How Do Large Hospitals Manage Thousands of Staff and Attract Talent Amid Shenzhen’s Healthcare Reforms? Insights from Five Top Tertiary Hospital Leaders

Medical Talent Is the Core of Hospital Development. With the implementation of various healthcare reform policies, such as the promotion of multi-site practice and the rise of private healthcare, physicians now have more choices in their employment.

Against this backdrop, how can public hospitals retain physicians? How can private healthcare institutions attract them? And how can hospitals enhance physicians’ sense of identification with their institutions through talent acquisition, professional development, and innovative human resources management? These are pressing challenges facing major hospitals, urgently requiring effective solutions.

To promote the exchange of experience and practical insights in hospital human resources management, DXY Talent partnered with The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University to host the “2018 China Healthcare HR Managers Seminar – South China Station” in Guangzhou. Leading industry experts were invited to share their achievements in hospital HR management, aiming to assist healthcare HR professionals and hospital administrators in enhancing their human resources practices.

From the insights shared by these experts, we have highlighted five guests, namelyLuo Teng, Party Secretary of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (hereinafter referred to as “the First Affiliated Hospital of SYSU”); Jin Changxiao, Party Secretary of Peking University Third Hospital (hereinafter referred to as “PU Third Hospital”); Han Xian, Secretary-General of the China Medical Human Resources Managers Alliance and Senior Talent Development Director at DXY; Lou Xiaoping, Deputy Director of the Nursing Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University; and Yu Chun, Head of the Human Resources Department of West China Hospital, Sichuan University (hereinafter referred to as “West China Hospital”).

These experts elaborated on the role of medical talent in hospital development from various perspectives. Some focused on traditional Grade A tertiary hospitals, others highlighted how “Internet Plus” technologies enhance human resource management, some examined hospital management from the nursing staff’s viewpoint, and others discussed systematic talent cultivation within the context of hospital group expansion.

The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, abbreviated as FAH-SYSU, was founded in 1910. It is a national Grade A tertiary hospital and a Baby-Friendly Hospital. The hospital currently employs 5,869 staff members. Its annual outpatient and emergency visits exceed 4.9 million, with 2,850 open beds. The number of inpatient surgeries reaches 71,800 per year, and the number of discharged patients amounts to 106,100 annually. The bed occupancy rate exceeds 95%. Its direct patient care services extend from Guangdong Province to the rest of China, Southeast Asia, and even overseas. In the past three years, the hospital has introduced 382 new technologies, filling 55 technological gaps at the provincial level or above.

The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University has upheld its role as a national leader in medicine, providing guidance in the diagnosis and treatment of complex and critical conditions, talent development, scientific and technological innovation, and social services. This commitment has yielded a series of innovative achievements, including “ischemia-free” transplantation technology, the “Guangzhou Model” of peritoneal dialysis, “Shenqiao” repair materials, and a critical care rescue system.

Having worked in human resources management for many years, Luo Teng believes that HR management and talent development are critical functions for hospitals. Through years of practice, each hospital has developed its own unique philosophy and systems. She shared several anecdotal stories from the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.

In her view,Human resource management encompasses talent management, compensation management, promotions, workforce development, and the protocols for employee exit.Within such a system, scientific evaluation mechanisms, comprehensive resource support, a robust academic atmosphere, and effective talent attraction and cultivation models are critical factors driving talent development.

From the perspective of human resource management, recruiting talent is merely the first step; more importantly, it is essential to create conditions that enable recruited talent to take root and deliver results. Therefore, in addition to human resource allocation and team building, establishing an effective development system requires indispensable efforts in cultivating a supportive environment and atmosphere.

The most distinctive feature lies in the attention to individual “small matters,” which may, in fact, be significant issues for individuals. As each positive small act spreads, it creates a talent-aggregation effect.Thus, for an individual case, the steps of listening, follow-up, response, and dissemination are often inextricably linked.

