| Course | HA 635 Healthcare Human Resources Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 7 |
| Paper type | Turnover and retention study |
| Length | About 910 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | MS in Healthcare Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HA 635 Unit 7
Four of Five First-Year Technologists Gone: A Turnover and Retention Study That Splits Departures by Tenure Before Naming a Single Cause
Student Name
Health Care Administration, Herzing University
HA 635: Healthcare Human Resources Management
Instructor Name
February 26, 2026
Four of Five First-Year Technologists Gone: A Turnover and Retention Study That Splits Departures by Tenure Before Naming a Single Cause
Measuring Turnover
Turnover rate = separations during the year ÷ average headcount during the year × 100. For the main operating room's surgical technologists in calendar year 2025, average headcount was 30 (the mean of the 12 month-end counts) and separations were 9, a total turnover rate of 30.0%. Separations are split into voluntary, where the employee chose to leave, and involuntary, where the hospital ended employment. Seven were voluntary, a voluntary rate of 23.3%; two were involuntary, one for performance during the introductory period and one for attendance. Transfers to other hospital departments are not counted as separations; there were none. Because measures of turnover vary widely with how they are defined, the definition is stated so that next year's figure can be compared with this one (Kovner et al., 2014).
Turnover by Tenure Band
Tenure bands separate groups who leave for different reasons.
| Tenure at separation | Average headcount in band | Voluntary separations | Involuntary separations | Band turnover rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | 5 | 3 | 1 | 80.0% |
| 1 to 3 years | 8 | 2 | 0 | 25.0% |
| 3 to 5 years | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 5 to 10 years | 7 | 2 | 0 | 28.6% |
| 10 years or more | 4 | 0 | 1 | 25.0% |
| Total | 30 | 7 | 2 | 30.0% |
What the Bands Show
Two groups account for the voluntary losses. The first is new staff: four of the five technologists in their first year left, three by choice. The numbers are small, and a single additional departure moves the rate by 20 points, so the finding is treated as a signal to investigate rather than a precise rate. For comparison, a national panel study of new registered nurses reported that roughly one new nurse in six, 17.5%, had moved on from a first job before a year was out (Kovner et al., 2014). The second group is experienced staff with five to ten years' tenure, two of whom left. These are the technologists who precept, scrub specialty cases and carry the call schedule, and each departure removes more capability than a newer employee's. No one with three to five years' tenure left.
Evidence on Causes
Three sources were used. Exit interviews: six of the seven voluntary leavers completed one, conducted by human resources rather than the manager. Stay interviews: 12 current technologists, chosen across tenure bands, were asked in January why they stay and what would lead them to go. The hospital's 2025 engagement survey: the perioperative results for the technologist group, 24 respondents. Turnover research distinguishes the forces that push people out of a job from those that pull them toward another, and treats both as evidence (Hom et al., 2017); both appear here.
First-year leavers. Two of three cited orientation: being assigned to spine and robotic cases before they felt ready, and having different preceptors every week who taught different methods. This matches the credentialing review's finding that specialty cases have no competency checklist. The third moved out of state. None of the first-year departures turned on the 180-day certification rule for new graduates in Tex. Health & Safety Code § 259.002, although the credentialing review found one near miss with it. The engagement item "I received the training I needed to do my job" scored lowest among staff with under two years' tenure.
Experienced leavers. Both went to ambulatory surgery centers in the metro area. Both named the same two reasons: no call at the surgery center, and pay of about $3 to $4 an hour more. This matches the compensation review, which found Grade II pay about 15% below the metro median and standby call pay below local competitors. Stay interviews with experienced staff raised call burden, which rises for those who remain each time a colleague leaves, more than any other concern.
One-to-three-year leavers. One took a travel contract; one left to attend nursing school. The first is a pay signal; the second is a normal career step the hospital could support rather than lose.
Where the evidence is thin: one exit interview is missing, the first-year sample is five people, and the engagement survey does not separate surgical technologists from other perioperative staff for every item. The study's conclusions about first-year turnover should therefore be tested again after a year of changes.
What Each Departure Costs
Replacement cost is built from its parts, for a technologist who leaves and is replaced by a new hire.
| Component | Basis | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Vacancy coverage | Average vacancy of 94 days, about 483 hours covered by overtime or traveler at an average premium of $24 an hour | $11,592 |
| Recruitment | Sign-on bonus, advertising and recruiter time | $6,500 |
| Orientation | 12 weeks at half productivity: 216 hours at $46.08 per worked hour | $9,953 |
| Preceptor time | 10% of a preceptor's hours for 12 weeks | $1,991 |
| Productivity not yet reached | 14 more weeks at 80% productivity | $4,645 |
| Total per replacement | $34,681 |
Interventions Tied to Findings
The seven voluntary departures in 2025 cost about $243,000 at this rate. Each intervention below answers a specific finding, with an owner and a measure.
Finding: first-year staff placed in specialty cases before they are ready, with inconsistent precepting. Intervention: assign each new hire two consistent preceptors for 12 weeks; no specialty cases until the new specialty checklist is signed after observed cases. Owner: operating room educator. Measure: first-year voluntary turnover and the training item on the engagement survey.
