It’s a rewarding feeling for HR professionals and mid-level managers when they attract rock star entry-level employees.  It’s equally deflating when a new hire isn’t working out or is lacking ambition. Questions then begin to come up between the hiring manager and recruiting staff. Why isn’t this associate working out? What could we do better to motivate? There could be many reasons a frontline employee is showing low ambition. It could be communication issues, skills gaps that weren’t apparent at first, poor onboarding, or a culture clash. Here are some tactics to help manage an entry-level associate with low ambition or who is struggling.

Consider connecting the associate to a Coach/Mentor
A coach can help associates adapt to a new work environment and offer advice on how to grow and succeed. Coaching, which comes from someone trusted other than a direct manager, can be an opportunity for employees to share their concerns or issues without feeling like it will be used against them. A coach/mentor can help make introductions across an organization, show employees opportunities available, and help with a development plan. A coach/mentor may also help an associate see the “unwritten rules” of a hospital’s work environment and can help speed up the worker acclimation process.

Prioritize Areas for Improvement
Short-term, achievable improvement goals can help keep employees motivated. It can also help employees from feeling overwhelmed. Prioritizing with an employee also gives the employer the opportunity to course correct without having wasted too much time if improvements aren’t happening quickly enough.  Make sure your workers know what their top priorities are, what needs to be done, and any applicable deadlines. Vagueness can really hurt an associate’s motivation or direction.

Built Trust, Check-in, and Praise Accomplishments
Workers strive harder for managers and organizations they believe in. Teach managers to build trust with their team and show empathy for associates’ concerns. Have check-ins on a weekly or bi-weekly basis with employees who are struggling to revisit how things are going and revise performance plans as needed. Making time for this step in the short-term will save time and effort in the long-term. Check-ins can provide an opportunity to acknowledge worker accomplishments and make plans for the next improvement priority. It can be difficult for entry-level associates to understand how they contribute to the hospital’s success. Show them that their work is helping the organization be successful. Nothing is more motivating in the workplace than a sense of ownership.

Of course, supervisors need to strike a balance. Supervisors do not need to be a helicopter parent—employees at any level need to be able to stand on their own two feet—but need to be prepared to answer questions about why work needs to get done, the workplace culture, or the health system at large.

Manage how an Unmotivated Employee Affects the Group/Team
Within work teams, if a peer gets away with something multiple times, other associates begin to think they should also start getting away with a performance issue (tardiness for example). Explain to teams how this affects team cohesion as well as the work, and have supervisors address individual associate issues quickly. This will help keep an unmotivated coworker from affecting their entire team’s performance and dynamic.

Don’t assume an unmotivated associate is out to “take advantage” of coworkers. It could be a case of misunderstanding an original request, but make sure to address it. If an associate is bringing down the team, consider removing that person from the team or finding a new role to utilize their skills that is a better match.

Encourage Employees to Develop Themselves
Let employees know of any HR or performance building tools available in the organization. Don’t just assume associates will know about these tools. Instead, promote and use them proactively, and encourage managers to use them as a coaching tool.  For examples of coaching tips, see our related article, “Frontline Employees: Coaching For Success.”

An example of a self-development program is the CLiMB® online library of focused microlearnings. CLiMB provides actionable training for frontline employees. This training teaches key entry-level work concepts such as basic professionalism, communication, using time wisely, managing stress, and providing exceptional customer service.  CLiMB offers lessons in real-world healthcare-specific settings, using scenarios created based on input from customers and subject matter experts. Courses like Providing an Exceptional Patient Experience help show employees how to engage with customers/families. CLiMB provides basic skills training for employees that result in practical behavioral skill gains and allows for self-directed learning and the opportunity to explore solutions. CLiMB also prepares your managers/supervisors to coach by showing how supervisors can provide efficient one-on-one “teachable moments.”

For more information on CLiMB, click here and one of our team members will promptly get back to you.

Chances are, if a manager feels an entry-level employee is struggling or not meeting expectations, the employee likely also has concerns. But many entry-level employees are too timid to admit they need help. As an employer, supervisor, manager, or HR professional, use these tips to address performance concerns, and help turn that struggling entry-level employee into the rock star employee you hoped you were originally hiring.

SOURCES:
“Coach’s Corner: Keys to being an effective manager for entry-level workers” Star Tribune Business Magazine, Liz Reyer, January 21 2018
“10 ways employers can turn struggling new hires into rock star employees,” Recruiter magazine, Matt Krumrie, June 22 2017
“7 Ways to Get your Unmotivated Workers Off Their Butts,” Entrepreneur magazine, Carol Tice, February 24 2012
“How to Motivate and Manage Entry-Level Employees,” Washington Post, Kate Johanns, August 27 2018
“7 Dos and Don’ts for Dealing With an Unmotivated Employee,” Huffington Post, Diane Gottsman, July 8 2014

In the years since the Great Recession, unemployment levels have fallen across the U.S. while economic growth in the country has rebounded. As a result, competition for entry-level talent is growing, and many employers are struggling with employee turnover.

