Innovative human resource (HR) practices in US hospitals: Empirical study

The study was developed to assess the use of innovative HR practices in a national sample of US hospitals. The study also evaluated which HR strategies were included in organization strategic planning and the association between the involvement of HR professionals in strategic planning with the use of innovative HR practices. An HR survey was developed and administered to top administrators and HR executives from 85 hospitals across the United States in 2005. Respondents from 48 hospitals (56% of the contacted hospitals) completed the Survey. We found that innovative HR practices are still underused in US hospitals despite their good potential to improve organizational performance. The means were far below 4.0 (on a 5-point scale) for most innovative HR approaches. The most frequently used innovative HR practices were a customer focus orientation (mean 3.99 on a 5-point scale), innovative staffing methods (mean 3.81), and employee training and development (mean 3.36). The least used innovative HR practices were team-based pay plans, team-based compensation based on results, and job rotation strategies (means 1.9, 2.03, and 2.16, respectively). We also found that hospitals with high HR involvement were about five times as likely as other hospitals to find talent in advance for key job openings (OR=4.61, 95% CI: 1.10-7.38). Similarly, hospitals with high HR involvement were about four times as likely to stress organizational culture and values in the selection process (OR=3.97, 95% CI: 1.01-3.97). Finally, hospitals with high HR involvement were about six times as likely to base compensation on goal oriented results (OR=6.17, 95% CI: 1.17-3.37). We recommend that top administrators should involve HR executives more extensively in strategic planning and increase the use of innovative HR practices in their organizations.