Undertrained teams,  overlooked risks: The effects of lacking staff education in healthcare

• Many healthcare organizations rely on communication platforms to prevent information silos and workflow disruptions; however, employee education on these tools is frequently overlooked. 
• Without proper training, staff may develop workarounds that fail to fully use their solutions, limiting efficiency and lowering ROI.  
• Staff education also provides clarity, accountability, and insights that help leaders enhance workflows and patient outcomes. 
• When training is inconsistent, IT and support staff face additional burdens that reduce productivity across their organization. 
• A lack of employee education and training further contributes to increased burnout and turnover.  

Whether you’ve worked in healthcare for a year or several decades, one reality never changes: every second matters.  

When communication falters, workflows stall, and technology inconsistencies arise, care delivery and patient outcomes can suffer. 

Too often, healthcare organizations invest in new technology expecting it to solve their challenges, only to underinvest in employee education once their systems go live.  

As roles shift, teams grow, and platforms evolve, competency gaps can quietly grow and decrease overall productivity.  

So, what happens when staff are not trained on clinical communication systems? In this blog post, we break down the real-world impact. 

Ineffective workflows driven by manual workarounds  

Without proper employee education and training about standardized processes throughout their healthcare organization, staff often develop their own ways to “make things work.”  

A 2022 research report found that one in four nurses spends a significant part of their day relying on workarounds.  

These quick fixes may feel necessary in the moment, but they increase the risk of errors and slowed communication—ultimately impacting the speed of care coordination. 

Patients who wait too long for treatment may have to remain in the hospital longer than necessary, driving up operational costs.  

This is especially important to consider, as the Kaiser Family Foundation notes that the average hospital expenses per adjusted inpatient day were $3,132 in 2023.  

Underused features and unrealized ROI 

Unified clinical communications provide powerful capabilities to manage high call volumes, access up-to-date directory information, deliver critical updates,  and more.  

There are many moving parts to these processes, and if your healthcare organization does not offer employee education, your teams might be only using a fraction of what’s available to them.  

This can lead to efficiency gains and cost savings left on the table. For example, contact center representatives who are not properly trained on their operator console might overlook park-and-retrieve features that can save valuable time.  

Recent research highlights this competency gap caused by inadequate staff education in healthcare. On the subject of secure messaging, the Journal of Hospital Medicine noted  “a lack of institutional guidance about how to best engage” in healthcare settings.  

Ineffective leadership and initiatives 

One key benefit of employee education and training is providing clear oversight of the communication tools different departments use and how tasks should be accomplished. 

This clarity promotes accountability by ensuring managers and their direct reports understand their responsibilities and expectations. 

Staff education also equips leaders with actionable insights, allowing them to make data-driven decisions that improve operations, rather than relying on assumptions.  

For example, a unit manager might notice that critical test results were delayed because radiology messages weren’t being escalated correctly; this knowledge can help them implement a standard workflow, reducing response times and helping to improve patient care.  

Increased burdens on IT and support staff 

In a 2025 research survey about digital technologies such as EHRs and remote monitoring systems, 63% of participants said they received only minimal training, and one-fourth said they weren’t given any training. Only 7.4% described themselves as being “sufficiently trained” for their responsibilities.  

This inconsistent employee education often leads to confusion, misunderstandings, and inefficiencies across hospitals and health systems.  

IT and support teams are then inundated with repetitive questions about basic processes or everyday issues.  

As they’re addressing these inquiries, IT and support staff are unable to focus on more specialized responsibilities, critical problem-solving, or projects that require their expertise.  

This diversion of time and attention often results in decreased efficiency across the organization. 

Higher employee turnover and burnout  

A lack of staff education and resources means new employees may be inheriting fragmented knowledge from their peers.  

Bringing everybody up to speed takes longer, reducing productivity and negatively affecting staff satisfaction. This added strain can contribute to burnout, prompting employees to leave for organizations that better equip them for their roles. 

In fact, the latest Spok State of Healthcare Research report underscores a resurgence of burnout: 34% of participants reported experiencing a “great deal” of stress, which contributes significantly to this trend. 

Staff education goes far beyond giving employees a manual and calling it a day. True learning ensures they feel confident from day one, with access to resources designed for their specific roles, aligned with their learning styles, and consistently updated to reflect new product developments.