Take, for example, the operating rooms at The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. When patients enter the operating room, they see doctors all dressed in identical attire, wearing the same caps and masks, making it impossible to distinguish one from another. To address this, anesthesiologists devised a method of “self-introduction” by writing their names on their surgical caps. This simple gesture provides reassurance to patients, alleviating their anxiety before and after surgery. The “blue caps” also serve as an identifier, fostering better teamwork and coordination among the medical staff once they are worn. Although this is a minor detail, it garnered widespread acclaim and numerous likes when the story was shared.

During this year’s Spring Festival, a video of a dance choreographed and performed by physicians from the Department of Anesthesiology at The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, garnered hundreds of thousands of views online and received widespread acclaim. This small event helped project a positive and healthy image of medical professionals.

A positive atmosphere can even determine a hospital’s academic environment and overall culture; its hard capabilities and soft infrastructure play an irreplaceable role in the hospital’s development.

Since the launch of the new healthcare reform, public hospitals have been expected to return to their public-welfare orientation while ensuring sustainable development. Implementation has primarily focused on five key areas, including tiered diagnosis and treatment, modern hospital management, and universal health insurance. However, from which aspects should hospitals begin their efforts?

Jin Changxiao believes that hospital management should take a broad perspective while starting with small, concrete actions.From a macro perspective, the primary concern is the health challenges posed by population aging. Secondary to this is whether hospitals adopt differentiated strategies in their brand positioning and cultural development. From a micro perspective, hospital talent and disciplines are critical; only by attracting superior talent can hospitals serve a larger patient population. Therefore, hospital management must recognize that not every institution possesses comprehensive strengths across all areas—some may excel in specific domains while remaining average in others. The core and foundation lie in returning to first principles and common sense, upon which innovation can be built. Innovation without such a foundation is merely a castle in the air.

Globally, world-class universities and top-tier hospitals prioritize discipline development as a core focus. The disciplines at Peking University Third Hospital differ from those elsewhere; while direction, teams, disciplinary incentives, and physical space constitute the foundation, talent development remains the core. The hospital must establish robust platforms to serve as the basis and hub for talent incentives. Furthermore, greater innovation in human resources management is required to fully unleash potential.

There may be varying interpretations of disciplinary development among different individuals.The disciplinary development at Peking University Third Hospital has also undergone three stages: first, accumulating internal and external resources to meet patient needs; second, striving for excellence in disease treatment; and third, maintaining inter-disciplinary competition. This is why Peking University Third Hospital has focused on scientific research, transforming from a service-oriented hospital into a research-oriented one, a transition that has relied heavily on the development of talent pipelines and the alignment of various resources.

Two years ago, Peking University Health Science Center was renamed “Peking University Medicine” to broaden its conceptual framework and better integrate disciplines such as computer science, humanities, and engineering. In the course of collaboration, the initiative of “Clinical Medicine + X” was proposed, encouraging physicians and professors to identify, distill, and articulate problems encountered in clinical practice, while “X”—representing fields such as life sciences and computer science—helps address these clinical challenges. This approach represents a more conventional and sound strategy for disciplinary development.

What are the factors influencing the development of an entire discipline during this process? First, talent; second, the team; third, the platform; and fourth, how to foster a more open mindset for interdisciplinary collaboration. How should talent be selected? From the perspective of a department chair’s capabilities, there must be clear attitudes and requirements: first, one must approach disease prevention and treatment from a national perspective; second, one must possess high sensitivity to new ideas and concepts, along with strong passion in this area; and third, one must build a robust talent pipeline. In particular, candidates for department chair positions must self-nominate; recommendations alone are insufficient. Only individuals with a spirit of voluntary initiative can serve as leaders of the team.

From a hospital’s perspective, individual efforts are limited. While there is always a desire to expand the team, growth without a clear vision and well-defined strategic objectives can lead to fragmented efforts and mutual cancellation of impact. Therefore, how to foster a shared vision and ensure alignment of goals is a critical issue that human resource managers must deeply consider.

From the perspective of overall talent acquisition, every hospital faces gaps in its talent pipeline. Therefore, it is worth carefully considering how to optimize recruitment by offering more attractive conditions to new hires without undermining the morale or interests of existing staff.

