Hospital human resource planning in Slovakia

Area of Science:

• Health Services Management
• Human Resources in Healthcare
• Slovak Republic Health Sector

Background:

• The Slovak Republic's health sector faces evolving human resource challenges.
• Understanding current human resource (HR) practices in acute care hospitals is crucial for effective healthcare delivery.
• There is a need for empirical evidence on HR functions within Slovak hospitals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide empirical evidence on current human resource practices in acute care hospitals in the Slovak Republic.
• To explore the perceived functions, customers, and priorities of hospital HR departments.
• To investigate the relationship between workforce plan ownership and HR activity prioritization.

Main Methods:

• Survey of 72 acute care hospitals in the Slovak Republic.
• Exploration of perceived HR functions, customers, and priorities.
• Analysis of workforce plan ownership and its correlation with HR activity prioritization using cross-tabulation.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant relationship was found between workforce plan ownership and the priority given to efficient recruitment and selection systems.
• Hospitals with workforce plans prioritized having such plans more highly.
• HR staff are aware of their advisory role, but HR functions largely resemble personnel administration, not strategic HR.

Conclusions:

• Workforce planning is linked to prioritized recruitment strategies in Slovak hospitals.
• The HR function in Slovak hospitals requires a strategic shift from administrative tasks to more impactful decision-making support.
• Further research is needed to enhance the strategic role of HR in healthcare management within the Slovak Republic.