AAMI Publishes Best Practices Guide for HTM Employee Retention

AAMI is pleased to announce that it has taken the next step in its ongoing assessment of the healthcare technology management (HTM) field, producing a comprehensive report on HTM employee retention.

In 2022, AAMI surveyed HTM professionals and reported back on their concerns and various employee retention issues. This timely survey coincided with ongoing job market turbulence and the fact that a large proportion of HTM professionals are expected to age out of the workforce in the coming decades.

Then, in 2023, AAMI staff produced an in-depth report assessing the primary concerns of the HTM workforce, with a focus on employee retention. This report is based off the free text comments from participants in the 2022 survey. The report identifies what issues are top of mind for HTM staff and makes clear recommendations related to employee retention. The primary issues areas addressed in the free text survey comments include pay and benefits, communication, leadership, and advancement and training.

1. Employee benefits

The survey indicated that pay and benefits are vital to HTM staff retention. Employees are not only concerned with monetary compensation, but also their ability to take advantage of other benefits like vacation days and paid time off. “Once structure, job descriptions, and promotion paths are developed, HTM leaders should work with their HR departments to ensure equitable salaries for the defined positions,” the report reads.

2. Communication

Communication is vital to employee retention and wellbeing. It is important for leadership and management to set expectations, maintain consistency, and to listen and engage with employees in a transparent fashion. The report provides a list of ten essential characteristics that employers should consider. This includes suggestions for setting expectations and goals.

3. Leadership

Culture is key, and management staff needs to provide employees with a voice. Issues such as quality and safety concerns, what procedures work well, ideas for improvement, and ideas related to staff recognition are outlined in detail for management in the report. AAMI’s report finds that establishing an employee advisory committee is one way to effectively collect this information.

4. Advancement and training

A robust training regimen is a must-have for employers interested in improving employee retention. As medical devices become more common and complex, HTM continues to evolve rapidly, and every organization needs continuous training and a succession plan. The report finds that “HTM leaders must be creative and flexible when determining the training needed and finding where opportunities exist for their team, including AAMI, OEM courses, third-party providers, formal education, online training, or on-site apprenticeship programs.”

Managers and employers looking to learn more can download the report at AAMI’s HTM resources page. Access is free for AAMI members.

Next Steps

What’s next for AAMI’s ongoing assessment of the HTM workforce? AAMI recently initiated a survey related to how HTM professionals interact with home healthcare. Does your department make house calls or work in patients’ homes? Either way, we want to know! The survey can be found here.

If you have questions about the HTM workforce survey results, the methodology, or accessing the full report, please contact AAMI staff at htm@aami.org.