How to Effectively Promote Interdisciplinary Integration?With the advancement of medicine, academic disciplines are becoming increasingly specialized. Given the explosion of knowledge, it is impossible for any single entity to excel in all areas. He hopes to leverage resources from more universities and external partners to ensure adequate resource availability throughout this process. For instance, the interdisciplinary research collaboration between Professor Qiao Jie, President of the Hospital, and the Peking University team has been highly successful. They have conducted extensive work on familial hereditary conditions using single-cell gene sequencing, which has garnered significant attention from national leaders.

What Are the Prerequisites for Discipline Development? The First Is Investment, in addition to national special funds, the hospital itself must make corresponding investments. Without financial input, many initiatives cannot be undertaken in the current climate of disciplinary competition. The2. How to Effectively Conduct Top-Level Design, namely, to clarify the corresponding objectives.Third, it is essential to develop appropriate plans., human resources, funding, and spatial resources are relatively limited; this must be clearly distinguished.Fourth, leverage leading disciplines to drive the development of general disciplines., which marks the initial formulation of concepts for establishing disciplinary clusters.

How to provide incentives? Of course, different hospitals adopt different approaches; he hopes that the evaluation system will align with the developmental patterns of medical disciplines.Discipline development entails three key principles: first, prioritizing strategic focus by making deliberate choices on what to pursue and what to forgo; second, adopting a future-oriented approach centered on moral education and character building, as affiliated university hospitals bear the responsibility of cultivating medical undergraduates and standardized residency trainees, where any deviation from this mission could pose societal harms; and third, upholding integrity while fostering innovation, meaning that practices must adhere to the inherent laws governing hospital and disciplinary development, rather than deviating from these foundational principles.

Although the systems for talent planning and development are becoming increasingly complex, talent in every discipline can still be managed through four key aspects: selection, utilization, cultivation, and retention.“Even though it is possible that the talent we cultivate may flow to other institutions, it is crucial to give careful consideration to top-level design,” Jin Changxiao candidly stated.

Once candidates, particularly young core talents, have been selected, how can we facilitate their rapid growth? First, implement a mentorship system. Second, establish workstations for young scientists. Through these workstations—which feature book clubs, experience-sharing sessions, and regular monthly meetings—we can effectively integrate these individuals.

The future development of hospitals will not only involve surgical robots but also place significant importance on human-machine integration. Meanwhile, in addition to caring for patients, physicians will also be responsible for managing the health of healthy populations.Peking University Third Hospital’s human resource management offers a model worthy of emulation for all hospitals. It posits that the evaluation of overall human resource performance in the healthcare sector can be summarized using the Pareto Principle (the 80/20 rule). Specifically, 80% of employees work primarily to achieve a better quality of life. The key challenge, therefore, is how to motivate the top 20% of talent. This is addressed by redefining performance assessment criteria to include metrics such as workload, work quality, efficiency, scientific research, and teaching contributions.

The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, established in 1928, is a Grade A tertiary general hospital and a hospital co-sponsored by the provincial and national governments. It integrates medical care, teaching, scientific research, disease prevention, healthcare, and rehabilitation, boasting strong emergency and critical care capabilities, advanced scientific research proficiency, and robust international exchange capacity. The hospital operates three campuses—Heyi, Zhengdong, and Huiji—and hosts 12 specialized institutes within its structure. With 8,500 authorized beds, it has developed a group-based operational model across its campuses. Adhering to the development strategy of “meticulous excellence and high-quality sustainable growth,” the hospital upholds the principles of “advantage-driven development, homogeneous management, standardized construction, and regulated operations,” actively providing high-quality medical and nursing services to patients.

As the largest base in Henan Province for training advanced nursing professionals, the hospital had 6,507 nursing staff members as of 2018, with an annual turnover rate of less than 1%. This inevitably raises the question: how is such a large team managed?

