The following information was shared by the Steering Committee.
Investment in employees goes beyond direct financial compensation in the form of salary. In all organizations, indirect benefits are provided as well. A role of the organization’s human resources department is to assess the competitive environment for talent and assure that the organization is providing indirect benefits comparable to other area employers.
One indirect benefit many organizations provide is licensure/registration support with the applicable regulatory agencies, most commonly, boards of pharmacy. The incentives for an organization to directly sponsor employee licensure/registration are twofold. First, it ensures departmental compliance with regulatory requirements for staff employed by the site. Joint Commission requires entities to demonstrate primary source verification of state licensure/registration requirements. Many departments have recognized the efficiency achieved by an institutional sponsorship approach, rather than tasking administrative staff with obtaining registration from individual team members, then performing a duplicate validation with the board of pharmacy. Added support is likely from the organization’s internal audit department as this reduces institutional risk.
The second benefit of this approach is for the employee. While state registration fees vary, it can be framed as another mechanism by which the organization is investing in the employee. By providing this support, the organization demonstrates the importance of the employee to the broader mission and signals a commitment to future employment. Highlighting this benefit, if it can be offered, should be a part of the recruitment strategy for new talent and a retention strategy for existing team members.