What Happened to Big Sign-on Bonuses?

Nurses General Nursing

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what happened to big sign-on bonuses? :uhoh21:

just a year ago big sign-on bonuses were making the news. hospitals were offering $10,000, cars, vacations, prizes :balloons: etc.

anyone know what happened? do you know of any hospitals that are still offering bonuses?

if you've received a bonus, any feedback on whether it was just a gimmick? :rolleyes:

thank you for all responses and input!

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I don't know, they are offering them where I work but **not** 10k or cars or anything nearly so ostentatious......besides..... It's my belief the more spectacular the bonus, the less you may want to work in a given place making such offers. IF they have to play such games to get people to work there, it is NOT where I want to be. CAVEAT EMPTOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really, there is more to life than big bucks bonuses and the games they play to lure nurses to places they do not want to work! :uhoh21:

Maybe because the fine print kept most of that money out of nurses pockets.

-R

....

Specializes in Critical Care,Recovery, ED.

Sign on bonuses are a gimmick that does nothing to releive an individual employers "shortage" and in fact just creates further shortages and increases hiring costs for no long term benefit. Far better to put the money into salaries, pension benefits , etc. That's what attracts and RETAINS nurses.

Specializes in OB, Telephone Triage, Chart Review/Code.

Nurses at our hospital growled at administration for offering the sign-on bonuses and not using the money to keep what nurses they already have.

The hosp. where I work as a tech is offering $15,000 to new grads. I agree, that money would be better spent on the existing nursing staff for retention purposes. Although I wouldn't mind the money myself when I graduate! This is a nice hospital to work for, from what I've heard from the nurses there.

Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.

Not seeing alot of these ads here in SE Pennsy.

May I ask which hospital?

Thanks!

My DH got a 5K bonus for hiring here in WY. Of course he had the resume that got him that offer too. The only stipulation was he has to work out 2000 hours or pay some of it back. That was pretty much what moved us here and got us into our rental house, etc....

The deals are there, you just have to look. Read all the fine print, negotiate, negotiate, negotiate.....and make SURE you know what you are getting into prior to doing so.

Sign-On Bonuses: The Cure for Staffing Shortages?

By: Megan Malugani

From: Monster.com - November 2003

What health professional wouldn't be tempted by the prospect of a juicy sign-on bonus? A quick cash infusion puts not only a jangle in your pocket, but a smile on your face.

The glee could be short-lived, however. When the thrill wears off, you've still got to work for your new employer. And your new employer wants a dedicated employee, not just someone who followed the money.

"Sign-on bonuses aren't that effective. They don't buy loyalty," says Cathy Allman, executive director of the National Association for Health Care Recruitment.

When sign-on bonuses become common, they lose their power, adds Mark J. Howard, president and CEO of MountainView Hospital in Las Vegas and chairman of the American College of Healthcare Executives. "If every place has a sign-on bonus, it won't be very effective," he says.

Remedies for Staffing Problems

Many healthcare employers are realizing that sign-on bonuses serve as a Band-Aid rather than a cure for staffing problems, and they're taking alternate approaches to recruiting and retaining good employees.

Allman says that one increasingly popular incentive is the referral bonus, which is given to an employee who refers an acquaintance to his or her employer. Healthcare employers are also offering retention bonuses, which a worker collects after working for the organization for a year or more.

A strategy currently used for recruiting and retaining ICU, OR and ER nurses -- who are in great demand -- is flexible shifts. Employers are also holding nurse managers accountable for high turnover rates in their departments, and they are giving them incentives to improve employee satisfaction, Allman explains.

Employees will stick around if they are respected by their coworkers and enjoy going to work, Howard notes. Employers have to find out what is important to their workers and their communities and offer programs to meet those needs, from tuition assistance to day care.

Love 'Em or Lose 'Em

As long as employees are receiving compensation packages that are on par with industry standards, fatter paychecks alone won't dictate retention or loss of key employees, says Sharon Jordan-Evans of Los Angeles, an executive coach and coauthor of Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay.

"It's no mystery at all: People stay where they feel valuable and important," Jordan-Evans says. "If a person is thrilled with his boss, his teammates and his work, then he can't be enticed away by 10 percent or even 20 percent more money," she explains.

If a person is already unhappy and looking for a new job, then a sign-on bonus could be an effective recruitment technique, says Jordan-Evans. Unfortunately, many people who are leaving a bad situation don't know how to look for another job that offers the satisfaction they were missing. "They look for money and hope the other things are there," Jordan-Evans says. The bottom line: You can't buy job satisfaction.

Who Is Receiving Sign-On Bonuses?

The demand for healthcare professionals is cyclical, as is the distribution of sign-on bonuses. Currently, nurses with experience in the ICU, OR and ER are being wooed with sign-on bonuses that sometimes exceed $5,000. Pharmacists, health informatics specialists and radiologic technologists are just some of the other professionals receiving sign-on bonuses.

Specializes in L & D; Postpartum.

Our place tries to be very hush-hush about sign-on bonuses, but we know they are being given. All the while the administration gives lip service only to retention. They are still kicking and screaming about giving a year for year experience equity adjustment for those of us who've been there 10 years or more, and at the same time, new hires get placed at their year for year experience level on the pay grid. How they can sleep at night is beyond me.

IMHO, a new hire, regardless of years of experience, resume or whatever else may make them look good, is an unknown entity until they've actually worked in your facility for a while. Another reason to put some serious money into retention.

We know of nurses in our facility who have no intention of staying beyond the sign-on bonus requirements. They will hospital hop every two years of so. And our place will probably bite again the next time they show up at the door.

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