Transformational Leadership and Staff Retention

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Methodology
Results
Analysis
Conclusion
Reference

Introduction

Staff retention remains a matter of great concern to healthcare leaders. The constant need for patient care in addition to staffing problems, long working hours, poor worker-leader relationship, and family-work balance, among other issues, can often lead several healthcare workers into reconsidering their careers. Some employees may resort to quitting their jobs due to these influences. This paper seeks to examine the retention issue by interviewing a selected healthcare leader. The paper will also review an existing theoretical model applicable in this scenario to address the problem.

Methodology

Design

The qualitative study will be performed by conducting a semi-structured interview with Dr. Hillary, a senior healthcare supervisor at New Life Hospital (NLH) in Cincinnati. Initially, the interviewer and the leader had agreed on staff retention as the issue addressed by the research. The following questions will guide the protocol of holding the interview:

Results

The interview was conducted in 2021 at Dr. Hillary’s office in a meeting that lasted three hours. The supervisor’s responses to the questions have been reported below:

Details about staff retention

The supervisor acknowledged that the retention issue had been a problem in the organization, and deliberate efforts are being made to address it. In the past, they have laid off some workers on competency grounds, and others had chosen to quit their jobs, citing various reasons. Most of those left were hired in other medical facilities in the city, while a few changed careers. Dr. Hillary was more concerned with those who deliberately resigned and joined other organizations, which implies that they were not comfortable at NLH.

When the leader noticed the retention problem

According to Dr. Hillary, two doctors and four nurses have left on their own in the past two years. It started when there was a management reshuffling which meant some workers would work under new managers and supervisors. Furthermore, policies such as mentoring institutionalized in the organization further exacerbated the relationship problem between the workers and the NLH administration. The new guidelines were introduced last year when a new managing director was hired.

How retention affects medical practice

With the increased need for patient care, staff retention is key to achieving organizational objectives. It is very costly to hire, orient, and train new staff, and hence healthcare organizations usually strive to retain their workers. Maintaining a highly-skilled team can also ease the succession planning process as vacant positions can be filled with existing employees. Therefore, the leadership should make deliberate efforts to maintain their skill set.

Expected outcomes after addressing the issue

Dr. Hillary expected that addressing this scenario will ultimately help the organization retain its staff. He also hoped that they would strategize on how to boost the workers’ trust in NLH leadership. The nurses should feel that they are valued partners in delivering patient care. The leader also emphasized that ameliorating personal relationships and working conditions, motivation and appreciation for exemplary performance, and respecting inter-individual differences could resolve the problem.

Analysis

Having completed the interview and understood the retention problem from Dr. Hillary’s perspective, this paper proposes transformational leadership as a theoretical model suitable for resolving the issue. The theory was pioneered by leadership expert James MacGregor Burns (Xu, 2017). Transformational leadership is a “relationship between the leader and the follower in which they motivate each other to higher levels, resulting in value system congruence between the leader and the follower” (Xu, 2017, p. 156). Transformational leaders motivate their subjects to adjust prospects, views, and motivations to achieve organizational goals.

Transformational leadership, when implemented in a healthcare setup, can help improve staff retention. Transformational leaders influence workers by encouraging and inspiring them to achieve the hospital’s goals. The leaders should develop a relationship of trust with the employees. According to Xu (2017), the connection “can be established by being open, fair, and honest with the staff and by motivating them to be independent in their decision-making” (p. 156). Leaders must have to employ effective communication to drive the employees to accomplish the set objectives. The leaders should also have the confidence and courage to attain the goals. If NLH administrators exercise this leadership style, they stand a better chance to resolve the retention issue.

Looking at the issues which influence staff retention at NLH and Dr. Hillary’s expectations, this paper is confident that transformational leadership can be a practical solution. The leaders can build a personal relationship, based on trust, with the workers. The connection will make employees feel that they are valued partners in care delivery. Since Xu (2017) agrees that transformational leadership is concerned with change, improving working conditions by providing resources and tools will enable the workers to utilize their skills and abilities fully. The leaders can also boost worker motivation through rewards and recognition. This move is likely to increase job satisfaction and skills utilization, raising the chances of retention.

Conclusion

Although this paper sought to resolve the retention problem at NLH, it concedes that the issue cannot be eliminated due to its dynamicity. However, the supervisors can implement a few strategies for the course. They should hold one-on-one talks with their subjects to assure them of the leader’s respect and trust. The conversation should be void of any element of censure or disapproval. The leaders should also learn to be good listeners to their subjects. Furthermore, they should communicate their expectations for the workers, which will motivate them to further career growth. These strategies will ultimately increase organizational commitment, which will then augment staff retention.

Reference

Xu, J. H. (2017). Leadership theory in clinical practice. Chinese Nursing Research, 4(4), 155-157. Web.

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