As this article is written for U.S. health systems, Catalyst Learning believes that benchmarking a few organizations in other fields can help health systems think outside the box. The organizations below are creating business and social value by investing in their entry-level talent, and some of these tactics can help U.S. health systems to stay competitive and prepare for the future.

A recent Accenture study found that 80% of entry-level workers expect some role training in their new jobs. However, many will not receive this training. This omission leads new hires who were once passionate employees to feel disillusioned and leave organizations within two years.

Not preparing a workforce for excelling in a current role and for future roles generally benefits no one, so why is this happening?  It generally comes down to cost. Training can be costly, and the ROI on that training can be blurry. Instead, companies fill entry-level positions quickly and hope that new hires figure it out.   Similar to investing in on-boarding, entry-level training has proven to be a strategy for operational excellence and growth.

Here are large scale organizations in different industries/sectors that have figured this out and serve as benchmarks for others.

Wegmans Food Markets (Grocer)
Wegmans is a regional grocery chain in the U.S. with stores ranging from upstate New York to Virginia. It has invested in training employees for decades. In 2017, Wegmans’ own employees voted them onto Fortune’s “Best Places to Work” list for the 20^th year in a row. In 2018, they were #2 on the list. One Wegmans leader explained success this way: “We sell groceries, but we’re in the people business.” Wegmans is winning the war for talent by investing in its frontline entry-level employees, particularly those who have faced barriers to economic opportunity. New hires usually travel to different Wegmans locations to learn different parts of the business and to see opportunity, and they usually have at least 40-hours of on-the-job training. After initial training, extended training in different departments can last up to 14 weeks. Wegmans calls its training “Knowledge Based Service,” and trainees learn from all-star employees in their local area. Wegmans acknowledges that the training tactic is expensive. It is paying for trainee’s mileage, hotel, a regular wage and per diem, but the idea is to eliminate mistakes that inexperienced employees usually make. Disorganization is also expensive.

 Bonobos (Retail)
Only founded in 2007, Bonobos has established itself as a leader in the retail industry for its innovative approach to launching vertically integrated e-commerce brands in the U.S. With 165 full-time employees, Bonobos offers its program “Managing for Success” which teaches management skills to first time leaders. Bonobos also offers its “Fit for Success” program which focuses on performance management training. For new entry-level associates, Bonobos offers “How to Manage Up Well” which trains frontline associates how to navigate relationships with senior employees. Last, Bonobos offers its “Know Your Customer” training to prepare new employees with customer relations experience. The retail company offers these perks to help equip workers with skills needed to manage themselves and their teams. It also believes these programs rally people together and helps associates gather respect for each other’s skills and importance to the organization.

 Marriott International (Hospitality)
A leading global hospitality company, Marriott has more than 200,000 employees at its managed properties, including 102,000 employees in the U.S. Marriott offers a variety of training to employees worldwide using multiple training delivery methods, including virtual training. The training focuses on developing skills and provides professional and career development training. Topic areas include work-life balance, leadership and management. Marriott offers this because it believes in well-being and growth of each employees says Arne Sorenson, President and CEO at Marriott International.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (State, Healthcare IT)
The Bay State earmarks hundreds of thousands of dollars to help spur new digital or hybrid competency-based training programs for entry-level healthcare employees. The state’s workforce development agency works to boost the skills of Massachusetts’ young adults through government investments and with community partnerships. According to Governor Charlie Baker, “healthcare, information technology and advanced manufacturing are among the most vital employment sectors in our state and is needed for Massachusetts’ future prosperity.”

Massachusetts isn’t just a national leader in healthcare and technology, it is a global leader in healthcare and technology. While clinical leaders at Boston Children’s, Massachusetts General, Tufts and Brigham & Women’s get the newspaper headlines, there are thousands of employees in entry and mid-level jobs, such as CNAs and health aides, who don’t have sufficient access to education and skill-building opportunities. The goal of this brand-new initiative (summer 2019) is to help upskill employees with digital training programs, which accomplishes the dual goal of boosting economic opportunity for workers while also addressing the state’s healthcare workforce shortages.

For some adults in Massachusetts, going back to a full-time classroom isn’t a realistic option, so these programs are built to help them. And with the rising demand for community-based care, health systems are facing growing challenges filling open positions. This type of program builds a career advancement ladder to develop the skills of staff, and the state’s investment helps hospitals to have the capacity to provide in-house IT training.

Training from the bottom-up reduces turnover rates, increases productivity, and attracts the right employees.

