Managing for Morale – Effective Management Techniques to Retain Your Staff

Register by August 14th to receive the Early Bird discount

 

Length: 1.5 hours
Target Audience: Directors, service line leaders, and mid-level managers.
Description: Staff retention continues to be a top priority for most healthcare
executives. This panel will engage directors and senior-level
managers to discuss best practices in staff retention. Depending
on the audience, the panel can be comprised of individuals with
specific functions or by management level. Groups may choose
to focus more on the hospital setting (option 1) or take a broader
approach looking across organizational settings (option 2). The
program will begin with brief opening remarks of approximately 10
minutes by the moderator, followed by 15-minute presentations
by each of the three panelists. The program will conclude with a
30-minute question and answer period.
Faculty: Each session should feature a moderator plus two to three
panelists.
Moderator: Moderator should be an individual with a human
resources background.

Panelists:

  • Chris Sund, President/COO, Uniti Med & GQR Healthcare (moderator)
  • Kelly Howard, MSH, RN, CNOR, Director of Nursing and Chief Nursing Officer, Mercyhealth
  • Douglas McGhee, MHA, MBA, Vice President Operations, Sanford Health - Marshfield Clinic

Interactivity: All sessions must feature a minimum of 10 minutes of dedicated
audience Q&A time at the end of the session. Additional small-
group breakouts or discussions are optional but encouraged.
Presentation: An optional presentation template has been included for use if the
Chapter sees fit. If used, the presentation should include required
slides as designated in the template, and no more than 3
additional content slides.

Questions for Discussion:
• What are the essential skills for strong managers?
• What has changed in management over the past 3 to 5 years?
• What new skills are needed or how are staff expectations different?
• Why is good management key to retaining frontline personnel?
• How does frontline staff define good management; what are they looking for?
• How does coaching/mentoring fit into a model of good management?
• How large an issue is staff retention in your organization? Which areas are
experiencing the greatest challenges in keeping key staff?
• What are the best practices you have seen to retain staff?
• What were the results of those practices?
• If you have tried any of those techniques at your organization, what happened?
• How can senior management create an environment that encourages long-term
employees?

Materials for Distribution:
Birk, S. “Peak Performance.” Healthcare Executive (May/June 2023).
Executive Survey. “Burnout Among Healthcare Leaders.” Healthcare Executive
(Sept/Oct 2022).
Hofmann, P. “The Benefits of Better Communication.” Healthcare Executive
(July/August 2023).
Allen, Robert W. FACHE; Cook, Dustin. Health System Venture Groups: Engines for
Innovation and Transformation. Frontiers of Health Services Management 42(2):p 13-
19, Winter 2025.

Additional Resources:
https://www.ache.org/learning-center/publications/books/2058
https://www.ache.org/career-resource-center/special-groups/resources-for-students-and-early-careerists/your-career-as-a-healthcare-executive