De-Risking College Hires: A CHRO's Case Study Using Employer-Funded Financial Aid

Introduction

In today's competitive healthcare landscape, securing top-tier talent is crucial for organizational success. However, the high turnover rates among new college graduates can significantly impact a company's bottom line. Traditional hiring practices often fail to address the underlying reasons for this turnover, leading to costly consequences.

Enter Employer-Funded Financial Aid (EFFA), an innovative solution that transforms collegiate talent acquisition by reducing turnover risk and optimizing hiring decisions. By providing milestone-based scholarships, EFFA helps employers identify and invest in potential hires before making a formal job offer.

A Case Study: The CHRO's Challenge

Imagine that Sarah, the CHRO of a large healthcare organization (who is based on several dozen, "friendly fire," conversations EFFA held with HR and Talent leaders to hone the product), is facing a pressing challenge. Despite her team's best efforts, the company experienced a 40% turnover rate among new college graduate hires within their first year of employment. The costs associated with recruiting, onboarding, and replacing these employees are substantial, impacting the organization's bottom line. Sarah knows that something needs to change.

The Solution: Employer-Funded Financial Aid

After conducting extensive research, Sarah discovers EFFA. Intrigued by the platform's potential to address her organization's turnover issues, she decides to pilot the program.

Here's how Sarah can implement EFFA:

1. Identify Critical Skills: Sarah works closely with her hiring managers to identify the specific success factors, skills, and competencies that are most essential for new college graduate roles in healthcare, such as medical assistants, pharmacy technicians, registered nurses, and healthcare administrators.

2. Design Milestone-Based Scholarships: EFFA's platform allows Sarah to create tailored scholarships that reward students for completing specific milestones aligned with the identified critical skills. These milestones are designed to address the root causes of voluntary turnover, including:

   • Assessments: Students are required to complete both personality and skills-based assessments to identify their strengths, weaknesses, and career preferences.

   • Clinical Skills Training: Students are given opportunities to develop essential clinical skills through simulations, hands-on training, and mentorship programs.

   • Healthcare-Specific Project-Based Learning: Students participate in projects that simulate real-world healthcare scenarios, allowing employers to observe their problem-solving skills, teamwork abilities, and communication effectiveness.

   • Mentorships and Site Visits: Students are paired with experienced healthcare professionals who can provide guidance, support, and insights into the industry. They also participate in site visits to learn about the company's operations and culture.

   • Last Mile Training: Students receive targeted training to prepare them for specific roles and responsibilities within the healthcare organization, such as patient care, medication management, or administrative tasks.

The Results

The EFFA pilot program was designed to implement validated HR tactics, proven to increase retention and productivity. By providing students with financial incentives to complete critical milestones, while still in school and before making the hiring decision, Sarah's organization optimizes their process to:

• Reduce turnover risk: Students who received EFFA scholarships are more likely to accept job offers and stay with the company long-term.

• Enhance talent acquisition: The program attracts top talent who are motivated to demonstrate their skills and abilities by the prospect of financial aid.

• Improve new hire productivity: Students who have already completed specified milestones are better prepared for their roles and hit the ground running.

• Realize cost savings: By reducing voluntary turnover, Sarah's organization can avoid the expenses typically associated voluntary turnovers, such as re-acquiring talent, re-training and lost productivity.

Conclusion

EFFA offers a transformative approach to collegiate talent acquisition. By investing in potential hires early in the process, employers can significantly reduce turnover risk and improve overall workforce performance. Sarah's case study demonstrates how CHROs in the healthcare industry can leverage EFFA to optimize their talent pipelines and achieve long-term success.