FOR CHECK

Running head: STAFF TURNOVER 1

STAFF TURNOVER 8

Staffing Turnover

Staffing turnover

Staffing turnover is an aspect of human resource development that involves replacing an employee with a new one. Employees may leave an organization due to termination, resignation, transfer, or death. Organizations measure the turnover rate in terms of percentage, reflecting the workforce that goes the organization over a specific time. Organizations with a high turnover imply that their employees leave within a short tenure in that organization. A high turnover rate is costly and harms a company's productivity, mostly if skilled employees leave and get replaced with less competent ones (Qattah, 2017). Research shows that companies that record a high turnover are more likely to be less productive and record lower profit margins than companies with a low turnover rate. Therefore, companies need to track their turnover rates for necessary preventive measures. Organizations should also be curious to understand why employees leave to put effective strategies. To achieve this, companies can introduce going surveys that employees fill when they are leaving the company.

The Need to Increase Doctors and Nurses in Saudi Arabia by Vision 2030

Vision 2030 in Saudi presents a clear sense of direction in the healthcare sector, as citizens look forward to better healthcare in the future. The country is undergoing a transformational phase. There is a high demand for a competent and skilled workforce to provide high-quality care to the growing population and the aged in Saudi Arabia. To attain high-quality care across the country, the human resource management is investing in training and development to nurture competent healthcare practitioners who will offer the required services (Alomi, 2017). The current policy regulations require adequate health care professionals. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is also working to reduce the number of foreign medical officers from the current ratio of one-third to two-third Saudi to foreigners' rates. Increasing the number of citizen professionals enhances the localization of services and turns the current HRD challenges into great opportunities.

Costs

The privatization of healthcare has given a lot of authority to the private sector. While healthcare companies seek to provide high-quality healthcare, they have to do so with minimal costs. One of the significant expenses that healthcare companies incur is salaries and wages. The high costs of employees put healthcare companies in a dilemma because they have to choose between retaining current employees who may be competent and replacing them with new employees (Albejaidi & Nair, 2019). It is also notable that staff turnover is more costly than retaining employees, and companies have to make tough decisions related to staff retention and turnover by address both the direct and indirect costs of staffing.

Direct Costs

The first cost of staffing is the recruitment of employees. When a healthcare company needs employees, they have to design vacancy advertisements and disseminate to those using platforms such as television and newspapers so that potential candidates can apply for the vacant positions. The process of marketing and advertising for these positions is costly. In Dr. Soliman Fekeeh hospital's case, the cost of marketing is estimated at 19,000 SAR per employee when the company employs many people. The cost of advertising will be higher because the hospital will use many advertising channels to reach as many people as possible.

Training is another significant cost associated with human resource development. To have competent and relevant medical professionals, hospitals must ensure constant movement to ensure employees stay updated with the current trends. Also, there are emerging diseases like the deadly coronavirus that medical workers may not have experience dealing with. At such a time, each healthcare facility must train their employees on how to deal with the novel virus. The company has to incur other expenses to deal with emergencies effectively. Such costs include increasing the number of nurses and physicians.

Another cost of staffing is staff turnover, which constitutes the highest expense of staffing in healthcare. Companies incur high costs with staff turnover compared to retaining employees. Apart from salaries and wages, new employees require relocation money that has to be catered for by the healthcare facility. Turnover also requires marketing fees for the company to reach target practitioners interested in working for the company. New employees must undergo training that may be more intensive and costly than current employees because they must familiarize themselves with company policies and procedures.

Indirect Costs

Companies also incur indirect staffing costs. The first one is the unproductive time employees are paid, yet they are not doing anything productive for the company. Some of these costs include the time employees are paid but are not at work, such as during holidays, paid leaves, and sick leave. There are also indirect costs, such as the time when employees waste training or due to fatigue. For a new employee, they may waste a lot of time orienting themselves with the company hence being less productive. In this case study, the company pays employees when they are on annual leave, during EID holidays, and when they are sick for a maximum of 30 days in a year. During this period, the company pays employees who are not directly productive to the company. The company may also employ short-term employees to assist during peak seasons and emergencies.

Recommendations for Increasing Nurses and Doctors and Reducing Turnover Rate

The first step in increasing the number of employees is to offer competitive pay and benefits. The cost of living is high, and employees want to be compensated too well to meet daily expenses like food, housing, and utilities. Competitive benefits and pay attracts employees and minimize the rate at which employees leave the company. Companies must research the market's competitive range and decide the best compensation scheme. A reliable and competitive pay will prevent employees from moving to foreign countries where there is an attractive compensation. For example, if a company wants to hire a physician in Riyadh, the company should analyse the salary that other Riyadh companies offer physicians.