Hospital leadership attaches great importance to and supports the construction and development of the nursing team, implements homogeneous management across one hospital with three campuses, and adopts a system where the Director of the Nursing Department is responsible under the leadership of the President and the Vice President in charge. It has improved the three-tier management system comprising the Director of the Nursing Department, Head Nurses of Departments, and Nurse Managers, implemented performance appraisal and compensation systems, established sound incentive mechanisms to fully mobilize the enthusiasm of nursing staff, and promoted high-quality nursing services through hospital-wide cooperation and multi-departmental collaboration.

Establish rules and regulations, standardize management, improve the three-tier nursing management system, and build a reasonable talent pipeline for nursing management.; implement objective-based management for the nursing management team, sign annual performance accountability agreements, dynamically monitor the implementation of key indicators, and optimize management strategies; strengthen the management of the head nurse team, and conduct regular comprehensive evaluations of head nurses’ managerial competence, specialized nursing skills, research capabilities, as well as satisfaction levels among nursing staff and patients.

Implement Diverse Training Programs for Nursing Management Personnel, such as training programs for head nurses in hospital management, for newly appointed head nurses, for head nurses in key departments, and for quality control standards and evaluation methods; assess the effectiveness of these training programs, and analyze and track the assessment results.

Meanwhile, nursing management personnel are encouraged to participate in domestic and international academic activities and listen to experts from home and abroad.Academic lectures by legal and management experts, among others, to broaden horizons, keep abreast of disciplinary frontiers, and enhance nursing management and service capabilities. Strengthen cultural development, emphasize humanistic care, improve professional competence and ethos, and foster cohesion within the nursing team.

Nursing positions are managed through a tiered system based on nurses’ educational background, professional titles, competencies, and years of service. The proportion of nursing staff at different tiers varies across different types of nursing units. By implementing a competency-level alignment strategy, human resource management is optimized to retain more senior-titled and higher-tier nursing professionals in clinical settings, thereby providing patients with specialized, high-quality nursing care.Guided by "job requirements," comprehensive training is conducted for all staff through various methods, including pre-employment and on-the-job training for newly hired nurses, tiered nursing training, specialized nurse training, specialty knowledge training, and two-year standardized residency training, thereby achieving standardization, specialization, and normalization of nursing services. By applying a nursing information management platform, online training and assessments are implemented to dynamically monitor training effectiveness and improve nurse satisfaction. Performance management is implemented for nursing personnel, with incentives skewed toward clinical practice, ensuring equal pay for equal work and higher compensation for superior performance. Nursing staff are supported in undertaking paid advanced studies and learning opportunities both domestically and internationally to enhance their comprehensive competencies and promote career development. Nurse behavior evaluation and nursing quality assessment are strengthened, and patient satisfaction surveys are conducted to improve the patient experience.

Improve the three-tier nursing quality control system, optimize nursing quality evaluation standards and management methods, establish a nursing quality indicator system oriented toward patient outcomes, dynamically monitor changes in nursing quality, conduct regular reviews of nursing quality, summarize, analyze, and provide feedback on nursing quality indicators, and continuously track identified issues.Implementing informatization in nursing quality evaluation has enhanced the scientific rigor and operational efficiency of nursing quality management. The widespread adoption of various quality management tools, such as Quality Control Circles (QCC), 6S management, and Root Cause Analysis (RCA), has promoted continuous improvement in clinical nursing quality. These measures have refined the level of precision in nursing management, thereby delivering high-quality nursing care to patients.

Establish and Improve Research Systems and Incentive MechanismsThe First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University issued the "Measures for the Administration of Scientific Research Performance," which has boosted the enthusiasm of medical and nursing staff for scientific research and significantly promoted discipline construction. As a first-level discipline, Nursing has gradually established a high-level talent training system integrating master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral programs, continuously optimizing the disciplinary team and strengthening faculty development. The hospital has strengthened scientific research management for nursing personnel at all levels, encouraging nurses with different professional titles and ranks, nursing managers, and newly enrolled graduate students to actively engage in research activities. It has formulated and implemented training plans and assessment schemes for newly enrolled graduate students, enhanced their training, and appointed renowned domestic and international nursing experts as adjunct or visiting professors to guide graduate education and discipline construction, thereby enhancing the scientific research capabilities of the nursing workforce.

