A group of employers in Oxford County is collaborating to offer a new service designed to better retain workers.
Stephens Memorial Hospital, MSAD 17, and Norway Savings Bank are sharing an employee life navigator, a full-time staffer that will help employees solve life challenges that impact employment, such as caregiving demands or transportation issues.
Andy Patstone, the chief operating officer of Stephens Memorial, says the hospital loses a quarter of the staff it hires in the first year of employment.
"And so what we decided to do is really to focus on retaining the people we do have, knowing the workforce we do have is shrinking. It costs a heck of a lot of money to retrain and hire people as they turn over," he said.
Goodwill of Northern New England is providing the employee life navigator service, which connects workers to existing community programs.
