Recruiting and retention tips for Private Duty?

[advocate41]

I would love to hear any tips you may have for recruitment and retention of nurses. I'm a Clinical Director for a Home Care agency, so I would love to hear from other leaders in the private duty sector, but would welcome any experiences across the board that we may be able to apply to our practice. Thanks!!

[Tippyrn]

Make sure staff are going into safe situations driveways should be safe too give them cell phones and a least a flaskught.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Pay better.

[jrt4]

Pay better.

This will not fix a chronic recruitment/retention issue. Pay is important but not as important as a great work environment. I do agree that making sure there are safe situations for your nurses. Sign on bonuses can be effective if there is a 2 year+ commitment attached but I would use these with caution.

I am not a home health RN so I am not sure but any type of "perk" that you can offer that is different from the competition. I know in Chicago we offered free parking and some places offered discounted transit passes. It didn't cost the organization much but it was just a little something that showed you cared about your employees. Maybe there is some kind of unique incentive around driving miles?

[caliotter3]

Keep your word. Do not have internal employees providing one story one day and something totally different three days down the road. If all extended care employees are told they are paid the same rate, then do so.. Nothing destroys credibility, and then external employee loyalty, faster than to make the previous statement and then a nurse finds out that another nurse on the very same extended care case is being paid $4 or $6 an hour more.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

This will not fix a chronic recruitment/retention issue. Pay is important but not as important as a great work environment. I do agree that making sure there are safe situations for your nurses. Sign on bonuses can be effective if there is a 2 year+ commitment attached but I would use these with caution.

I am not a home health RN so I am not sure but any type of "perk" that you can offer that is different from the competition. I know in Chicago we offered free parking and some places offered discounted transit passes. It didn't cost the organization much but it was just a little something that showed you cared about your employees. Maybe there is some kind of unique incentive around driving miles?

Since you do not work in the field, you don't know how abysmal the pay is. People gotta pay bills, and when they can move to an MD office or hospital and make $10/ hour more- better pay WOULD make a difference.

[advocate41]

Thank you for all of the feedback! Our compensation is very competitive for LPNs in the area (at least $3/hr more than the nursing homes and other agencies) and about on par for RNs (a little higher than average if they're out in the more rural areas). We are a small office and truly value the culture, support and consistency that we are building, so I feel good about our retention related to those factors, but it is the recruitment that is proving to be more of an obstacle right now. We don't make flashy job postings advertising things that we cannot deliver on, but still want a successful recruiting program that attracts quality nurses. So, getting nurses in the door is our biggest focus right now

[Emergent, RN]

Help families to not drive nurses away with their craziness, filth, or over-controlling behavior. If a family keeps losing caregivers, find out what's going on!