Relative strength of hiring and transfer-in rates on patient satisfaction. When employees are
added to a unit, new knowledge, skills, and abilities are available to the unit. However, the shortterm
performance consequences of human capital additions depend on the abilities of the new workers
to make an immediate contribution to existing service delivery processes and the willingness of existing
employees to integrate new workers into the unit. Similar to the difference between voluntary
turnover and transfer-out rates, we expect changes in hiring rates and transfer-in rates to have differential
immediate effects on patient satisfaction. We base our prediction on the differences in
firm-specific human capital among the two classes of new workers. Simply put, we expect transfers-in
from other parts of the organization to have superior knowledge, skills, and abilities in domains that
are specific to the organization. We predict that transfers-in will therefore be able to deliver better
patient satisfaction immediately following their addition to a unit, compared with new external hires.
These contributions will be greater because the transfers will be better acclimated to organizational
systems and practices, and thus may initially be more effective in working within the existing organizational
routines and norms (Schein, 1990; Schmitt & Chan, 1998). Further, transfers-in are more likely than outside hires to have pre-established interpersonal relationships, which are useful for successfully integrating their ability to deliver
service, with nurses already in the unit.