Finding: experienced staff leaving for higher pay and no call. Intervention: the targeted pay alignment and call pay increase recommended in the compensation review; a call-free option for staff with 10 or more years, funded by a per diem call pool. Owner: director of perioperative services. Measure: voluntary turnover among staff with five or more years.
Finding: early-career staff leaving for nursing school. Intervention: tuition support with a flexible schedule for technologists entering nursing programs, with a commitment to work as a registered nurse in the operating room after graduation. Owner: human resources. Measure: number retained through school.
Finding: turnover rises call burden for those who stay. Intervention: stay interviews twice a year for all staff with over three years' tenure, with results reported to the director. Owner: nurse manager. Measure: completion rate and themes over time.
References
Hom, P. W., Lee, T. W., Shaw, J. D., & Hausknecht, J. P. (2017). One hundred years of employee turnover theory and research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), 530-545. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000103
Kovner, C. T., Brewer, C. S., Fatehi, F., & Jun, J. (2014). What does nurse turnover rate mean and what is the rate? Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 15(3-4), 64-71. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527154414547953
Tex. Health & Safety Code § 259.002 (2025).
The Herzing HA 635 Unit 7 instructions
Unit 7 asks you to study turnover in a health care role and propose retention steps. Expect to measure turnover, split it by tenure, interpret the patterns, gather evidence on causes, cost each departure and tie interventions to findings. Students often ask which formula to use and how to find causes. Divide separations by average headcount, and separate voluntary from involuntary leavers. Tenure bands matter because new and experienced staff leave for different reasons. Use more than one source, such as exit interviews, stay interviews and surveys, since each has blind spots. Treat small numbers as signals rather than precise rates. Build replacement cost from recruiting, orientation and lost productivity. Give every intervention an owner and a measure.
How the HA 635 Unit 7 example is put together
The study opens with the turnover formula and the year's figures. A tenure table shows separations and rates for each band. The interpretation section identifies first-year staff and experienced call-heavy staff as the two groups that matter, and warns that one more departure would shift the first-year rate sharply. The causes section reports themes from exit interviews run by human resources, stay interviews across tenure bands and the engagement survey, such as early placement in specialty cases. A cost table builds replacement cost from advertising, overtime cover, orientation and reduced productivity. The interventions section pairs each finding with a fix, an owner and a measure, from consistent preceptors to call limits.
Where the points sit in the HA 635 Unit 7 rubric
Herzing's rubric for a turnover and retention study usually covers measurement, tenure analysis, interpretation, evidence on causes, cost and interventions. Splitting turnover by tenure before naming causes draws the most points, because a single rate hides groups that leave for different reasons and need different fixes. Measurement points reward the standard formula with voluntary and involuntary separated. Interpretation credit goes to caution with small numbers. Cause criteria look for multiple sources. Cost points reward replacement cost built from parts. Interventions should answer specific findings with owners and measures, and a follow-up date to check whether the rate moved. Hom's century review of turnover research and Kovner's study of new nurse turnover support the analysis.
HA 635 Unit 7 help: mistakes that cost points
Turnover studies in HA 635 Unit 7 often slip by reporting one overall rate and jumping straight to a cause. Another frequent problem is mixing voluntary and involuntary departures. Students often rely on exit interviews alone. Small groups are reported as precise percentages. Replacement cost is a guessed figure. Interventions are generic, such as improve morale, and do not answer any finding. Owners and measures are missing. Stay interviews are not used. Call burden is overlooked, though experienced staff who carry extra call after vacancies open are often the next to leave. Finally, link each fix to a group and a reason, because graders reward a study that tells a manager exactly where retention efforts will pay off.
Get a HA 635 Unit 7 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 7 instructions and the rubric from your HA 635 classroom, plus the department, the separation figures and any exit or engagement data your section provides. We write a custom example that measures first, segments by tenure, builds replacement cost from components and targets each intervention, returned in 24 to 48 hours. The first custom sample is free.
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HA 635 Unit 7 questions, answered
What if I have no turnover data to work from?
Build a described dataset and label it as constructed. State the headcount, the separations by role and tenure band and the period covered, then keep those figures consistent throughout. Graders are looking at whether you can calculate a rate, segment it and reason from the segments, not at whether the numbers came from a real payroll system. Say plainly where the figures originate.
How is replacement cost actually built?
In components you can name and defend. Overtime or agency coverage during the vacancy, advertising and recruiter time, interview hours, credentialing and orientation, and the period before a new hire reaches full productivity all belong in it. Estimate each one and show the estimate, because a total assembled from parts a reader can argue with is stronger than a single borrowed multiple of salary.
Are exit interviews reliable evidence?
Partly, and the study should say why. People leaving rarely give the sharpest reason on their way out, particularly where a reference is at stake, so exit data tends to understate supervision and workload problems. Use it, then triangulate against engagement results, stay interviews with people still employed, and published findings on the role. Naming that limitation reads as judgment rather than weakness.
Where can I find a free HA 635 Unit 7 sample paper?
The full HA 635 Unit 7 turnover and retention study is free on this page, surgical technologist departures split by tenure with causes, costs and targeted fixes. A study for another department can be written to order.
How do you calculate employee turnover rate?
Divide the number of separations in the year by average headcount for the year and multiply by 100, then split voluntary from involuntary and look at tenure bands. This sample does that for surgical technologists.