SOURCES:
“Massachusetts to fund pilots expanding digital training for entry-level healthcare workers,”  Healthcare IT News, July 16 2019, Mike Miliard

“New Wegmans employees travel for store training,” The Daily Progress, July 2017, Aaron Richardson

“Why Large Organizations Should Be Hyper-Focused On Entry-Level Employee Training,” eFrontLearning, 2018, Nikos Andriotis

“10 companies with awesome training and development programs,” Monster.com, Isabel Thottam

“Entry-Level Retention Makes a Billion Dollar Difference for Business and Society,” Rockefeller Foundation, March 27 2017, Kimberly Gilsdorf

“Why Companies Should Invest in the Retention of Entry-Level Employees,” Rockefeller Foundation, April 4 2017, Kimberly Gilsdorf

During times of full employment, healthcare systems often find it harder to fill entry-level roles, and HR leaders spend too much time recruiting! To retain top employees, it’s important to think about those “next level,” hard-to-fill roles and how to prepare motivated entry-level staff to someday fill them.

While leaders can come from many different places in the organization, here are five examples of roles that have transferable skills, where workers could move up in the company if they’re given supplemental skill training. Recognizing potential and growing the skills of entry-level workers can help you show your employees there are career paths available. It also can help you begin to build a talent pipeline.

1) Administrative Assistant: Successful employees in this role need to be organized, have good interpersonal skills, and be skilled at managing information flow among executives, abilities that can help AA’s move into a department management position. (If AA’s can manage the VP, managing a team may come easy!) When talented personnel in these roles start looking for new challenges, don’t let them go to your competitor. Offer opportunities to improve skills needed to advance with internal programs designed to teach conflict management, adapting to change or stress management.

2) Patient Assistant: Patient assistants play a critical role in delivering care, and the job provides them with direct patient experience and familiarity with medical terminology. These skills are required in better paying jobs such as physical therapy assistant. Help employees who excel in this role prepare for the next step in their career with training to develop skills associated with patient engagement, service recovery, and handling unsafe situations.

3) Medical Secretary: Managing the various duties associated with this role requires attention to detail, strong organizational skills, and the ability to prioritize tasks. Employees who excel in this role are able to transition into department secretaries or managers. You can support their career growth with training that focuses on communicating more effectively, including how to better organize their thoughts, be concise, and improve listening skills.

4) Food Service Worker: Whether they prepare the food or work in customer-facing roles, good food service workers are adept at working as part of a team, managing supplies, and following health and safety rules for food storage and preparation. A solid understanding of food service responsibilities can help entry-level workers move on to manage employees in nutrition, food delivery or dietary departments. Provide star employees with training to help them get set up for career success and understand possible career paths that are available in food management in your organization.

5) Help Desk Support: Troubleshooting basic IT problems requires employees to have strong problem-solving skills, good customer services skills, and familiarity with your systems and IT setup. Employees with strong IT skills can be an asset in a hospital’s IT department, serving as analysts or project managers. Help them hone the skills such as developing good work habits, building strong relationships, and understanding organizational expectations. This can allow them to take on greater responsibilities in a new role.

Employees who excel in these, and other entry-level, roles can move up in your organization instead of taking their job experience to your competitors. With the skills they’ve learned on the job and employee development support, the foundation is built for professional growth. These employees can go on to higher-paying jobs such as patient services representatives, department secretaries, or patient care technicians. They also can advance to department supervisor or management roles in nutrition, environmental services, and other key departments.

What does a real-world success story look like?
In 2012, Wendy Fausett started working for UnityPoint Health as a frontline employee working in housekeeping. Although she wanted to advance her career at UnityPoint Health, she thought her criminal background and a lack of formal higher education would prevent her from moving up. However, by working with a Retention Specialist at UnityPoint, Wendy realized that possessing the right skills was the most important factor in advancement and that her background would not stop her from securing a promotion.

Through participation in UnityPoint’s School at Work program, Wendy started developing managerial, interview, and professional skills, which allowed her to successfully apply for and secure a promotion as a housekeeping supervisor. Wendy’s training led to both career advancement and a wage increase of more than $5.00 per hour.*

Don’t just offer a job, offer a career path
While you may already have programs such as tuition assistance to help employees advance, entry-level workers often need more support to move into other roles.  Basic skills training and career development programs can help entry-level employees build a strong foundation for success. When skills training is provided in conjunction with career development support, it creates momentum that helps fully prepare entry-level workers to advance.

Think more about employee engagement, so you can ideally focus less on recruitment
Workforce development helps your employees realize their full potential and allows you to promote people who already know, and share, your organization’s core values. Of course not all entry-level workers are thinking about career advancement but basic skills training can improve their current job performance, satisfaction, and morale.

Ultimately, the money invested in employee development can help curtail the high cost of replacing talented employees who move on to other jobs with more opportunities for growth. Emphasizing your commitment to helping employees grow and advance will also help you attract candidates who are looking for a career, and not just a job.

*Information provided by the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, and its CareerStat Frontline Healthcare Worker Program.