What the Quintuple Aim Means for Healthcare Hiring

For healthcare organizations, the primary objective is to provide quality patient care. However, with the increasing demands and pressures on the healthcare industry, it is necessary to focus on the well-being of those who deliver care – the healthcare workforce. The Quintuple Aim emphasizes the importance of improving the job satisfaction and well-being of healthcare workers, which ultimately leads to improved quality of care and better patient outcomes. In this article, we will discuss what the Quintuple Aim means for healthcare hiring and how it can benefit healthcare employers.

What Is the Quintuple Aim for Healthcare Improvement?

The Quintuple Aim is a comprehensive framework that optimizes healthcare by focusing on the following five interrelated goals:

1. Improving clinician experience and satisfaction
2. Improving patient experience and outcomes
3. Reducing healthcare costs
4. Improving population health
5. Achieving health equity

The Quintuple Aim provides a holistic, patient-centered, and equity-driven model aimed at improving healthcare delivery and outcomes. To achieve the Quintuple Aim, it is important to carefully align business goals with those of the framework and ensure health equity is a consideration in every phase of the hiring process.

Understanding the Quintuple Aim in Healthcare Hiring

To achieve the Quintuple Aim in healthcare, employers must ensure that their hiring process is optimized for efficiency, effectiveness, experience, and equity. This means considering multiple factors when selecting candidates for a position, including their unique cultural background, lived experiences, and emotional intelligence, among other metrics that can help to develop a more diverse workforce. By diversifying the workforce, employers can ensure that their organization represents and caters to the needs of diverse patient populations, which, in turn, contributes significantly to health equity.

Another aspect that was added during the Quadruple Aim, is improving clinician experience and satisfaction. During the healthcare hiring process, employers must take into account the workload, job demands, and emotional labor of their clinicians. When creating or reviewing job descriptions, it is essential to consider the expectations and responsibilities placed on healthcare workers, as well as their work-life balance. This can help to attract and retain top talent in the industry.

Implementing the Quintuple Aim in Healthcare Hiring

Achieving the Quintuple Aim starts during the healthcare hiring process. In order to attract and retain top talent, healthcare organizations must align their hiring process with the goals of the framework. To start, this includes incorporating the following strategies:

• Diversifying recruitment channels to reach a broader pool of candidates
• Asking about work-life balance during the healthcare interview process
• Incorporating health equity and cultural sensitivity training in onboarding and orientation
• Creating salary bands and benefits that are equitable for all employees regardless of their ethnicity, race, or gender
• Establishing metrics and KPIs such as diversity ratios, retention rates, and employee engagement surveys to assess the effectiveness of the Quintuple Aim in the organization
   

Diversified Recruitment Channels

The first step in the healthcare hiring process is recruitment. In order to diversify recruitment channels, healthcare organizations can focus on reaching out to underrepresented groups in the healthcare industry, such as minority communities and individuals with disabilities.

For example, healthcare organizations can focus on targeted ads, having a strategic presence at community events, and working with hiring partners such as iHire to expand their reach. By expanding the candidate pool, employers can increase their chances of finding top talent and promoting diversity in their workforce.

Work-Life Balance as a Healthcare Interview Question

The term work-life balance has been a taboo topic in healthcare hiring in past generations of healthcare workers. However, it is more important than ever before to ask about work-life balance due to high rates of healthcare burnout. A burnt-out employee is not a long-term employee. Therefore, at least one of the healthcare interview questions should focus on how the employee plans to advocate for or manage their own work-life balance. Then, hiring managers can ensure that their strategies align with the needs and expectations of the healthcare organization and their unit specifically.

For example, healthcare candidates who stay aware of their needs are more likely to advocate for themselves before burnout occurs, keeping them able to fulfill the duties of their role in the long term. All other factors being equal, asking about how candidates manage their work-life balance can be useful for identifying the right fit for the organization.

Onboarding as a Vehicle for Health Equity

Onboarding and orientation processes are an ideal time to introduce new hires to the goals of the Quintuple Aim in healthcare and how they align with the values of the organization. This also presents an opportunity to incorporate health equity training that promotes cultural sensitivity, awareness, and understanding of diverse patient populations.

For example, healthcare employers can incorporate interactive workshops or presentations that address health disparities, social determinants of health, and best practices for providing equitable care. This helps to ensure that all employees are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to the Quintuple Aim. By creating a culture of understanding and respect for diverse backgrounds, healthcare employers can ensure that their workforce reflects the patients they serve.

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Salary Bands and Benefits

One of the ways to promote equity and diversity in healthcare hiring is by creating salary bands that are equitable for all employees, regardless of factors such as gender, ethnicity, and race. By promoting fair wages and benefits for all employees, healthcare organizations can attract a more diverse pool of candidates and ensure that their workforce is representative of the communities they serve.

One way to achieve this is to go beyond industry standards and look to other industries with similar roles to see how they handle salary bands and benefits for diverse candidates. Things such as local poverty levels, cost of living, and the cost of education can all impact fair wages and benefits for employees. By taking these factors into account, healthcare employers can create more equitable salary bands that promote diversity and contribute to the Quintuple Aim.

Measuring Success

Finally, in order to ensure that the Quintuple Aim is being effectively implemented in healthcare hiring, employers must establish metrics and KPIs to measure success. This can include diversity ratios, retention rates, and employee engagement surveys. By regularly monitoring these metrics, organizations can identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments to further align with the goals of the Quintuple Aim.

Some examples of KPIs that can be useful during both a new employee's probationary period and long-term employment include:

• Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)
• Retention rates for diverse demographic groups
• Employee engagement and satisfaction surveys that include questions related to diversity, equity, and work-life balance

By tracking these metrics, healthcare organizations can continuously improve their hiring process and ensure that they are attracting and retaining top talent while promoting diversity, health equity, and overall employee well-being.

To effectively implement the Quintuple Aim in healthcare hiring, two critical attributes are vital: empathy and perseverance. Empathy allows healthcare employers to understand the needs and challenges of their diverse workforce, and perseverance enables them to overcome any obstacles on their path to achieving the Quintuple Aim. By empathizing with their employees' lived experiences and embracing equity, healthcare employers can create a sense of belonging and fulfillment among their workforce, leading to increased job satisfaction, reduced turnover rates, and ultimately, improved patient outcomes.

Quintuple Aim for Healthcare Improvement

The Quintuple Aim emphasizes the importance of improving the well-being of healthcare providers to achieve better patient outcomes and promote health equity. Healthcare employers must take the necessary steps to foster a positive work environment that promotes the physical and mental health of their workforce, diversity and inclusion, ongoing training and development, and adequate staffing and resource allocation. By focusing on these efforts, healthcare providers can improve patient outcomes for a diverse patient population, reduce healthcare costs for the healthcare system as a whole, and ensure job satisfaction and well-being for their employees.

Explore our Resource Center for more guidance in employee retention and engagement, including tips for building psychological safety in healthcare and how stay interviews can help you retain top healthcare staff.