Employee Incentives

ilstu99 · Aug 24, 2008

No offense intended....

I'd rather get less-frequent, higher-dollar incentives.....or something I can actually use. The gimmicky stuff is okay, but it's always something that will not reach all people (like food buffets, or visits from Big Wigs toting cups of coffee), take-home things that come across like free advertising for the facility (t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc), or the like. The lingering feeling is...."Okay, please don't give me all of this crap, and then tell me that the raises are on hold this year, or that my unit can't have (fill in the blank) equipment because it's not in the budget, or that we can't have a sane/safe patient:RN because we're in a hiring freeze."

Our facility routinely gives 5 hours of vacation pay to every employee when we reach capacity for more than 24 hours, with a bonus 5 to employees who pick up an extra shift. If you DO pick-up extra, you can pick up the added pay in CASH at the end of the shift. Otherwise, give me a gas card, or a gift certificate for the grocery store.....or just come around and hand everyone $20 in a hand-signed "Thank you" card.

Penguin67 · Aug 24, 2008

I'm not a fan of little gifts to show appreciation. I'd rather have the gift money designated toward a raise, as that is more permanent and nothing show appreciation more than money (ok, other than great staffing patterns!). The money and staffing seem to be good ways to attract and retain good nurses.

That said, I liked the idea of retention bonuses, particularly used in place of sign on bonuses. Many nurses take the sign on bonus and elave whedn the payback period is up, and often the nurses who have been at a particular institution for ages get nothing to say thanks for staying with us except hitting a salary ceiling. Reward those who stay!

Just my two cents!

mpccrn, BSN, RN · Aug 24, 2008

in icu we have a 'star' board where staff members write about other staff members on a star that is posted on the board. it could be anything at any time.......thanks for staying extra to help out......thanks for doing my bath.....you were awesome in that horrid situation.......hats off to the A team, you rock!......anything positive to recognize a fellow staff member for her achievements or a job well done. :yeah:

HonestRN · Aug 24, 2008

How about gas cards? Or occasional bonuses? I like the whole idea of hiring adequate staff.

santhony44, MSN, RN, NP · Aug 24, 2008

Retention bonuses. I totally agree that huge sign-on bonuses to attract new staff while ignoring people who actually stay is short-sighted, to say the least.

I really do not like raffles. Someone gets left out. (I admit it, usually me!) I think it's better to give everyone a $10 gift than a few people a $50 gift while everyone else gets nothing. Now, if you're giving retention bonuses based on length of time worked for the facility, that's different; it makes sense for a 10-year employee to get more than a 1-year employee, but don't base it on "luck."

If you do the scrub jacket thing, offer some choices. A solid color, three or four different print options, and yes it needs to be available everyone's size. If you pick one print, not everyone will like it.

Adequate staff, an extra paid day off, gas cards, and of course $$$$ are the best, all mixed in with plenty of verbal recognition of a job well done, said frequently and sincerely. Oh, and an occasional literal helping hand from management would go a long way towards making staff feel acknowledged and appreciated, too. As in, put on the scrubs, get out there, and spend a little time helping take care of patients. I think (just my opinion, and probably a crazy idea, I know) that if everyone in management would do this on occasion- preferably on a regular basis- then you would actually start to see some transformations take place in some facilities!

cookie102 · Aug 24, 2008

I am part of an employee satisfaction team and we are coming up with something monthly we can do to help let our employees know how appreciated they are. Some ideas we had were scratch off lotto tickets attached to pay checks, raffling off turkeys and hams at the holidays, pizza parties, doughnuts, etc.
I think we should get them a gift that might last a while like a scrub jacket. We mandate their scrub color so I think it would be nice to get them all matching print scrub jackets. What do you think? WOuld you like that? What are some ideas you have for incentives that would make you feel appreciated?

i like all the ideas, just the thought of getting a little something extra!!!!

gas cards are great!!!!

wish i worked with you :yeah:

ctspargo · Sep 27, 2008

How about a hand-written note recognizing the hard work and compassionate care that nurses give. Being specific helps. General thank you's are less meaningful. Nurses really aren't in it for the money (obviously). But when nursing is your passion, and someone takes the time to let you know that you have really made a difference, it is a wonderful feeling.

Also, allowing nurses time to attend educational sessions or conferences is a great reward. We are all hungry for knowledge.

Batman24 · Sep 27, 2008

A little cash or an American Express gift card and/or paid time off would be what I would like most. Money always fits and never needs to be returned. And who wouldn't like to get an extra paid day off here and there?! I can't see anyone not being thrilled with these things. Even if it's $25 or leaving after a half day off it would be a total treat for those involved. A letter thanking them and acknowledging their hard work with a copy being placed in their personnel file should also be included.

flashpoint · Sep 27, 2008

LOL we are talking realistically (sp?) That would be my ideal gift, plus a great big thank you for busting your @$$ everyday Rhonda would be nice to hear. Some times it becomes kind of a popularity game, if you pick certain people. It would be nice for other people to be recognized, for instance a cena who works for me is kind of slow, but my goodness, she is so thorough, I never doubt that the patient has had complete cares, because she cares about what she does, but rarely gets recognized (except from me) because she is slow. So I guess what I am saying is that it is nice to recognize people, but do not do it :bow:in mass production, recognize one person at a time and really mean it.

The hospital I used to work at once recognized all of the nurses who did something medical related off the job. So...all of the nurses who volunteered at the free immunization clinic or the volunteer fire / rescue service or the senior citizen blood perssure clinic, etc. got a certificate and a $50 gift card. Nice idea...great gift, except they forgot one of the volunteer firefighters...me to be exact To compensate, they made a photo copy of someone else's framed and matted certificate and crossed out the name and wrote my name in with a Sharpie...and they gave me a $10 gift card because a $50 one was no longer in the budget. I think I was less offended before they "tried" to "make it right."

I think it is important to recognize people as individuals, but it is really hard to remember everyone who should be recognized...if you are going to recognize a group of individuals like all of the CNAs or the PRN staff or whatever, make sure you remember everyone. It sucks to be forgotten. :)

truern · Sep 27, 2008

Personally I think it's great to see management concerned about employee satisfaction vs patient satisfaction just once.