The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in an economic downfall of 9.1% in the US and has forced 22.2 million citizens into unemployment. Sakshi Dewani sought to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on human resources departments in the healthcare industry–particularly, what policies do HR managers implement to retain and hire employees during a pandemic? Since recruiting is the most important function of HR departments, this research was conducted by filtering the job announcements(indeed.com) posted by the location as Indiana, and time frame as January 2021. Mostly, adopted job announcements were the ones that were mandated by the CDC and the failure to comply with these would lead to penalties and disciplinary actions. These policies were focused on the safety of the patients and for limiting the spread of the infection.
Coronavirus pandemic (2020) has been one of the deadliest viruses in US history so far and has immensely impacted the human resources function in the healthcare sector. Even though titled as the recession-proof industry, healthcare has lost around 1.5 million jobs in the middle of the pandemic which raised many questions on the administration and also recruitment of employees. This has put significant pressure on the Human Resources department of every organization and evolved their leadership and recruitment practices in the health crisis environment.
In this research, job announcements from healthcare facilities were compiled for January 2021 and compiled to study the policies that were implemented. The policies were then segregated into three categories, based on popularity: mostly adopted policies (>75% of the organizations), moderately adopted policies (30-75% of the organizations), and rarely adopted policies (<30% of the organizations).
Mostly adopted policies were the ones that were focused mainly on the safety of the patients and the staff at the healthcare facilities. Most of these policies were mandatory guidelines by the CDC to limit the spread of COVID-19. For example, PPE kits were mandatory, use of special EPA certified disinfectant, mandated infection control training for all staff, mandatory vaccination administration for the staff, and use of sterile gowns, gloves, and eye protection. The major incentive to adopt these policies was to avoid penalties and ensure safety. Since these policies were adopted by a majority of the organizations, they did not differentiate any organization in the job market.
Moderately adopted policies focused on the primary stakeholders of healthcare facilities: the staff and the patients. For example, mandatory screening for the staff like temperature measurements before each shift, quarantine guidelines, and guidelines for telehealth. These policies displayed the priorities of the organization to the job seekers.
Rarely adopted policies were unique policies that display the organization’s culture and leadership. For example, Stratford healthcare granted two weeks of paid time off for the staff that had tested positive or had household members that had tested positive. These policies displayed how the organization’s working environment and leadership style is. They make sure that their employees feel supported and appreciated for the work they are doing for the betterment of society. These are the policies that make an organization stand out among the rest. These policies indicate the extra step that the healthcare facility is taking to show concern for employee safety and well-being.
Since, it is one of the first few studies that are being conducted on the pandemic it will help break numerous myths created by the media and other sources on the effect of the pandemic. In addition, this study will lay the foundation for future research studies that aim to study the impact of COVID-19 on the US healthcare sector. The answer to a widely discussed question today “What can we do to become better prepared for future pandemics?”, lies in observing what mistakes were made now and improving on those.
The major takeaway from this research is that during the pandemic, healthcare employers have focused on the safety and well-being of job seekers.
Sakshi Dewani is a senior at Indiana University studying Healthcare Management and Policy and a certificate course in Public Management. Originally from India, Sakshi is keen on understanding the differences in ways the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the healthcare industry in different countries. She would like to give a special thanks to her advisor David Archer and Professor Baggetta both of the Indiana University O’Neill School for their invaluable advice, continuous support, and patience with this research.
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