title: Change your metrics: if you get what you measure, then measure what you want--retention.
abstract: What we want is retention, not turnover, of our workforce. We should measure what we want-net retention-which is a fundamentally different metric from turnover (not its inverse). Net retention is a highly useful managerial tool, especially for fiscal and strategic planning. Retention enables learning and therefore can facilitate improved medical and organizational outcomes. To retain our workforce and achieve superior results, we must clarify priorities; change our metrics, particularly to long-term outcomes; use evidence-based medicine and evidence-based management; apply the "internal customer" concept; and utilize systems thinking.
authors.affiliation: ADM Healthcare Consulting, and the School of Medicine and the R. O. Anderson Graduate Schools of Management, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA. dwaldman@salud.unm.edu
authors.forename: J Deane
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Waldman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003625:Data Collection; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008875:Middle Aged; D009874:Operations Research; D010558:Personnel Loyalty; D010563:Personnel Turnover / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011216:Practice Management, Medical; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D013192:Staff Development