Human capital management on the example of selected healthcare facilities
Authors:   Politechnika Częstochowska, Wydział Zarządzania, Krukowska-Miler Agata 
Published: December 2024

Purpose: Human resources in service organizations constitute the fifth crucial element of the
marketing mix. This is also true in healthcare facilities, where medical services fundamentally
rely on people. It is primarily these people that the client/patient seeks. Therefore, managing
human capital in these facilities is a noteworthy element. The aim of this article is to examine
the human resource management process and the related problems in selected healthcare
facilities in the Silesian Voivodeship. This study is a pilot study, highlighting gaps and research
issues in this thematic area.
Design/methodology/approach: The study was based on targeted research. Custom-designed
survey questionnaires were sent to healthcare facilities with a request for voluntary
participation. The thematic scope was presented. The research tool was a custom-designed
survey questionnaire. Contact with the facility was made through direct contacts with persons
responsible for human resources in the facility. The study lasted from June 2 to July 4, 2024,
and included employees from three healthcare facilities. Responses were obtained from several
participants.
Findings: The study can serve as a small contribution to creating the foundation for developing
guidelines for healthcare facilities concerning human capital management. The study identified
problematic areas and aspects of human capital management that require special attention.
Additionally, it highlighted organizational elements of the facilities that are highly valued by
employees.
Research limitations/implications: This study should be expanded to include a significantly
larger number of healthcare facilities, potentially covering all of Poland. This is due to the
specific nature of healthcare systems and recruitment processes. However, the results
concerning Poland could be compared with solutions from other European countries.
Such an approach could help managers and employees understand the human capital
management process not only at the recruitment stage but also at other stages of management.
The main problem of the study was the relatively short data collection period and the weak
response from entities and employees who could be included in the study.
Practical implications: Help for managers.
Social implications: Better management of healthcare facilities and their personnel leads to
improved healthcare accessibility and thus to the overall health improvement of the population.
A well-managed healthcare facility with well-conducted internal marketing can enhance job
satisfaction, increase employee engagement, and improve the quality of customer/patient
service.
Originality/value: This study can help managers understand the necessity of properly
implementing internal marketing and managing personnel effectively. There is relatively little
literature specifically addressing this issue in Poland in recent years, especially in connection
with internal facility marketing.
Keywords: Healthcare facilities, management, human capital, medical personnel.
Category of the paper: Research paper, case study.