Retention/Morale

[ltcnurse01]

How do you keep good nurses, foster the potential in new ones and keep staff morale high?

A few questions in one, but they all tie in together at the end of the day.

I'm in LTC so we are a close knit family. Generally low turn over, except in RN's and PSW's who become RPN's, that need encouragement to be charge nurses, to run their unit without a lot of outside direction.

Any tips would be appreciated.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Have you sent out a survey to your staff? Everyone is going to value something different; going directly to the source may be the best course of action. There may be things suggested that aren't possible, but look into the ones that people say they want that are. Or let the nurses and staff form a council- my facility has a staff satisfaction council on each unit who do little things like schedule pot lucks but also go back to the facility wide council with suggestions. With support from management, some of the bigger things have happened (like letting the direct supervisors decide raise amounts out of a set budgeted amount vs. a round the board minuscule raise set by HR).

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

In addition to the above, you might want to round on your staff often (all of them, even the ones with whom you do not think you have anything in common) and make the other managers/supervisors do the same. It is similar to rounding on patients and families. Talk to your staff outside of disciplines, evaluations, and outside of a crisis. See how he/she is doing in his/her careers, lives, and/or whatever is important to him/her. This should increase morale, assist you with growing staff that have such ambitions (or influence those who had not thought of it), as well as increase retention rate. By the way, many people will choose to remain at a job because he/she likes his/her manager or management team. So, be that manager the other nurses don't want to leave despite what they perceive as negatives. Good luck! :)

[jrt4]

I have never worked in LTC but if its one thing I have learned in management is people are people. There are 3 things that influence engagement which is the core issue when most people talk about "morale" or satisfaction. Engagement is competence, relational and autonomy. Not necessarily in that order and not necessarily the same for all. Some have a stronger need for autonomy while others are more motivated by relationships with their colleagues. The important piece is that you make an effort to understand what drives individuals and to have an even balance of all 3. Cake and Pizza parties drive me nuts. We see this all of the time... really... you think a pizza party is going to have a lasting impact? I think its great for celebrations of achievements but its not going to fix your problem or motivate anyone. I agree with the above poster who mentioned a survey. Also having meaningful conversations with your direct reports. It doesn't take long to figure them out. Hope this helps.