The high employee turnover rate in the health-care profession is hardly a secret, and an ongoing nationwide nursing shortage has left many providers scrambling to fill positions.

Iowa City-based ACT Inc. has tackled that issue head on with its Healthcare Readiness Systems, the first in a line of workforce development services for various industries that address problems related to hiring, training and retention.

“For the customer – the hospital – they are typically looking for a return on investment as it applies to turnover and making more efficient use of the hiring process,” said Scott Wyatt, ACT’s vice president for business development and marketing. “For the employees, it provides them with a clear understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. It’s data driven and tied to a particular job, so they can see their scores and have a real understanding of whether they have met the required guidelines (for their position). If not, it makes the training more worthwhile.”

The HRS package, which was released three weeks ago, was built from WorkKeys, a platform system the company has used for approximately 13 years for applications within various industries. It includes a battery of assessments that are designed to measure foundational skills such as reading, writing and math. Those skills would form the foundation of a job profile to build job descriptions for prospective employees.

“It allows the employer to put applicants through particular tests to make sure they have the skills to make them successful,” Wyatt said. “If a skill gap would be evident, you could train through it either in house or by using outside parties.”

ACT has taken that component and reconfigured it to address the specific needs of the health-care industry. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that half of the 20 fastest-growing careers in the country are in health care, yet 80 percent of the industry is facing workforce shortages.

The HRS package, Wyatt said, is unique in that the assessment component has been customized for the industry. The primary goal of the systems is retention as it relates to entry-level positions, where turnover is more than 50 percent, according to research from ACT. The company has also worked to address issues related to direct-care and service jobs, as well as those in supervisory positions.

“We’re finding in talking to the industry that a lot of the personnel who have moved into supervisory roles have not received training,” Wyatt said. “And the lack of trained supervisors contributes to the turnover within other segments of the hospital.”

Owensboro Medical Health System in Owensboro, Ky., used the WorkKeys assessments to identify its employees’ current skill levels, and established a targeted instruction program to improve workers’ skills.

Until February, the system was voluntary, though Owensboro Medical Health System offered a $250 stipend to employees who chose to participate. The company now requires all new employees to take a WorkKeys assessment to pinpoint their skill levels, according to ACT spokesman Will Valet.

“Their major issue was trying to stem some turnover, and they were able to determine that there was a 32 percent reduction in turnover by measuring turnover prior to and then after using the system, and by surveying employees to find out if they were more satisfied because they are better trained and more skilled,” Wyatt said.

Wyatt added that a secondary benefit of the Healthcare Readiness Systems is that it makes more effective use of companies’ existing training programs more effective by providing a data-driven analysis of each employee’s abilities. ACT offers a diverse portfolio of training options, most of which have an e-learning or seminar structure.

Later this year, ACT will launch workforce readiness systems for several more industries, including information technology, as well as tools for the development of employees who speak English as a second language, which will have applications for a variety of businesses.