Retention Incentive - What do you think?

[CEN35]

when our system first came out with incentives, it was almost all geared at aquiring new employees.

there was very very lilttle geared at retaining those that have been in the system, for x number of years.

well this year they have approved a 2% raise for housekeeping, medics, secretaries, transporters etc etc.

they gave staff nurses 3%. they gave bottom of the line managment (like me) 2% initially because allegedly we are not staff? wrong answer! so they changed it to 3% for us.

the good part comes at the incentive issue. if you have been employed within the system, longer than 2 years, they are doing a step thing. it is 3- 7%. based on how long you have been with the system. we get a 3-7% (depending on the number of years worked for the system) of our yearly income, every 6 months. thats is the retention. so far it seems like a good thing. although i am told the prns were given nothing...and now the hospital is short staffed.

me :)

[Jay Levan]

originally posted by cen35

ok? wtf? i cannot beleive it? 41 views....and only 1 reply? that's what i like about thisd board...all the input and insight...guess i was wrong?

me :)

hey rick, getting just a little pithy are you? didn't know we could use profanity to arouse interest in the subjects we wish to discuss:eek: relax, just kidding :) jay

[Q.]

Bulldozer techniques, I guess.

[NurseDennie, BSN, RN]

They did a one-time retention bonus where I used to work, and it actually lowered morale.

It certainly made me think twice about the whole concept. The bonus wasn't *huge* - $1,000. And then they withdrew everything that they could POSSIBLY withdraw. Of course they had to take taxes out, but how about taking insurance and other add-ons like that, that you're supposed to pay once a month? It ALL came out. So you actually got a check for about $550. Then if you couldn't stay the required length of time, you had to pay BACK $1,000. They wouldn't even pro-rate it for how long of the term you did remain!

I'd had no intention of leaving anyway (I didn't leave until about 2-1/2 years after the term was up) but it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I'd love a retention bonus if it were not administered in such a chinchy, icky way!

Love

Dennie

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

Cheerfuldoer wrote:

Just MAYBE this might be the way to go in order to have more satisfied nurses who are free to contract with a facility a plan conducive to each nurse's preferences.

This IS the way nursing is going, IMHO. "Contracts" and "independent agents" are the wave of the future for nursing. Loyalty to an institution is ALREADY a relic of the past (created, ironically, by the institutions themselves, by their terrible abuse of nursing staff... they have reaped what they have sown and have paid a thousand times over for their stupidity).

Nursing started in the community setting and is returning, in essence, to its community roots (no more bound exclusively to hospitals--free to come and go as we wish, not a bad thing).

[CEN35]

ok yes too those that claim i am cranky!

i was!

sorry.......just a lack of sleep, and a number of other issues in my life putting me a bit on the edge.

fortunately, as per one other post of mine from last night, the coronas and dusequies, with the 50mg of benedryl, and lack of sleep prior........gave me a solid 10 hours of sleep without waking up once last night!!!!

i'm in a beter mood today...although tired (physically)

me :)

[Sleepyeyes]

More money??

Hmmm.... I like it.

[nightingale, RN]

More money is a good thing...

[bestblondRN]

At the end of last year and the beginning of this year, the nurses at my hospital were given a variable raise based on years of experience as a RN and years of service, much as the one you described Rick. It ranged upwards of 10% for some of the longtimers whose salaries were so compressed that they hadn't seen raises in 5+ years. It helped retain a lot of good people, but it was too late for others who decided to move on for bigger bucks. At some of the Chicago area hospitals, they are offering as much as $20,000 sign on bonuses--now there ain't no way I'm going to see that kind of increase in a year at my current place of employment--but I am content to stay where I am for the nurse-patient ratios and the decent salary. The places that are offering the big recruitment bonuses are in some of the worst areas of Chicago, so you can imagine what the working conditions are like. Nurses are afraid to go to places like that because of locale and the clientele. It's always a compromise to find the situation that works for you, I guess.

[wrightgd]

I think this whole idea of sign on bonuses or retention bonuses begs the question of "Why do we need bonuses to attract or retain nurses?". If nurses are paid fairly and treated fairly, then management should never need worry about paying "bonuses" to all employees. A bonus should be reserved for the occasions when an employee has gone above and beyond the call of duty, and therefore deserves a little recognition. Bonuses should be about the recognition, not a feeble attempt to rectify a disfunctional salary structure.

Likewise, base salaries of competent and qualified nurses should be a reflection of their contribution to the healthcare team. That is, a 20 year veteran of the floor, shouldn't get a "retention bonus" so that he/she makes what a new grad did last year... Experience, certification, and other qualifications need to drive the value of a nurses contribution to the team, and therefore his/her salary. Those experience related things don't come overnight, and should be more highly valued. The whole bonus issue is a simple matter of supply and demand for qualified nurses. As soon as administrations see the value in retaining a stable group of nurses, paying them fairly, and recognizing their professional contributions, then conditions will improve and staffing will stabliize. Unfortunately, I'm not holding my breath for that to happen...

George