The cost of recruitment vs. the budget for retention

Rob Lawrence and Scott Moore on how to retain EMS staff through the first year

July 28, 2021 03:07 PM •

In this episode of EMS One-Stop With Rob Lawrence, Rob welcomes guest Scott Moore of Moore EMS Consulting and HR consultant to the American Ambulance Association. Rob and Scott discuss the results of the third annual American Ambulance Association (AAA)/Newton 360 Ambulance Industry Employee Turnover Study.

The Turnover Study findings reveal the cost of replacing EMS providers and that a third of recruited EMS workers move on in the first year.

Rob and Scott discuss:

How to retain staff throughout the first year
The cost of recruitment versus the budget for retention
The value of an exit interview, versus a retention interview for those who are not leaving

Read Rob’s article, “Turnover, We have measured it, but can we measure it,” and listen below.

Rob Lawrence

Rob Lawrence has been a leader in civilian and military EMS for over a quarter of a century. He is currently the director of strategic implementation for PRO EMS and its educational arm, Prodigy EMS, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and part-time executive director of the California Ambulance Association.

He previously served as the chief operating officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority (Virginia), which won both state and national EMS Agency of the Year awards during his 10-year tenure. Additionally, he served as COO for Paramedics Plus in Alameda County, California.

Prior to emigrating to the U.S. in 2008, Rob served as the COO for the East of England Ambulance Service in Suffolk County, England, and as the executive director of operations and service development for the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust. Rob is a former Army officer and graduate of the UK’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served worldwide in a 20-year military career encompassing many prehospital and evacuation leadership roles.

Rob is a board member of the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI) as well as chair of the American Ambulance Association’s State Association Forum. He writes and podcasts for EMS1 and is a member of the EMS1 Editorial Advisory Board. Connect with him on Twitter.