Novant Health is developing employees' careers with new education benefit

For industries facing a talent gap, such as healthcare, benefits that support the success of both employees and their workplace are especially valuable. A comprehensive educational offering can go a long way in creating an engaged, sustainable workforce.   

According to the American Hospital Association, there is an expected shortage of about 100,000 critical health care workers by 2028, which would not only negatively impact the experience of patients, but that of healthcare professionals stretched too thin with little opportunity to grow. The team at Novant Health, a nonprofit healthcare network of hospitals, physician clinics and outpatient facilities, aimed to solve both challenges through a single education benefit.  

"Education around healthcare is very regulated, as it should be," says Lauren King, VP of talent strategy and workforce development at Novant Health. "We're talking about patient safety, so we need a lot of parameters around giving certifications, diplomas and degrees to the professionals who care for them. But we also needed to figure out how to get more of them, so how do we start to fill those gaps?" 

Read more: Bright Horizons' guide to implementing education benefits

Through Novant Health's Future Forward program, which they launched this year in partnership with education platform InStride, active full- or part-time employees will have access to pre-paid tuition benefits that allow them to earn an associate's, bachelor's or master's degree easily and affordably. Novant Health will pay up to $5,250 a year directly to academic institutions on behalf of full-time workers enrolled in the courses offered through the program, and up to $2,625 a year for qualifying part-time team members.

The courses available to employees all pertain to healthcare either directly or indirectly, and cover a wide variety of topics such as pharmacy tech and medical assistantship. Employees can also enroll in professional certifications, classes to improve their language proficiency and even complete their high school diploma. Eligibility for coverage of courses is based on past and current work experience, meaning that employees don't have to do any additional external work to qualify.  

"They're already learning things like pharmacology, patient care and understanding medical terminology at work, but none of that experience translates when they're trying to apply for programs elsewhere," King says. "This way, they can advance their career in healthcare while they continue to work." 

Unlike other tuition reimbursement programs that typically require a lengthy submission process after the employee has already paid out of pocket for their degree, employees can check their eligibility for courses and enroll directly through the Future Forward platform, which they access the same way they would their other benefits. This simplifies the process and subsequently boosts employee engagement. 

Read more: InStride study finds older employees want continuing education

Education benefits lead to better recruitment and retention

Providing employees with clear growth opportunities could also play a critical role in organizations' strategies to keep employees from quitting, even in the face of staffing hardships, King says. Data from business research organization The Conference Board shows that 58% of employees said they are likely to leave their company without professional development or continuing education and career training to develop new skills. In comparison, 76% of employees are more likely to remain with a company offering continuous training, according to data from software company Deel, and 86% would change jobs for better professional development opportunities. 

King urges organizations looking to implement their own education benefit to survey their workforce on the kind of support they actually need. Then, organizations should set out to understand the barriers standing in employees' way and strategize what's needed to address those obstacles.  

"Most people don't want to stay in the exact same role forever," King says. "These kinds of benefits give them an opportunity to take the reins and decide for themselves how they want to grow."