Case studyHealthcareSaudi Arabia
HR Transformation for a Saudi Hospital Group: Turnover Reduced Below 8%
At a glance: A long-established private hospital group in Saudi Arabia had never had a formal HR framework. Tuscan built one in four phases. More than 950 job roles came down to 578 clear jobs, each with a new job description, a grade and market-linked pay. Competencies, career paths and succession plans followed. Over the next two years, employee turnover was reduced to below 8%, in a competitive and volatile Saudi market.
- <8%turnover over the next two years
- 578jobs, down from 950+ roles
- P50pay set at the private hospital median
- 15competencies in three clusters
- 4phases, one HR framework
Project facts
- Client
- A private hospital group in Saudi Arabia. Name confidential under NDA.
- Sector
- Healthcare: hospitals and medical centres
- Starting point
- No formal HR framework. This was the group’s first.
- Jobs
- 950+ job roles brought down to 578 jobs, each with a new job description
- Job evaluation
- A globally recognised, point-factor job evaluation method
- Grades
- 20 grades for group-level jobs and 18 for clinical jobs
- Pay position
- Median (P50) of private hospitals in Saudi Arabia, on annual total package
- Scope
- Job titling, role design, job descriptions, grading, salary benchmarking, pay and benefits, cost analysis, competencies, career paths, succession planning
Why did the hospital group call Tuscan?
This is a long-established, traditional hospital group in Saudi Arabia. It had grown without a formal HR framework.
Roles overlapped. There was no common job titling across the group. Job descriptions were out of date, and pay no longer matched the healthcare market. Leaders wanted one framework for the whole group: clear jobs, fair grades, competitive pay and a way to grow their own people.
What did the group need?
- Clear, non-overlapping job roles with up-to-date job descriptions.
- A grading and pay structure in line with the Saudi healthcare market.
- A competency framework built around the group’s values and operations.
- Career paths and succession planning to develop and keep skilled staff.
How did Tuscan run the transformation?
Jobs and job descriptions
We built a group-wide job titling scheme on five criteria: position scope, accountability, strategic impact, people management, and qualifications and experience. Job analysis meetings with job holders across the group followed. More than 950 job roles came down to 578 jobs, and every one got a new job description.
Grades, pay and benefits
We evaluated every job using a globally recognised, point-factor job evaluation method, scoring know-how, problem solving and accountability. That produced 20 grades for group-level jobs and 18 for clinical jobs. We benchmarked pay against private hospitals across Saudi Arabia, set the pay line at the median (P50), and designed separate allowances for Saudi nationals and expatriates. A payroll fitment and cost simulation showed the exact cost of moving.
Competency framework
We defined 15 competencies in three clusters: core for every employee, functional by role, and leadership for managers. Each one has proficiency levels and is mapped to the jobs that need it.
Talent management
We wrote career paths for every medical and non-medical department, a career development policy, and a succession planning policy, framework and tools to prepare successors for critical roles.
How did Tuscan manage change in a traditional group?
This was the hardest part. The group is long established and very traditional, and a new job structure touches every employee. So the change was built in from day one.
- Job holders in the room. Job descriptions came from job analysis meetings with the people doing the work.
- Costs on the table. The CEO and the board saw clear recommendations, with the payroll cost of every change shown up front.
- Tools to roll it out. Bonus matrices, a merit matrix and compa-ratio guidelines (80% to 120%) to place current employees fairly in the new salary scales.
- HR trained to own it. A three-day on-site workshop handed the framework to the group’s HR team, with step-by-step succession planning guides.
What were the results?
- 578 clear jobs where there had been more than 950 overlapping roles.
- One grading structure for group-level and clinical jobs, tied to market pay.
- The group’s first formal competency, career and succession framework.
What happened next?
The group brought Tuscan back for a second engagement: a governance and compliance structure, an authority matrix and a RACI matrix.
What made the difference?
One joined-up framework. Jobs, grades, pay, competencies and careers were designed to fit together, so each piece made the next one stronger.
A method the group can build on. Grades built on a globally recognised, point-factor method mean the group can compare its jobs with the major salary surveys in future.
Change handled on the ground. Job holders shaped the work, leaders saw the costs, and HR was trained to run it.