The nursing team has achieved remarkable results, establishing a distinctive nursing brand characteristic of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University. It has been consecutively recognized as a “National Women’s Civilized Post” in the nursing profession within China’s health system and as a “Henan Provincial Women’s Civilized Post.” The hospital has received numerous honors, including designation as an “Excellent Hospital for High-Quality Nursing Services” by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, recognition as a “National Demonstration Ward for High-Quality Nursing Services,” and selection as one of the first batches of “Demonstration Wards for Standardized Cancer Pain Management.” In the 2017 ranking of scientific and technological influence among Chinese hospitals, the nursing discipline ranked 12th.

West China Hospital traces its origins to the Cunren and Renji Hospitals, established in 1892. Through more than 120 years of dedication by generations of West China professionals, the hospital has not only maintained its position among the top tier in China in terms of disciplinary strength but also continuously enhanced its medical service capabilities. Its comprehensive research strength leads all medical institutions across China. In the 2017 Nature Index rankings for hospitals worldwide, West China Hospital ranked first in China and 41st globally. The quantity and quality of its SCI-indexed publications have continued to reach new highs, with fruitful outcomes from various funded research projects. High-level new drug research initiatives have also seen sustained growth, and the hospital has ranked first among medical institutions nationwide in both patent applications and granted patents for nine consecutive years.

According to Yu Chun, West China Hospital’s impressive achievements are attributable to its development strategy of “building the hospital on medical care, revitalizing it through teaching, and strengthening it via scientific research.”

From Following to Leading: West China Hospital’s Three Key Areas

The first aspect is that the development of West China Hospital is innovation-driven., innovation-driven development is essentially talent-driven; therefore, focusing on talent is key to driving development.

Second, robust scientific research has significantly propelled the development of West China Hospital.In the history of scientific research development at West China Hospital, 1996 marked the recruitment of 19 overseas-educated returnees. Despite severe financial constraints, the hospital mobilized all its resources to allocate five million yuan for establishing a laboratory dedicated to Professor Wei Yuquan. It was this cohort of outstanding talents that ushered in the resurgence of scientific research at West China Hospital, playing a pivotal role in its subsequent rapid advancement.

Third, the model of medical-educational collaboration and integration of medicine and research., promoting medical care and teaching through scientific research, enabling West China Hospital to advance in medical practice, education, and research simultaneously.

In building its talent pipeline, West China Hospital focuses on creating space and providing platforms, primarily across four dimensions. First, at the spiritual level, the distinctive culture of West China reflects its mission and responsibility. Second, at the policy level, it establishes and improves policies and measures to support talent development, utilization, and recruitment. Third, at the platform level, it provides career platforms that enable individuals to fully utilize their talents. Fourth, at the departmental level, it emphasizes rigorous implementation to facilitate disciplinary development.

West China Hospital primarily focuses on six major initiatives to support talent development, incubation, and clinical research.

First is the Medical Masters ProjectThis year, 11 tenured professors were appointed for the first time, each serving as an iconic figure in their respective disciplines. The establishment of the tenured professorship has set a benchmark for West China Hospital, inherited its culture, and promoted its spirit.

Second is the Outstanding Talent Project, providing special funding support for independent topic research, talent development, and team building.

Third is the Talent Cultivation Project,Established the Young Talent Support Program to provide special funding support for recipients of the Four Youth Talent Programs, cultivate young scientific and technological backbones, and stimulate innovation vitality; established a multi-tier Clinical Innovation Research Fund to encourage clinical research; and launched the “Outstanding Young Scientists Overseas Training Program” to fund medical personnel with research potential for overseas training, thereby cultivating core specialists in clinical disciplines.

Fourth is the Green Sprout Incubation Program, cultivate and reserve outstanding young talent for the future, including building a postdoctoral workforce, establishing special funds for talent development, and implementing a continuing education system that covers all employees.

