Talent management pool in healthcare:

The Dutch experience

GRE-Liege Health Care workshops

November 17, 2014

Introduction

Judith van den Broek Walter Kienhuis

Assistant Professor Director/consultant

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Agenda

1. Talent Management Pool: the innovation- What is it and why was it developed?- What challenges did we experience?

2. Talent Management Pool: the research- Cooperation and competition

3. Discussion

4. Experiences from the Netherlands- Implementation process: solutions- Current status and future prospects

1. Talent Management Pool

Mission statement:

“To realise a sustainable healthcare community with free movement of people”

4

Coping with challenges

Challenges:• Labour market shortage• Talent management • Flexibility people• Flexibility knowledge• Mobility• Career development• Costs of hiring external personnel

Solution:

Regional cooperation

• Regional coöperation• Wish/ intention of organizations to work together on the subject

exchanging talents and capacity• Sharing temporary capacity issues• Making good agreements• Safe environment for employees

Talent management en capacity management in the region

• Provider of Talent (quality and quantity) for the hospitals in order to facilitate hospitals in delivering good service

• Realizing perspectives for Talented professionals and binding them to the organization/region (preserve them voor the region)

What:

How: • In coöperation with other organizations in the region• Poolmanagement• Supported by a system (automatic)

Principles:

6

Region of cooperating hospitals

Hospital A Hospital B Hospital C

1st ring

2nd ring

3rd ring

Region

Internal organization

Hiring externally

7

- Initiatied by HR managers- 5 hospitals in same region (southern part NL)- Attracting and retaining talent

Started with employees that are looking for more variety

8

Business engineersConsultancy

Management(trainee)

Business engineersFinancials

Project- and programme management

Doctors, Nurses, specialized

2. Research

Coopetition

Competition & Cooperation

“A relationship between two firms that simultaneously involves both competition and cooperation” (Walley, 2007).

Coopetition: rationales• Resource dependency theory:

Organizations depend on resources from their environment need for cooperation with competitors for innovation

• Market commonality and resource similarity are the most dominant antecedents of coopetition (Peng et al. 2012)

• Value creation and value utilization

Coopetition in healthcare• Few studies, many questions• Evidence for coopetition in healthcare (Barretta, 2008;

LeTourneau, 2004; Peng and Bourne, 2009)

• Paradox; cooperation in times of increasing competition

“How do organisational actors perceive the rationales for collaborative innovation in Dutch hospitals in times of competition and how does this affect the success of the Talent Management Pool?”

Research methods• Longitudinal case studies- Semi-structured interviews 4 hospitals (HR, line

managers, directors, employees/works council representatives/nursing representatives), poolmanager, external consultant

- Document studies, policy plans, Communication plans, presentations

• Diffusion, adoption and implementation phase (2 years)

• Thematic analysis

Findings (1)

Rationale for coopetition: lack of resources • Similar interests: need talented employees

• Healthcare: same goal, deliver high quality care and help patients

I’m from the energy sector and I can’t imagine Essent and Nuon [Dutch energy companies] developing such a concept. (HR advisor, hospital A)

• Financial benefits (higher level mangers): economizing

I think the vision on mobility and for some hospitals the economic benefits, we can do it cheaper, are important. (Director, hospital C)

Findings (2)• Line managers:- Stress competition aspect- Affects Talent Mangement Pool

The field of tension between competition and cooperation could withhold the pool from becoming a success .(Line manager, hospital A)

• HR professionals- Stress cooperation aspect

Retaining talent is the basis of the Talent Management Pool. That is where we cooperate because we think that we will be better in that together. (HR business partner 1, hospital A)

Findings (3)

Cooperation versus competition

• Different perspectives: reluctant

I think others will look at this differently because competition is of course a new phenomenon in the hospital world. And if you’re working here for years I can imagine that you’ll be a bit more anxious for that. (Line manager, hospital A)

3. Implementation challenges• It’s about behaviour and culture (progressive vs

conservative, 20 – 80%)• It’s about anticipating on future trends and dynamics • Filling the pool with Talents (during economic hard

times, employer market)• HR versus line managers: different perspectives• Competitive aspect

Implementation challenges (2)

• Commitment (strategic, tactical, operational)• Generation (baby boomers vs YZ) • Economical situation/climate mobitity (forced)• Communication/reach (Talents, line management

strategic, tactical, operational)• Reciprocity (giving and taking)

Discussion

4. Experiences from the Netherlands

How to deal with the challenges?• Focus on the trends and characteristics in the (near)

future (1-3 yrs) • Involvement management care/cure (HR has to facilitate)• Communication targetgroups (initial and during

operation)• Make appointments about the amount of talents that can

be included and the assignments/projects that can be expected

• Focus on the 15% most motivated/ambitious people• Different generations different approaches take care in

communications

Current situation• Status 5 hospitals

• Diffusion to hospitals in other regions

• Diffusion to other sectors (e.g. construction)

Future prospects• ‘Sterrenklas IC’ (TMB can be considered as infrastucture.

It’s the foundation to build up more specific programs

Characteristics IC Nurse nowadays • Specialist (end of career path)• People do not move, are not willing to move within the

organization (contract etc.)• People do not feel free in communicating their personal

ambitions• Climate is rather conservative (econ. circumstances)• Climate on the ward is leading• Fear for being fired• Individual goals are subject to organizational goals

Conditions for attending as an IC nurse

A nurse has to be (intrinsically) motivated to: • Be distinctive by herself;• Fullfil her own ambitions/drives (new generation);• Shape her own development;• Be confronted with diversity en variety in het work

environment;• Be confronted with diversity in their daily practices;• Care for different kinds of patiënts.

Vision• Talented professionals can further shape their personal development by acting

in different environments and to be confronted with other methods / techniques, leadership, cultures etc. These talents will remain longer in the region because they will become/get more perspective.

• By exchanging talented professionals in a structural way, they can define and exchange best practices en make them the standard. This will increase the expertise of the professionals and thereby the quality of care.

• Exchange of professionals (in a structural way ) that meets the regional standards ensures better response to fast changing demands of the healthcare environment. The efficiency and the quality will increase. The organizations in the region will become more flexible and therefore more agile.

IC Class

Judith van den Broek: j.vandenbroek@bmg.eur.nl

Walter Kienhuis: w.kienhuis@talentenmanagementbank.nl06-27086458