled, what barriers to long-term behavior change exist and how will you address those barriers?
- Planning for training delivery. Content and messaging must be tailored to your audience in light of your training objectives. Here you’ll also identify an executive sponsor and best-in-class leaders who can serve as champions for the training even after the training has been delivered. You’ll also establish key performance indicators (KPIs) that will be used to evaluate success.
- Implement the training. This might involve a combination of live, on-demand, synchronous and asynchronous delivery. You’ll need to train and support those who will be delivering the training. You’ll need to make sure that leaders are prepared to follow up with attendees through ongoing coaching and support. And you’ll want to identify opportunities to share stories and successes that can reinforce learning.
- Evaluation will include input and feedback from trainees, as well as feedback from department managers and supervisors on changes they’ve observed. Based on your evaluation you’ll want to identify areas of opportunity for improvement for future training as well as opportunities for support and reinforcement to ensure training sticks and has a measurable impact on the organization.
To extend the impact of training beyond the actual training sessions we recommend the use of drumbeat messaging frameworks to reinforce specific behaviors tied to organizational priorities.
Evaluation in Action
Here’s how this might work in practice. We worked with a Midwest hospital system that wanted to reduce nurse turnover by 30%. That was their training objective. Based on feedback received from staff and managers we designed training to address cultural issues and barriers that were leading to dissatisfaction. We co-designed simulations to embed the hospital system’s patient-first values into shift-change protocols and conflict resolution. And we established communication channels and means to reinforce training back on the job.
Twelve months later we were able to demonstrate a 34% improvement in retention and a jump of 18 points in patient satisfaction scores.
This is the kind of ROI that can clearly and objectively demonstrate value and support the importance of investing in education and training.
It doesn’t cost—when done right, it pays!
Tags: effective leadership training, effective training, efficient training, employee training, leadership training, strategic training in healthcare, training investment, training ROI
