What criteria can be used to select an employee of the month on a med-surg unit?

[1Jessie86]

I' a new co-chair to shared governance and decided to put in place an idea that I overheard one of my co-workers discussing. My unit is burnt out with many new employees quitting shortly after hired on. I'm hoping this will boost morale and encourage my co-workers to work harder. I'm still working on the specifics. So far this is what I have for the criteria:

• Outstanding attendance record
  
• No call ins
  
• Clocks in and out on time
  
• Does the employee consistently "go the extra mile" without being asked?
  
• Is the employee cooperative, compassionate, and friendly to fellow employees on a regular basis?
  
• Does the employee possess other qualities that would make them deserving of such an award?
  
• Did they make a patient or visitor smile?
  

Can you help me think of anything else that can be used in selecting an employee of the month on our unit?

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

When you single one person out, it gets a little flat. How about recognizing a team and getting them t-shirts "Dream Team October,2015"and "There's No 'I' in Team" on the back. Some permanent markers, and people can sign the shirts.

To make morale better, there needs to be enough staff so that people can take lunches, bathroom breaks, and have a patient assignment that is reasonable. As well as a manager who will jump in and help when the going gets tough. People's tolerance for being overwhelmed varies. Hence why when you start giving out little recognitions for one person, it is not always seen as genuine.

Even more so, "bonus bucks" maybe a week of free lunches, or coffee and a pastry for a couple weeks, or pizza/cookies brought in for a shift who holds it together.

And if you are going to have a "smile award" make it funny and fun....And it sticks on your locker for a week, and you pass it on.

The whole "clocks in and out" and "is compassionate and happy" stuff is not as well received as intended a lot of the time.

So much stress makes people unhappy. To be able to laugh like heck for a few minutes is always an ice breaker, a stress reliever, and brings people together. Stuff "inside jokes" are made of for some time to come.

AND they didn't call me "princess" on my unit for nothing....I one upped them and passed around a glitter/star wand and a hideous unicorn stuffie to co-worker who needed a laugh....it was hysterical.

[MallysMama]

I think you have good intentions, but I agree with the above poster. If you're having a high turn-over with lots of employees feeling burn-out, then it's likely that an Employee of the Month is not "enough" to fix the problem. It sounds like your unit needs to get down to the heart of the problem (what is making people leave?) and try to fix it. Employees will try harder if they feel appreciated and feel that management is doing all they can to make better working conditions.

[1Jessie86]

I understand the pros and cons of employee of the month. I'm only looking for help coming up with criteria. Thank you.

[RebeccaLandis]

Put up a huge cork-board and some slips of paper and allow the staff members to write nice things to their co-workers. Who ever has the most posts in the month gets the award. Only can win once per year though.

[1Jessie86]

Neat idea, thank you.

[MallysMama]

I understand the pros and cons of employee of the month. I'm only looking for help coming up with criteria. Thank you.

I think the criteria you stated are great! Can't think of any others.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I concur with respondents who suggested that everyone on the unit be recognized with catered lunch, gift cards, or something of that nature. It serves as an instant morale booster for all employees on the floor, not just the one employee of the month.

[CountryMomma, ASN, RN]

The clocking in/out criteria can be troublesome. Healthcare is a 24hr/day business. Patients crash at shift change, get held up in CT while you man the CBI and RT runs the port vent... too many variables that a nurse can't entirely avoid. Also, quite a few nurses, I've seen, are able to clock out on time by doing the bare minimum and avoiding cares close to the end of the shift.

I won't even start on "above and beyond" as either a criteria OR a new expectation on so many hospital floors nowadays.

I'm of the opinion that singling praise and recognition out for one person a month does little to build a cohesive team on a burnt out unit.

[BonnieSc]

Just don't do what they did at my last permanent job...collect all the patient compliments (every time a nurse or aide was singled out by name) and whoever gets the most is employee of the month. Who gets remembered? Day shift. People whose names are easy to remember. Attractive people. Male nurses. In other words, the people who stand out to the patients. When the nurses as a group suggested this was not ideal, management said that if people are really doing a good job, they will hear about it from patients.

Suggestion: take ONE instance from the last month that stands out to you and make that person "employee of the month" and tell everyone the neat thing they did. Acknowledge that everyone is going to get a turn to be employee of the month--it isn't actually a contest. But recognizing positive behaviors does feel good, especially when it seems like we mostly hear the negatives. Don't make it things that only management cares about (like clocking in/out, or no call-ins... most nurses are very compassionate toward a co-worker who has a special needs child and needs to call in at times, along with, let's not encourage working while sick)... make it things that remind us why we became nurses. "Peggy helped me figure out my neuro patient's needs since she used to work on a neuro floor, and I was lost." "Mike heard my patient calling for help from the bathroom, stopped what he was doing, cleaned her up, and put her back to bed because he knew I was busy with a demanding patient." "Ana's patient wrote that she had been nervous about going home with a drain in place, but Ana explained it so well and made her so comfortable that it was easy to go home." "My patient told me a different way to arrange her Depends so they wouldn't leak, and explained that the aide Chris was the one who figured it out."

Make EotM mean something with small gifts (seriously, we were always thrilled with three dollars to spend in the cafeteria, or a chocolate bar) but also, encourage everyone to write compliments to that person. Many people treasure those papers where everyone has written something good about them.

[Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM]

I once worked at a place where they would give it to the worst performing employee...it made them work harder.

[secondlifenurse, MSN, RN]

While it's always nice as an employee to be recognized, boosting morale by recognizing one person a month seems to leave many people and many instances of great work unrecognized. If there is already low morale, it may not be the nudge to improve it. And, even worse, it may undermine existing morale.

Energy might be better spent getting to the bottom of the issues that create low morale and then working to improve those areas. It might also be better to make all of the individuals in the group feel appreciated and recognized by bringing in bagels or donuts or snacks with a big "Thank You for All You Do" note attached (about once or twice a month) and making it so each person can have the ten minutes to savor the bagel (or whatever) during the shift.

Creating a culture of regular gratitude (I find), where I am quietly thanked in the moment for giving an extra hand, or dealing with a particularly difficult situation well, or whatever small thing, sure seems to go much farther. The thank-you's or gratitude don't always have to come from a co-chair, chair, manager, or assistant manager; as a matter of fact, they're at least as meaningful, if not more, if my colleagues occasionally give a nod to hard work. And it's so much easier to be happy in an environment and give thanks to my colleagues when it's part of its overall culture.