Bidding Wars on Employees

Rockie

I know some of you are in healthcare so this will probably apply to you mostly. We have some very difficult to recruit and highly compensated technical positions. We constantly have other facilities trying to "lure" our employees away with more money and better hours, etc. We are paying a very competitive salary and incentive pay.

My question is....when is enough--enough? I realize that we have to pay what the market will bear, but I am already getting grumblings from other people who find out that these folks are getting considerable "bumps" just to keep them. They feel their jobs (and themselves) are just as important as these people. Have any of you run into these types of situations and how do you handle them?

This is truly a rock and a hard place. We need these technical people, but I can understand others getting upset when they are asked to take minimal salary increases because of declining reimbursements and they see their fellow workers getting several dollars an hour increase.

What do you guys think?

SandiF

We have the same situation. So far our physicians have continued to raise salaries and provide incentive pay. This has been going on for quite some time. The doctors know that these techs work in the most profitable department,(even though the Practice couldn't run without the rest of the employees),but the bottem line is that these techs have particular skills necessary to run this department and as long as it continues to be the most profitable, the doctors will pay. It is a difficult situation. The other staff know that these employees get just about whatever they want. I know this doesn't help you, but as long as supply is low and demand is high, there's not much we can do. We try to provide a nice work environment and pay our other staff as well or better than other places. Many of our staff have left for other jobs and come back. Good luck. I know how frustrating it is.

dhnyct

We share the pain. Even though it seems to be a fact of life, at some point enough has to be enough. Our pay rates are competitive, and we have a very generous benefit package. Yet some employees try to engage power struggles to hold management hostage.

We have advancement levels for both certified and non-certified employees. But that does not stop other practices from raiding our ranks. Being a large practice, our employees have access to experience and specialized equipment that may not be available in smaller practices. Often we feel like a training facility.

Offering perks is a double edged sword. A valuable employee may be convinced to stay, but sometimes at the risk of causing morale problems throughout the ranks. Then if you let that person move on, you suffer the cost of turnover AND run the risk of qualified/trained applicants asking for more to come on board...or start from scratch with a trainee.

What IS the answer???

SandiF

We all realize that, but it's our doctors who pay the bills. There was a time when there was an over abundance of techs. I'm hoping things turn in that direction again.

Tony Kessler

The following reply was written by Brad Mokros, one of the editors
of Health Care Employment Law Letter. For more information about
the monthly newsletter, go to [url]www.hrhero.com/healthcare.shtml[/url].
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A key point to make when addressing these issues is that pay rates
are primarily based on market forces -- specifically, the current demand for
individuals with certain skills and levels of education. Simply put, this
is an issue of supply and demand. Salary decisions do not represent the
intrinsic value of a specific employee's contribution to the hospital.
Instead, salaries are a function of the marketplace. Similarly, certain
areas of health care are more lucrative in today's market than other areas.
Employees with the skills and training to work in these areas will be able
to demand higher salaries. Again, this is a function of market forces.

Right now, in certain job categories -- especially in certain
technical fields -- the demand for qualified individuals is greater
than the supply. To attract qualified candidates we must pay competitive
rates -- otherwise, our facility will not remain competitive. The
increasing mobility of today's workforce also has affected salaries.
If our pay rates do not remain competitive on a nationwide basis, we will
lose qualified employees to medical facilities on the other side of
the country. Of course, the loss of those employees would affect the
overall financial condition of the hospital. Ultimately, it would
affect each of our jobs.

As a manager, the bottom line when responding to these kinds of
issues is to stress the distinction between an individual's contribution to
the facility and an individual's salary as determined by market forces. Many
times people will be satisfied by gaining an understanding of the economic
reality of the situation, by having a manager listen to their concerns and
demonstrate concern, and by being shown real appreciation for their
contributions to the team. If you feel your facility could use some help in
this area, my firm has developed specific training programs to help managers
and supervisors better address morale and compensation issues.

R. Bradley Mokros
Kiesewetter Wise
2650 Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Suite 2200
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 795-6695
[email]bmokros@kiesewetterwise.com[/email]