Employee engagement and staff retention in healthcare: Evidence from medical and non-medical staff

Employee retention remains a persistent challenge in healthcare organizations., Workforce shortages, high job demands, and professional mobility place sustained pressure on service delivery. Employee engagement has been widely identified as a key predictor of retention intention and actual intention. This study investigates the relationship between employee engagement and staff retention in an international healthcare organization in the Philippines. It also shows a comparison on engagement-retention dynamics between the medical and non-medical staff. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 199 employees (109 medical and 90 non-medical staff) in an international medical services company in the Philippines. Exploratory factor analysis identified five engagement factors and these factors were used in regression analysis to show whether employee engagement explained a significant impact on staff retention. Comparative analyses using MANOVA revealed significant differences in the relative importance of engagement factors to retention between medical and non-medical staff. The findings highlight that while leadership and recognition are critical engagement drivers across occupational groups, medical staff place greater emphasis on workload management and professional development, whereas non-medical staff prioritize recognition and career clarity. The study contributes to healthcare human resource management by demonstrating the importance of occupationally differentiated engagement strategies.