Manpower is a Health care organisation’s greatest asset and the development of this asset is critical for continued financial health of the organisation

1. Strategy
Health Biz Insight June 201728
By: AK Khandelwal
I
n the era of dynamic
and disruptive market of
healthcare, it is imperative
to train and develop staff of
an organisation to survive
and sustain. With the rapidly-
changing market, external
drivers like new technology,
consumer activism,
accreditation requirement,
and internal drivers like
delivery of quality care by
competent staffs, it is essential
that healthcare organisations
should invest in training of
their staff to improve their
bottom line. One can beat
competitors by increased
performance through training.
Staff is a critical asset for any
healthcare organisation, and
training and development
of this asset is essential for
survival and growth in the
present competitive market.
Importance
Studies have revealed that that
well-trained employees are
more productive, motivated,
effective and generally happier
in their positions. This leads
to better performance, more
productivity, increased
revenue, reduced expenses,
and higher turnover – all of
which positively impacts the
bottom line and provides a
distinct advantage over the
competitions.
It is a fact that too often,
organisations consider training
as an expense. And view it as a
waste of time and money. But
research has revealed that in
organisations where training
is rated low, attrition rate
can reach up to 41% and in
places where adequate training
is provided to employees,
attrition rate can be as low as
12%. Error or deficiency in
services is also seen more in
organisations without proper
training systems. Experts
opine that the right training
not only leads to an increase
in productivity and customer
satisfaction, but can also result
in a 20% jump in bottom line.
Misconceptions about
investing in training
Despite several researches
revealing the importance of
investing in training, some
healthcare organisations
still consider it as an
unnecessary exercise. Common
misconceptions include:
• Once staff is trained, they will
Pushing your Profits
Right training not only increases productivity & customer
satisfaction, but can also give a 20% jump in the bottom line
New employee
New technology
Safety issues
Evaluation deficiencies
Law and regulation changes
Need to develop new leaders
Staff development plan
Occasions of Training

2. Strategy
www.healthbizinsight.com
Health Biz Insight June 2017 29
look for better opportunities
elsewhere
• Recruiting new skilled staff
is cheaper than investing
time and money in training
existing employees
• Training is often resisted by
staff
Advantages
Increased staff satisfaction:
Provision of training to
staff gives an opportunity
to emphasise that your
organisation values and
appreciates members of the
company. When staff feels
acknowledged and supported,
it becomes more motivated to
improve and provide quality
healthcare.
Increased patient
satisfaction: Staff training
affects your patients, who
benefit from your staffs’
skills, positive attitude, and
efficiency. This enhances
patients’ loyalty to the
healthcare organisation.
Increased staff retention:
Staff which receives ongoing
training and development is
more likely to commit to its
healthcare organisation as they
are continually challenged and
engaged in their careers.
Increased staff morale:
A practice culture that
encourages learning and fosters
education creates a positive,
motivated, and committed
workforce.
Role of management
Recognise that learning
is part of organisation
operations: Top management
should ensure that
opportunities to learn happen
all the time; and recognise
learning as an ongoing process,
not an event.
Support the expectation
of learning with resources
for learning: Healthcare
organisations should
emphasize that they value
learning by including employee
training and development in
the annual budgeting process.
Encourage learning at all levels:
Companies should ensure
that opportunities to learn are
made available for everyone
in the organisation, from the
top management to front office
staffs.
Have a policy on training
and development:
Healthcare organisations
should have a policy on staff
training and development
to emphasise that top
management gives importance
and value to training. Policy
should include frequency and
subjects of training.
Provide time for learning:
Top management should
ensure that proper time is
allotted for training, for
the staff to learn without
interruptions in everyday
activity.
Allow for practice of
new skills on-the-job:
Organisation should provide
opportunity to their employees
to practice what they have
learned.
Training Need Analysis
(TNA)
TNA is a primary phase in the
designing and development
of training programmes.
Literature mentions
that healthcare
organisations that
develop and implement
training without first
conducting a needs
assessment may end
up either over training
or under training.
Companies should
realise that TNA is a
significant first step in
the successful designing
and implementation of
training programmes.
Increased Output
Professoinal Development
Quality Improvement
Risk Reduction
Alignment
Team Work
Goals of Training

3. Strategy
Health Biz Insight June 201730
This process makes the
training cost effective and
improves staff satisfaction with
training. It is recommended
that trainings should be
tailored to meet the specialised
needs of the organisation
and the individual trainees.
Conducting systematic needs
assessment can significantly
impact the overall effectiveness
and quality of training
programmes.
Experts mention that TNA
should include types of
training, selection of trainees,
selection criteria, evaluation
instruments.
ROI in training
Healthcare organisations
should develop an evaluation
process to determine if the
training process is achieving its
desired outcome. If not, effort
should be made to implement
alternative measures, which
will promote knowledge
acquisition and continued
competency in a constantly
changing environment.
Here are 4 best practices
for how to measure training
effectiveness:
• Output increases: Measure
the outcome of services pre and
post training and quantify this
with the increase in revenue.
• Quality improvements:
Measure identified quality
indicators both pre and post
training. How much this
improved quality indicators
have increased customer
satisfaction.
• Cost savings: Measure the
cost saving due to reduction in
error and redo of procedures.
• Opportunity costs: On job
training provides reduction in
the cost involved. Measure this
opportunity cost for training.
Conclusion
Healthcare organisation should
realise that in the present
healthcare industry scenario,
staff training not only ensures
that the workforce is safe
and compliant, but also helps
employees enhance their skills
and develop professionally.
It should be recognised that a
company’s greatest asset is its
people and the development
of this asset is critical for
continued financial health of
the organisation. HBI
About the author
Dr. Ashok Kumar
Khandelwal is the
Medical Director,
Anandaloke Hospital &
Neurosciences Centre,
West Bengal. He is a
trained Assessor from
the National Accreditation
Board for Hospital and
Health Care Provider
(NABH). He carries
around two decades of
experience in the hospital
industry and 15 years of
experience as a hospital
administrator.
Training
Increased
staff
satisfaction
Increased
staff
retention
Increasd
staff
moral
Increased
patient
satisfaction