5. The "Haina" Talent Program, establish a sustainable mechanism for recruiting innovative talent, adopting diverse approaches such as full-time employment, part-time engagement, joint recruitment, and dual appointments; strengthen support measures by enhancing policies related to disciplinary platforms, team staffing, and compensation packages; thirdly, intensify recruitment efforts through proactive outreach, including inviting overseas young scholars to participate in our university’s Young Scholars Forum and organizing promotional events in Europe and North America. Furthermore, facilitate the integration and long-term retention of talent by establishing mechanisms that foster their assimilation and enable shared achievements.
 

6. Evaluation and Incentive ProgramFirst, performance evaluation and promotion: entry into the permanent staff establishment requires completion of postdoctoral training, and only those with outstanding research achievements can be granted permanent status. Performance assessments and guidance are implemented in tier classification and tenure evaluations. In addition, rewards are provided for scientific research outcomes.

“We believe that the essence of clinical research is to address clinical problems by integrating clinical and non-clinical approaches to explore new methods, technologies, products, and tools. The core of the scientific spirit lies in innovative thinking, exploring the unknown, seeking truth from facts, and facilitating translation and improvement. Only by gaining a profound understanding of the essence of clinical research and the scientific spirit can the value of research—transcending reality, pursuing excellence, and serving society—be fully realized. The development of talent at West China Hospital is an ongoing journey, and our path of strengthening the hospital through scientific research continues,” said Yu Chun.

Han Xian proposed that commercial branding can accelerate patient recognition of hospitals, while effective promotion of an employer brand not only helps hospitals attract highly sought-after talent but also streamlines their talent acquisition channels.

In the healthcare industry, employer branding has become increasingly prevalent. Since 2012, DXY, in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, has jointly conducted the "Best Employer for Chinese Healthcare Institutions" selection, aiming to provide decision-making support for hospitals' talent development strategies based on physicians' authentic experiences.

From 2012 to 2017, the number of organizations recognized as China’s Best Employers has steadily increased, reflecting growing public expectations for this distinction. The 2017 survey collected a total of 40,000 questionnaires. A review of the national Best Employer awardees over the past six years shows that East China had the highest representation, with 12 organizations receiving the award. This was followed by South China, Central China, and North China, then Southwest China, while no organizations from Northwest China have received the award to date.

Han Xian believes that hospitals with a strong employer brand find it easier to attract talent.According to a LinkedIn survey, 71% of professionals are willing to receive job updates from companies with successful employer branding. A strong employer brand can reduce recruitment costs by up to 50%, and 91% of HR professionals believe that employer branding significantly enhances their ability to attract top talent.

What Is an Employer Brand? An employer brand is not merely the corporate image; it is primarily built upon employees’ authentic experiences, generating centripetal force and attractiveness from the inside out. Following the “4W1H” framework used in commercial branding, the logic for building an employer brand addresses: Who are we? Which target candidates do we aim to attract? Where can we find them? Through which channels do we engage and invite them? What is our core value proposition?

Based on this, she proposed the AIDA model for employer branding. First, garner greater external attention during the awareness stage; second, establish key attractions of the employer brand among the target audience; third, comprehensively stimulate the desire of the target audience; and fourth, implement diverse interactive communication mechanisms for the employer brand during the conversion stage.
 
Having clarified this goal and strategy, it is necessary to analyze the demographic characteristics of the candidate pool, gain insights into what healthcare professionals are thinking, and determine how to reach them. Currently, doctors are increasingly relying on digital platforms for both learning and work. According to backend page view data from DXY (Dingxiang Yuan), the topic of greatest interest to physicians is discussions on postgraduate and doctoral entrance examinations, followed by job recruitment sections, and then DXY Hot Topics. In terms of user-generated content, including posting and replying, the most frequent posts are also related to postgraduate and doctoral entrance examinations, followed by DXY Hot Topics, and then recruitment information.

Employer branding requires precise positioning to enhance its accuracy and achieve comprehensive penetration. It also demands interactive integration to bring the employer brand to life. Building an employer brand is a continuous, long-term endeavor; it is never solely an HR function but rather a collective responsibility of the entire team.