In this research brief from ContinuumCloud and Relias, we explore strategies and solutions that behavioral health organizations can use to improve retention and address the ongoing workforce crisis.
Retention is a Top Priority
In ContinuumCloud’s recently released 2024 Behavioral Health Industry Trends Report, retention once again topped the list of pressing priorities among behavioral health leaders across the nation. This trend has remained the same for many years now, highlighting the ongoing workforce crisis within the industry.
Addressing staffing challenges and improving retention is no small feat for behavioral health organizations. In the report, behavioral health leaders cited a lack of qualified applicants, high turnover, and inability to offer competitive pay and benefits as the top three challenges – highlighting that retention issues exist at every stage of the employee lifecycle. Dealing with a limited talent pool to begin with limits recruiting, high turnover causes an endless cycle of needing to train new staff, and lower compensation fuels employees to continue looking elsewhere.
Behavioral health leaders certainly have their hands full when it comes to developing a retention strategy that actually works. And while some challenges, such as budgetary restrictions, may limit the solutions they have available, there is still opportunity
to innovate and leverage existing tools in a way that can help behavioral health organizations better engage and retain their staff.
