P105 Laboratory staffing retention: A retrospective study

Introduction Experienced personnel are a laboratory’s greatest asset. Several management strategies have been applied over the years to retain staff including a 5 tier promotion structure, salary adjustments, professional development, meeting attendance, and research opportunities. The study aim was to determine if the promotion strategy has been effective and if a 3–4 year staff retention is cost effective. Method Employee longevity, reasons for leaving, position at time of resignation, and promotion data were compiled for the past 15.5 years. Pre-employment expense calculations included salaries spent on screening, interviewing, and administrative processing. Employee training costs were determined by the non-productive time the trainee spent over the training period, trainer’s time, and reagent costs. Results Fifty-seven employees were hired during the study period with a loss of 3.6 individuals per year. Five individuals (9%) did not pass probationary period. The median of Upper Management retention was 16.9 years. The median years of service was slightly higher for current versus past Middle Managers (7.1 and 6 years respectively) but was slightly lower for current versus past Technologist (1.5 and 1.9 years respectively). The total cost to hire and train one Technologist is 42,749. Staff turnover equals a yearly expense of 153,898. Staff loss was largely due to career changes. Past Middle Managers and Technologists stayed in the HLA field at a similar rate (40% and 41% respectively). Conclusion Promotion opportunities have allowed retention of Upper and Middle Managers, with skill sets needed for a high complexity lab serving multiple transplant centers with high risk patients. Bachelor of Science graduates are hired in higher proportion than Medical Technologists, which may account for the turnover due to career change. Training costs were recovered within the first year; however, a 3–4 year retention goal may be more realistic to balance the non-quantified opportunity costs of constant training. Download high-res image (130KB) Download full-size image