Healthy employees in healthcare by focussing on job satisfaction and suitable work

It is a well-known fact that there are shortages in the labour market. The healthcare sector has been dealing with this problem for longer than most other sectors, and many parties are working on solutions. One way of attracting employees is to stop looking at diplomas and instead use people's skills. The House of Healthcare and Welfare, set up by WVG Healthcare and Welfare, ROC van Twente and Labour Market Region East, with funding from Twente Board, is a digital platform that should provide structural solutions. 

“We had a meeting with employers and representatives from educational institutions and the government and discussed many new ideas”, says Gertrud Zweerts, the House of Healthcare and Welfare project leader. "The idea is to set up pilot projects to see how these ideas work in practice." One of the ideas that came up during the hackathon is joint employment so that different organisations can exchange staff. This works in two ways. These employees can be used when there are shortages, but it is also helpful for retaining them. By alternating between working for one organisation and another, they will find out which employer suits them best. Then, at least, they will keep working in the sector. This is not an idea that we will pick up, but we are talking about it.” There are three action lines in the region: increasing the influx of staff, which we are in favour of, but also the action lines ‘being a good employer’ and ‘working differently, organising differently’. We are trying to address the shortage together, with all partners.”

Another idea is ‘learning on the job'. "If someone is suitable in terms of skills, talented and has the right motivation, we want to give them a job and help them get the right papers in the meantime", says Gertrud. "These people might be drop-outs, lateral entrants or people who have already worked in healthcare in the past. We could also organise the tasks in healthcare differently; many actions performed by staff do not require a diploma. Why not let others perform those tasks?"

Gertrud has planned a kick-off meeting in September. Representatives from healthcare institutions across the region plan to set up or further expand pilots in various working groups. "We need to think differently. More and more people require care, and many healthcare and welfare workers were already on their last legs even before the corona pandemic started. We need to ensure that our employees can work sustainably; we need to create fulfilling work that suits them so that they keep working in healthcare. We can keep our employees healthy if we achieve all this, and also by focussing on prevention”, says Gertrud. “By paying attention to our staff and their health (are they eating well and sleeping well?) and by making sure they enjoy their jobs, we prevent drop-outs and absenteeism will go down. The House of Healthcare and Welfare does not cover the latter, but it is important for the sector."

What she likes about Twente is that the skills-focused approach by the House of Healthcare and Welfare is catching on well. “Organisations are very willing to tackle this together”, she says. “I do not know if this is typical for Twente, but people here do not back down once an agreement has been made; a deal is a deal.”