OD in Healthcare 30/60/90

The healthcare industry today is a prime example of how efforts in the area of organizational development can make gains in employee retention, employee engagement, positive recruiting efforts, strategic planning, and change leadership. In this series I will discuss organizational development (OD) tips and techniques that can have tremendous impacts within all areas of your organization.

1. The 30/60/90 plan

Within most organizations the recruiting effort stops exactly where it is needed the most. Getting the right employee in the door is just the first step, now it is time to go to work to make sure that person will develop into a viable and vital associate. The 30/60/90 plan does not take a lot of time, but it is absolutely critical that, once started, it continues without fail.

Around 30 days after the new hire in brought on board, it is time for HR or OD to sit down with them and discuss whether or not the employee's expectations are being met, if they have the correct resources to do their job, and if they feel that they have the ability to make contributions in their current situation. At this point the employee should have enough information and experience on the job to have opinions and answers to these questions, but there is still time to make adjustments as needed.

At 60 days an additional orientation program should be provided. This can be done on an individual basis or as a group of employees with around 60 days worth of experience on the job. This orientation should focus on skill development necessary for achievement of organizational goals, i.e. communication training, customer service, work-life balance, etc. This is a very important step on a number of levels, first it does provide an opportunity for employee skill development, but also it serves as a psychological affirmation for the employee that the organization does care and is committed to helping them succeed.

At 90 days, the employee should sit down with their manager and develop goals for the next 9-12 months. This is not intended to be a formal review, but more of a discussion and further clarification of expectations.

The first 90 days are critical to ensuring the right employees stay with the organization for longer periods of time. With a bit of planning and unwavering follow through you can turn newly hired employees into long tenured superstars in your organization!

Why Did You Leave?

Many of us have been in the position of having a trusted employee come into our office and announce that they will be leaving the organization. After an initial moment of shock, an inevitable question always comes next: WHY? Here is a partial list of why people leave organizations: (after reason #1, the rest are in no particular order)

1. People leave managers, not organizations
2. Perceived lack of advancement opportunities
3. Lack of training
4. Poor Communication
5. Pay/Compensation
6. Compensation other than pay
7. Perceived lack of organizational vision/poor senior leadership
8. Workload - - too much/not enough
9. Poor organizational reputation
10. Lack of tools and resources
11. Poor teamwork

The positive side of the above list is the fact that most can be addressed before they become a major source of employee turnover.