Why Focusing Only on Hiring is a Recipe for Disaster

Setting The Stage

When you think about work on a Sunday night, are you looking forward to the prospect of Monday morning? This is for my Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) who are providing direct speech services. I hope your answer is “yes.”

I hope that you have found that place that makes you feel like you are living your purpose and making a difference in the lives of families. Guess what, not everyone of us feels this way. Many SLPs are regretting their career choices, which means that we are losing new and experienced clinicians.

What’s In The Conversation

Here is what’s being said:

• “I’ve done every (primary) setting other than schools, and HH was actually my favorite before leaving the field totally.”
  
• “I am back in school myself and working to move away from this field.”
  

This is disheartening to hear because I know firsthand the investment and the commitment that each and every one of us had to make to get here, with some of us still trying to get here—earning your CCC-SLP.

Recruitment vs. Retention

Of course, the goal for companies is always to find the best talent. And it should be a goal, but what seems to be missing today is retaining that talent.

This is no different for speech language pathologists (SLPs). We are losing our talent, not to other companies and organizations, but out of the field entirely. Let’s talk about it!

Why Is This a Problem for Our Field?

This is bad for everyone, in particular the families who need us the most.

Every organization can expect to lose a certain amount of employees each year, but in this field (communication science and disorders), we cannot afford to lose one. In our current state, we cannot meet the current needs with shortages in key areas:

• Schools have more openings than qualified candidates.
  
• Rural areas have difficulty attracting and keeping SLPs.
  

In addition, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that this field will grow at approximately 15% in the next 10 years. And although we don’t currently have the numbers on how wide this problem is, information gathered by ASHA surveys on job satisfaction and contributing factors suggest that attrition could be high.

Contributing Factors

Another contributing factor is the training program for speech language pathologists. The current requirement is a master-level program with limited capacity as well as many SLPs who feel ill prepared.

This means that not enough people are graduating each year to fill the needs. What follows is a trickle-down effect:

• Businesses and organizations cannot provide needed and consistent services to families.
  
• From a business perspective, losing good talent can affect overall livelihood and the ability to stay afloat.
  

What Is Causing the Problem?

Without a doubt, SLPs make enormous contributions to outcomes and quality of life for people every day. But this cannot happen without acknowledging that there are complex challenges that have eroded job satisfaction.

Despite knowing many of the issues that drive people away, employers often struggle—or seem unwilling—to remove the barriers that would encourage SLPs to stay.

Ten most reported issues:

1. Lack of preparation and mentoring support
   
2. Increasingly broad scope of practice that reduces the feeling of competence
   
3. Yearly cuts to Medicaid and decreased insurance reimbursement
   
4. Insurance dictating reimbursement and lack of school funding
   
5. Increased behavioral issues for children
   
6. Caseloads and productivity requirements
   
7. Ethical issues in some settings
   
8. Pay equity vs. educational cost
   
9. School bureaucracy
   
10. Lack of understanding of the role of SLPs for administrators
    

All of this contributes to burnout and increases the burden on the SLPs who remain, further exacerbating the issue and creating a ripple effect.

What Can We Do About It? Where Can We Start?

The American Speech Hearing Association (ASHA) is not coming to save us, and we cannot give up on the idea that we can affect change.

We have to start looking for solutions in our state and in our community. We can start with the things that we can control.

Six things we can do now:

1. Get to know other SLPs in your area (make at least one connection that you can help or who can support you).
   
2. Experienced SLPs can take a more leadership role in providing a safety net for new clinicians by creating multiple levels of support as many clinicians have their own workload.
   
3. SLPs can create a community network of support to decrease isolation and provide opportunities for dialogue.
   
4. Community SLP groups can create educational materials to help new SLPs on how to find the right fit, questions to ask to ensure adequate support, and things to consider in compensation.
   
5. Community SLP groups can work with state organizations on creating a strategic plan with measurable outcomes and a timetable to address some of the bigger issues.
   
6. Community SLP groups can network with other community and state organizations who have had success in improving conditions for SLPs.
   

Final Thoughts

There is no quick fix for losing good talent and there is no quick fix to the solutions for retention.

Putting in the time to ensure that clinicians feel supported and competent in their role goes a long way toward job satisfaction as we continue to work on long-term issues. It is well worth it . This will also allows companies and organizations to spend less time and money on hiring, recruiting, onboarding, and training—while providing consistency for the client.

We have to first focus on keeping people, not just hiring them.

Our silence is a problem.

Let’s talk about it. Let’s do something about it. Non-action is a problem.