A Strategic Approach to Attracting Top Talent and Succession Planning

Creating a Culture of Continuous Learning in Healthcare

“The truth is the best leaders are the best learners.”

This powerhouse of a sentence from one my most treasured books—Learning Leadership by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner—has served as a constant reminder of the importance of personal growth and development.

I’ve come to realize that the profound message can be applied on a broader scale —the best, most successful organizations are those that prioritize learning at their core. As healthcare organizations strive to provide the highest quality of care in volatile environments, creating a culture of learning has become a key strategy for long-term success. Psychologically safe work environments are essential in this process, as they encourage learning from errors without fear of punishment. Not only does this approach foster professional growth and development for employees, but it also plays a pivotal role in attracting and retaining top talent and ensuring effective succession planning. Everything is connected.

Defining a Learning Culture in Healthcare

What is a culture of continuous learning? What does it look like in a healthcare organization? It’s an environment where continuous education, skill development, and knowledge sharing are prioritized and encouraged at all levels. In such a culture, healthcare employees are empowered to seek out new information, experiment with innovative ideas, and learn from their experiences. This mindset is fostered through leadership support, access to resources, and opportunities for growth, with the goal of improving both individual performance and overall organizational effectiveness. A culture of learning ultimately drives adaptability, innovation, continuous improvement, and long-term success, all in the service of enhanced patient care.

The Problem

Inspire Nurse Leader’s National Nurse Leaders Pulse Survey revealed that nurse leaders are increasingly concerned about the lack effective workforce development programs.

Only 12% of respondents reported that their organization has effective role-based leadership development programs.
Only 34% of respondents received an orientation to their new role and responsibilities.
Less than one third of the responses strongly or somewhat strongly agree that their organization has a formal mentorship program.
Less than 1 out of 10 respondents strongly agree that succession planning exists in their organization.

The survey results underscored that most healthcare organizations are failing to invest in the most basic development needs of their patient-facing nurses and nurse leaders. This data coupled with an unprecedented thin pipeline is a call to action to invest in people development.

Why Learning Opportunities are Important in Today’s Healthcare Environment

Investing in growth and development is beneficial for the individual employee and positively impacts the overall resilience and adaptability of the organization. Here are three key reasons why creating a culture of continuous learning needs to be prioritized in our healthcare organizations.

1. Attracting Top Talent

In a competitive job market, healthcare professionals are drawn to organizations that offer more than just a job—they seek opportunities for growth and advancement. A culture of learning signals to potential hires that the organization is committed to their professional development. This is especially important for attracting top talent, who are often looking for employers that provide avenues for skill development and career progression.

2. Retaining Top Talent

Once you have hired and onboarded the talent needed for your healthcare organization, there is nothing more demoralizing or costly than watching them walk out the door. NSI Nursing Solutions, Inc. Reports that the current annual RN turnover remains alarmingly high at 18.4%. When employees see that their organization is committed to their professional development and advancement, they are more likely to feel engaged and motivated. The research firm Gallup found that organizations that have made a strategic investment in employee development are twice as likely to retain their employees. A learning culture provides opportunities for continuous skill enhancement, career progression, and personal growth, which are key factors that top talent looks for in a long-term employer. Additionally, this environment encourages innovation and creativity, allowing top performers to see a clear path for their future within the organization, reducing the likelihood of turnover.

3.  Succession Planning

Nurse Leader estimates that 70,000 nurses, including nurse leaders, are expected to retire annually. They highlight proactive succession planning programs as “key mitigation strategies for this impending shortage of nurse leaders.” The ability to identify and develop future leaders from within the organization ensures continuity and stability. By promoting continuous learning, organizations create a cost-effective pipeline of capable, well-prepared leaders who can seamlessly step into key positions as they become available. This reduces the risks associated with leadership transitions, such as disruptions in operations or loss of institutional knowledge. A learning culture also helps identify and nurture high-potential employees early on, giving them the experiences and training necessary to grow into effective leaders.

Intentional succession planning is built on a culture of learning which goes beyond individual development; it is a strategic approach to workforce and talent development.

How to Get Started

Creating a culture of learning will not happen overnight. It will take a long-term vision and commitment. However, here are three simple ways to get started.

1. Stretch Assignments

Giving employees challenging projects that push them out of their comfort zones is a powerful tool for developing leadership skills. These assignments allow staff to take on new responsibilities, make decisions, and learn from their experiences. This not only prepares them for future leadership roles but also strengthens their current performance.

2. Coaching

This development tool is another essential element of a learning culture. Effective coaching helps employees identify their strengths and areas for improvement, set goals, and develop strategies to achieve them. In healthcare, where the work is often demanding and complex, coaching can provide the support and guidance needed to navigate complex challenges and grow as a leader. Group coaching is emerging as a best practice and grows teams individually and collectively.

3.  Leadership Development

These essential programs should be designed to equip emerging leaders with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. By investing in leadership development, healthcare organizations can ensure that they have a pipeline of capable leaders ready to step into key roles as the need arises.

During times of financial pressure leaders must strongly advocate for investments in people development. If the proper investment in development is not made the cycle of turnover and declining engagement will continue.

Download Our Continuous Learning Tipsheet

Please fill out the form below to download INL’s Leadership Continuous Learning Tip Sheet:

Explore the 5 key strategies that will keep you on your learning path. Complete our learning checklist to see how you are doing.

As the healthcare industry faces increasingly difficult and complex challenges such as the clinical expertise and patient complexity gap, staffing shortages, and the erosion of quality outcomes, having a well-developed, agile workforce is more important than ever. Winning organizations will commit to assessing and aligning the workforce’s skills and capabilities with the needs of the patients and communities served.

Lori Armstrong DNP, RN NEA-BC

CEO & Chief Clinical Officer