166 Individual Retention Conversations (IRC): Unlocking clinical research professional engagement

Abstract

Objectives/Goals: The clinical research professional (CRP) workforce suffers from high turnover. Stay interviews have led to increased satisfaction and reduced turnover in other industries. We describe a multi-institutional project to develop, disseminate, and evaluate a CRP-tailored Stay Interview tool reimagined as the Individual Retention Conversation (IRC) toolkit. Methods/Study Population: In August 2022, following on the heels of a series of un-meeting conversations focused on CRP workforce development, the CRP taskforce initiated a working group to tackle issues related to CRP workforce retention. As a first initiative, this multi-institutional working group set out to develop, disseminate, and evaluate a Stay Interview tool tailored for a CRP audience and reimagined as the IRC toolkit. A 2-phase pilot study was initiated across six academic medical centers (AMCs: ASU, Duke, MUSC, UAB, UPenn, VCU) to: 1) optimize the toolkit for the CRP audience and 2) evaluate the impact of the toolkit using a standardized CRP satisfaction survey. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via surveys using the REDCap platform. Results/Anticipated Results: The optimization phase of the pilot included 69 participants (16 managers and 53 of their CRP team members) from 6 AMCs. Respondents identified most and least useful questions for stimulating meaningful conversations regarding job satisfaction and retention issues with additional feedback on the IRC experience and tools. CRPs and managers represented a variety of roles, with 77% patient facing. The majority were satisfied with the IRC experience (82%) and found the experience personally beneficial (76%). Managers were satisfied with the manager’s guide (90%). Quantitative and qualitative feedback was used to optimize the toolkit prior to launch of phase 2 in September 2024, which includes a longitudinal survey-based assessment of CRP job satisfaction and IRC-consequent work environment changes. Discussion/Significance of Impact: CRP retention is impacted by complex factors, many related to job satisfaction, supervisor /employee relationships, and beneficial work environments. Initial evaluation of the IRC suggests that this intervention fosters positive supervisor/employee relationships and beneficial work environment changes, which may lead to improved retention.