Developing human capital: what is the impact on nurse turnover?

AIM: To investigate the impact that increasing human capital through staff training makes on the voluntary turnover of registered nurses. BACKGROUND: Healthcare organizations in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia are experiencing turbulent nursing labour markets characterized by extreme staff shortages and high levels of turnover. Organizations that invest in the development of their nursing human resources may be able to mitigate high turnover through the creation of conditions that more effectively develop and utilize their existing human capital. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to the chief nursing officers of 2208 hospitals and long-term care facilities in every province and territory of Canada yielding a response rate of 32.3%. The analysis featured a three-step hierarchical regression with two sets of control variables. RESULTS: After controlling for establishment demographics and local labour market conditions, perceptions of nursing human capital and the level of staff training provided were modestly associated with lower levels of establishment turnover. CONCLUSIONS: and implications for Nursing Management The results suggest that healthcare organizations that have made greater investments in their nursing human capital are more likely to demonstrate lower levels of turnover of their registered nursing personnel.

Turnover and vacancy rates for registered nurses: do local labor market factors matter?

BACKGROUND: Turnover of nursing staff is a significant issue affecting health care cost, quality, and access. In recent years, a worldwide shortage of skilled nurses has resulted in sharply higher vacancy rates for registered nurses in many health care organizations. Much research has focused on the individual, group, and organizational determinants of turnover. Labor market factors have also been suggested as important contributors to turnover and vacancy rates but have received limited attention by scholars. PURPOSE: This study proposes and tests a conceptual model showing the relationships of organization-market fit and three local labor market factors with organizational turnover and vacancy rates. METHODS: The model is tested using ordinary least squares regression with data collected from 713 Canadian hospitals and nursing homes. RESULTS: Results suggest that, although modest in their impact, labor market and the organization-market fit factors do make significant yet differential contributions to turnover and vacancy rates for registered nurses. IMPLICATIONS: Knowledge of labor market factors can substantially shape an effective campaign to recruit and retain nurses. This is particularly true for employers who are perceived to be "employers-of-choice."

Labour-management forums and workplace performance. Evidence from union officials in health care organizations.

Many health care workplaces are adopting more cooperative labour-management relations, spurred in part by sweeping changes in the economic environment that have occurred over the last decade. Labour-management cooperation is seen as essential if health care organizations are to achieve their valued performance objectives. Joint labour-management committees (LMCs) have been adopted in many health care workplaces as a means of achieving better industrial relations. Using data from a sample of Canadian union leaders in the health care sector, this paper examines the impact of labour-management forums and labour climate on employee and organizational outcomes. Research results suggest that labour climate is less important in predicting workplace performance (and change in workplace performance) than is the number of LMCs in operation. However, labour climate is found to be at least as important in predicting union member satisfaction (and change in member satisfaction) as is the wide adoption of LMCs in operation. These findings are consistent with the notion that the greater use of LMCs is associated with augmented workplace performance (and a positive change in workplace performance), notwithstanding the contribution of the labour climate in the workplace.