Join the VIP Team: Employee Retention in Healthcare

Interested in a position at Vision Integrated Partners (VIP)? You’re likely wondering what working at VIP is like—especially when it comes to building a long-term career and what programs we have in place to make sure all of our team members are happy and thriving. 

We want our team members to enjoy their work and build the type of career they want at VIP. We sat down with Kayla Hoke, the business unit leader at Advanced Sight Center and Visionary Eyecare and Surgery, which are two of VIP’s medical practices, to learn more about retention within Advanced Sight Center.

Keep on reading to take a look at our employee retention and tenure programs and some key ways that Kayla and her team are making a difference!

What are some tenures by position at the business units you manage?

I have a certified ophthalmic technician who has been our clinic lead for more than 10 years. Overall, she has 36 years with our organization. In the back office, my surgery coordinator has been with our organization for 19 years, with over 10 years in that position as coordinator. I also have three technicians, all of who are certified ophthalmic assistants with 10 years in that position within our organization.

In our front office, one team member has been here for 18 years, and another one has been here for 25 years. They’ve both held a couple of different roles within our front office and are currently serving as the check-in and check-out receptionist or patient care coordinator. My optical lead has been in that position for 10 years, and I've been with the organization for over 10 years but in my position at Advanced Sight Center for five.

What programs are in place to ensure employee retention in healthcare?

VIP has numerous programs in place to drive happiness and employee retention in healthcare. For example, we work together to develop an incentive compensation plan for leaders of the business units but also within the practice for the employees. 

Quarterly Incentives

Employees are given specific goals, which are set quarterly, and have financial opportunities within those goals. These goals help employees get really engaged with the organization, and they’re driven to succeed. They also really have a good grasp of what the goals are and what we're trying to move toward, and I think that has really been helpful in our practice to keep people engaged. 

Educational Resources

VIP also provides access to an online portal with education resources across many departments, such as optical, surgery, clinical, and the front desk. Staff can go on there for free at any given time and take courses, or the leaders the leaders can assign courses to staff members in areas where they might desire development.

Team-Building Events

We also have workshops twice a year—and sometimes more often—where there’s a lot of leadership development, which then carries over to the medical practices. The practices and surgery centers also have team-building events for employees to engage in. The practices and surgery centers also have team-building events for employees to engage in such as social hour, team dinners, and volunteer events.

Employee Surveys and Reviews

One of the systems for monitoring employee happiness in the practices and surgery centers is the voice of the employee survey, which is sent out to employees on an as-needed basis. This survey helps us understand what’s going well and which areas have potential for improvement. 

We also look for areas of improvement during our employee reviews. For example, if an employee says they want to be more engaged in the practice, we look for ways we can help them feel more engaged and how we can develop their career goals.

Biweekly Practice Calls

To ensure employees are happy and thriving, we have biweekly calls in the medical practices, which are so valuable because we collaboratively problem-solve on anything that we need help with in our practices. It helps us engage with other practices that are doing the same thing as us, and we’re able to bounce ideas off of each other. These calls give practice leaders the tools to ensure employees are happy.

Social Hours

At Advanced Sight Center, we have ice cream days and grilled cheese days where we bring in these themed food items for some added fun during the work day. We also have social hours after work where we invite both team members and their families to spend time with each other and talk about our day-to-day lives. We also customize anniversary gifts for our team members and make it a personal experience because it’s not just the position we value—it’s the person we value.

Ready to build a long-term career in healthcare?

Interested in joining an organization focused on employee happiness and retention? Apply today to join our team!