CareerSTAT Resource Center

1.4.17 • Guide

I Introduction

CareerSTAT offers a range of resources and materials for investing in frontline workers, understanding the health care workforce, and measuring the return on training investments. These resources are intended to support all types of health care organizations in starting, scaling or sustaining investments in their frontline employees. CareerSTAT promotes investments in frontline workers because it improves the lives and careers’ of employees and helps organizations provide better care. By analyzing dozens of health care organizations, CareerSTAT knows that frontline investments impact the following business metrics.

Read – CareerSTAT Guide to Investing in Frontline Workers

II Programatic Best Practices

There is no “one size fits all” model for health care providers to effectively invest in their frontline workforce, but there are both programmatic and organizational practices common to the most successful employer-based programs. Programmatic best practices engage frontline workers directly in many forms of workforce training and education to expand talent pipelines and make learning and career advancement easily accessible. Programatic best practices are broadly defined under 1) Inclusive hiring; 2) Accessible learning; and, 3) Career advancement. Section Three of the CareerSTAT Guide: Employer Best Practices for Making Effective Investments features CareerSTAT Champions that employ programmatic best practices.

Explore – Programatic Best Practices

III Organizational Best Practices

Again, not all practices are suited for all organizations, but there are many organizational practices common to the most successful employer-based programs. Organizational best practices ensure that the necessary infrastructure and support are in place so that workforce training and education programs have the greatest impact on both the business and individual workers. Organizational best practices are broadly defined under 1) Engaging leaders; 2) Developing infrastructure; and, 3) Leveraging resources. Section Three of the CareerSTAT Guide: Employer Best Practices for Making Effective Investments features CareerSTAT Champions employing organizational best practices.

Explore – Organizational Best Practices

IV Business Impact of Investments

CareerSTAT business integration graphic — Integrating Investments and Business Metrics

Innovative programs and policies that advance the skills of your workers, provide pathways for advancement, and value frontline employees improve operations and produce positive business impact. CareerSTAT, its partners, and leading research and philanthropic organizations have measured this business impact, and reports consistently show that frontline investments generate returns by improving performance and reducing cost. CareerSTAT Frontline Health Care Worker Champions show that frontline investment programs have reduced turnover costs, agency or temporary staffing costs, orientation and on-boarding costs and have improve employee engagement, retention, performance, patient experience, and HCAHPS scores. The CareerSTAT Guide to Investing in Frontline Workers provides a framework for aligning investment programs with key business metrics and measuring the retention on frontline investments.

Read – Business Impact Studies

V General Resources

In addition to the CareerSTAT Guide and its publications and profiles, CareerSTAT offers additional resources to support partners in scaling frontline workforce investments. Interested members should become a CareerSTAT member to access additional materials, explore the CareerSTAT network, subscribe to the CareerSTAT newsletter to receive quarterly updates, and follow the news CareerSTAT generates on frontline investments.

CareerSTAT Employer Academy
The CareerSTAT Employer Academy is a 12-month opportunity for health care organizations to receive technical assistance (TA) in implementing and sustaining business practices and policies that support frontline worker skill development and career advancement.

Federal Reserve Webinar

Representatives from UnityPoint Health, Homebridge, and CareerSTAT presented Investing in the Frontline: A Lesson from the Health Care Sector for the Federal Reserve’s Connecting Communities webinar series.

Implementing the ACA

This report supports health care leaders, policymakers, and practitioners in understanding the workforce implications of the ACA: the number; the skills needed; and changes in job duties and career paths that result from the ACA.

Democracy Collaborative Toolkit

The new toolkit series, Hospitals Aligned for Healthy Communities, provides resources to help hospitals and health systems build community wealth through inclusive hiring, investment, and purchasing.