Outsourcing: Beat back turnover

Q. How do I stop the revolving door of employees? 

A. An HME business has many things to worry about and turnover is one of them. A recent search online indicates the turnover rate is as high as 60% for medical assistants in health care. I would agree with this percentage, as we have experienced the same.  

That’s until we started hiring remote personnel five years ago and excessive turnover has decreased dramatically. Less than a 5% turnover rate is our new reality. In fact, we still have our first employee from 2016 working for us today! We found a work ethic and culture of professionalism that is often missing in the local talent pool. Dedication and a desire to learn also make remote personnel ideal. 

Additionally, there is a constant flow of qualified candidates. We can fill positions in any department and move folks around as their performance justifies. Because of this cost savings, it also allows us to cross-train personnel and cover unplanned absences.   

The hardest part of hiring remote personnel is getting started. There are many services to choose from. A decision must be made about what you want to accomplish. Does your company need a service to fulfill these needs or personnel to accomplish your specific goals? Front-end or back-end? Answer the phones or post payments? Remote personnel can address your specific needs. 

After you get started and realize the benefit to your business and bank account, you may ask yourself: Where else can they be placed? We discovered multiple areas in our company we could assign remote personnel. We were able to use it as a method of scaling our growth and keeping our labor costs minimal, while expanding our geographical coverage. 

Turnover must not be a burden in our industry. We have resources available today to eliminate the task of finding qualified personnel and keeping them. 

Todd Usher is founder of Tactical Back Office, Inc. Reach him at todd@thetbo.com or 800.5589.7501.