Human Resources for Health

Health Workers at the Core

ThinkWell believes that the human element is at the center of reliable and high-quality service delivery. A functional health system includes adequate numbers of health workers who are appropriately trained and distributed, and who are motivated and supported to perform their jobs and remain in their posts. Health workers are the link connecting clients to the health system.

Sound Theory Applied to Practice

ThinkWell’s approach to human resources for health (HRH) is intellectually rigorous and intensely practical. We work with a country’s political dynamics and with various stakeholders across the system, through technical working groups, with central ministries and in decentralized systems, and at the health facility level. Throughout our process, we provide capacity building to HR administrators for sustainability.

Our work includes HRH assessments, strategic plans, implementation plans, and costing. We help build supportive infrastructure such as HR information systems, and develop and enhance performance management and career progression systems. Our HR planning emphasizes context-sensitive recruitment, deployment, motivation, and retention programs.

Sub Practice Areas

Policy, planning and strategy

ThinkWell assist ministries of health and private sector institutions in health, education and other sectors to analyze human resources policy options and determine the appropriate path for their context. Further, ThinkWell facilitates communications and coordination with other stakeholders including ministries of labor and finance. In line with policy and strategic goals, ThinkWell supports development, writing, and consensus-building for human resources strategic planning, and assists with implementation of the strategic plans. While strategic plans are broad and comprehensive, ThinkWell additionally supports all phases of implementation for the following programs:

Attraction, motivation and retention

ThinkWell sees attraction of new employees, motivation of newly-hired and longer-term workers, and their retention as tightly linked issues that must be addressed during all phases of a worker’s lifecycle through strong programming. At the core is human behavior and motivation — both extrinsic and intrinsic, and effective programs address both. Motivated workers are more likely to stay, and a motivated workforce spreads positive behaviors and drive for strong performance to new employees. In many environments, job candidates learn about the reputation of a workplace even before they submit an application, and this can extend to a person’s career choice during their school years.

Performance management

ThinkWell believes that both extrinsic and intrinsic factors must be addressed in order to create a high-performing workforce. At the center of a performance management system is the performance review form. ThinkWell assists with the development and customization of performance review systems and forms to meet the needs of specific populations. Further, ThinkWell develops and implements programs which exist within and around the performance management system, such as performance review training for managers and employees, leadership development programs, and career ladder schemes.