Children's Hospitals Today - Summer 2024 - 26

VITALS / 5 MINUTES WITH...
ʻA lot of suprisesʼ
An upcoming national workforce survey of children's hospitals will reveal
what drives Gen Z and millennials in pediatric health care.
C
hildren's hospitals and health systems
are powered by as many as five
generations of employees. Understanding
what motivates and fulfills each generation
is essential to recruiting, retaining, and
engaging the workforce. Children's Hospital
Association has tapped the expertise of
generation guru Jason Dorsey and the
Center for Generational Kinetics (CGK) for
a first-of-its-kind national workforce survey
to uncover insights into the current and
potential pediatric health care workforce.
The survey will explore the most important
aspects of Gen Z and millennials, and
Dorsey will present the findings at this
year's Annual Leadership Conference in
November. " Leading a statistically accurate
national study at exactly this moment is
incredibly exciting because people need
actionable data specific to them in childrenʼs
hospitals, " Dorsey said. " Iʼm confident itʼs
going to be filled with a lot of surprises. "
In 2020, you wrote the definitive book on
Generation Z, " Zconomy. " What were the
major findings and how have they shifted?
Gen Z is now the fastest growing generation
in the United States workforce, which
makes it incredibly important. We donʼt
want to think about them as teenagers anymore
but as people well into their 20s who
may already have five years of work experience.
We also found that Gen Z depends on
technology. They trust technology, which
I think is very important. That has only
grown over the last four years as technology
has continued to find its way into every
aspect of their lives.
Why is it important to understand generational
differences?
We want to use generations as behavioral,
research-driven clues to better understand
how other people see and engage with the
world. It gives us a better sense of where
26
CHILDREN'S HOSPITALS TODAY Summer 2024
people are coming from, and then we can
decide how to bridge that divide. We can do
that through communication, workforce
strategies, technology, and more. We find
that leaders really love to separate myth
and truth through data, which is what the
survey will allow us to do, so they can better
connect across these different generations.
Childrenʼs hospitals are in a unique position
because of how many different generations
they interact with every single day.
REGISTER
JOIN THE EVENT
Hear the survey findings
live and experience
other transformative
keynote speakers
at CHA's Annual
Leadership Conference
Nov. 4-6 in San Antonio,
Texas. The exclusive
member event brings
together hospital
leaders to share and
discuss new possibilities
in pediatric health care.
Register for the conference
at childrenshospitals.org/alc
Jason Dorsey is an author, speaker, and cofounder
of the Center for Generational Kinetics
What are you most excited about as you
approach the workforce survey?
Pediatric health care is different from other
industries. Having statistically accurate,
current data on what works for recruiting,
retention, and developing talent in pediatric
health care is massively valuable. The
study will uncover what actually drives the
perception, recruiting, retention, and talent
development of these emerging generations
within pediatric health care. This has never
been more important than right now.
http://www.childrenshospitals.org/alc
Children's Hospitals Today - Summer 2024

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