Companies must also implement flexible work schedules whereby employees can create a work-life balance and work in more than one company. Companies can also support remote working for employees to have a good time with their families, enhancing satisfaction. Employees want companies they find interesting, motivating, and satisfying. By allowing employees to work for other companies enhances their financial security. When such companies advertise for jobs, many people will be interested in working there. The company can also offer flexible lunchtimes to choose the best time for them to have lunch without interfering with their schedules.

Another way of attracting employees and minimizing turnover is to invest in career building so that employees do not stagnate in one job for too long. People want challenging environments where they can learn new skills and get promotions. Without career development programs, employees may choose to leave a company for greener pastures to bring opportunities for personal and professional development (Espinoza et al., 2018). Companies should clarify their career advancement goals so that employees know where they go net after the current position. Lastly, healthcare companies should offer training opportunities for employees to learn new skills and practice them.

Hiring the right people is another strategy for creating a competent and robust workforce base in a healthcare facility. When designing adverts, companies must clarify the qualifications and skills they are looking for in candidates so that candidates who apply match the vacant positions. It is also essential for managers to look for employees with strong interpersonal and behavioural skills to promote a positive organizational culture. During interviews, employees must ask questions that reveal the interpersonal skills that a candidate possesses. Behavioural problems test the ability of employees to fit in the organizational culture and specific situations.

Employee engagement also helps in boosting productivity and enhancing satisfaction. Healthcare companies must involve workers in making significant decisions that affect them directly and indirectly. Employees must take part in shaping the company vision, mission, values, and culture. Employees cannot easily follow policies, concepts, and assignments that they did not formulate. A company that engages its employees in decision making makes employees more motivated and cannot quickly leave the company. Such employees also become ambassadors, telling other potential candidates about the company.

Conclusion

Staffing is a great challenge in the Saudi Arabia health sector, which must be addressed as soon as possible to achieve the vision 2030 plan. The cost of staffing continues to increase as approaches to healthcare also continue to change. Health companies are caught on the verge of striking a balance between offering high-quality care and minimizing costs. Research reveals that healthcare facilities in Saud Arabia record a high turnover rate because employees leave to work in countries that have better pay. The government also depends on too much foreign labour. It is high time that companies invest in their local workforce by creating a healthy working environment that not only enhances employee retention but also attracts new professionals.

Appendix A

	Coast of current employees
	Payment per hour (SAR)	Number of hours	Average earning per day (SAR)	per year	per 2 years
for Nurses	112	8	896	322,500	645,000
for Physician	121.5	8	972	350,000	700,000
	Costs Hiring New Staff
	Factor	Amount (SAR)/ nurse	Amount (SAR)/ Physician
	Marketing costs	19,000	19,000
	Pay for relocation	19,000	19,000
	Training per employee	35,000	35,000
	Nonproductive costs	23,500	25,500
	Total	96,500	98,500
	Cost Retaining Employees/ Year- Salaried Employee
	Nurses Employees
	Factor	Number of days	Average earning per day (SAR)	Amount (SAR)
	Annual Salary	260	896	232,960
	Paid Annual Leave	21	896	18,816
	Eid Leave	15	896	13,440
	Sick Leave	30	896	26,880
			Total	292,096
	Physician employees
	Factor	Number of days	Average earning per day (SAR)	Amount (SAR)
	Annual Salary	260	972	252,720
	Paid Annual Leave	21	972	20,412
	Eid Leave	15	972	14,580
	Sick Leave	30	972	29,160
			Total	316,872
	Cost Retaining Employees/ Year- Hourly Employee
	Nurses Employees
	Factor	Number of days	Average earning per day (SAR)	Amount (SAR)
	Annual Salary	224	896	200,704
	Paid Annual Leave	21	896	18,816
	Eid Leave	15	896	13,440
	Sick Leave	30	896	26,880
			Total	259,840
	Physician employees
	Factor	Number of days	Average earning per day (SAR)	Amount (SAR)
	Annual Salary	224	972	217,728
	Paid Annual Leave	21	972	20,412
	Eid Leave	15	972	14,580
	Sick Leave	30	972	29,160
			Total	281,880

References

Albejaidi, F., & Nair, K. S. (2019). Building the health workforce: Saudi Arabia's challenges in achieving Vision 2030. The International Journal of health planning and management, 34(4), e1405-e1416.

Alomi, Y. A. (2017). New pharmacy model for vision 2030 in Saudi Arabia. J Pharm Pract Community Med, 3(3), 194-6.

Espinoza, A., Rojas, E., Rojas, J., & Raymundo, C. (2018). Methodology for reducing staff turnover in service companies based on employer branding and talent management. In Brazilian Technology Symposium (pp. 575-583). Springer, Cham.

Qattan, A. (2017). The Effect of Work-Related Stress and Burnout on Nursing Performance and Job Satisfaction: a Study of Hospitals in Saudi Arabia (Doctoral dissertation, University of Sheffield).