Recruitment, deployment and retention by Tim Martineau Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK Meeting on the Regional Strategy and Initiatives on Human Resources for Health August 2009, WPRO, Manila

There are a high number of vacant posts in the health service, especially in rural areas

We can’t just solve the problem by ‘scaling up’

Systems for staffing posts are often ineffective and outdated

But we must make the best of the current and potential supply of staff

We need better systems for filling vacant posts

First we need to appreciate the main concepts of workforce dynamics

The workforce flows can be represented as route from recruitment to resignation

We need appropriate systems to manage the flows effectively

The labour market is an important part of workforce dynamics Other countries

Then we turn to the systems for influencing the workforce dynamics and the challenges

Recruitment

Filling a vacancy can be a complex business! Source: Report of the Joint Design Mission to the Kenyan Health Sector, 2007.

Deployment

I can’t find your file! Good systems can be distorted

Retention

We can learn how to improve our systems from innovations tried by others

Recruitment examples

Streamlining the recruitment process (Kenya Emergency Hiring Programme)

Deployment examples

Retention examples

Zambian Health Workers Retention Scheme (c.2005)

Diagnose problems with recruitment, deployment and retention systems

Search for innovative solutions to reduce the number of vacant posts

Make sure you monitor the implementation and impact of your improved systems