Tactics to Tackle Employee Turnover
Turnover of nursing staff in the United States has hit alarming proportions, as high as 16.8% for registered nurses and nurse practitioners, according to research discussed in DailyPay. In an economy that is suffering from a severe shortage of nursing staff, and with the number of jobs in the sector expected to increase by an enormous 26% between 2018 and 2028 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, high staff turnover will severely limit your ability to provide excellent healthcare.
The fewer nurse practitioners you lose because of poor staff retention strategies, the more effective your organization will be. These six strategies will help you retain your nursing staff longer, leading to more consistent patient care and lower costs to train new staff.
1. Onboard Nursing Staff Consistently
Develop standard and concise onboarding programs for new nursing employees. Ensure that you provide clear details of what you expect from your nurse practitioner. This will help them start more effectively and with a greater feeling of empowerment.
2. Improve work/Life Balance for Your Nurse Practitioners
One of the major reasons for nurse practitioners seeking new opportunities elsewhere is poor work/life balance. If you can design flexibility in working hours, while ensuring that patient care is not affected, your nursing staff are less likely to suffer burnout. Your strategies in this area may also include providing and promoting self-care and well-being for your employees.
3. Recognize and Reward Good Performance
The job that your nurse practitioners do is tough, both mentally and physically. Ensure that your managers and leaders take time to recognize and reward good performance. Often, a simple thank you is enough to re-energize a tired and demotivated employee.
Consider, also, what incentives you could give such as bonuses, an increase in salary, extra leave, etc. Such incentives help to maintain morale and differentiate you from other employers.
4. Reduce the Pressure of Paperwork
Another burden that places pressure on the time of nurse practitioners is the amount of paperwork they must complete. This removes them from the part of the job they love most – working with patients.
Consider embedding tools and techniques that will reduce paperwork to free time for nurse practitioners to direct their energy toward compassionate care. This may include discussing how paperwork can be streamlined with nursing staff, redefining policies and practices, and the use of technology.
5. Construct a Considerate Culture
Patients can test the patience of nurse practitioners, but encouraging family and friends of patients to share their thanks with staff can help to make hard days easier to face. Your organization could provide feedback forms or direct people to leave comments online. This could be combined with your recognition and reward strategies – for example, to develop an Employee of the Month award based upon feedback left by patients and their families.
6. Develop Nurse Practitioners’ Careers
When was the last time you sat with your employees and discussed their hopes and expectations? By understanding a nurse practitioner’s ambitions, you can develop individualized career plans that help them achieve their goals. It’s much better that they do this with you than by moving to a new job.
Tactics to Tackle High Turnover
Employing these six strategies will help you retain your most talented nurse practitioners and other staff. By employing tactics to tackle high turnover, your patients will benefit with a higher-quality and more consistent level of care, and your reputation as an exceptional employer is more likely to attract talented replacements for when nurse practitioners do move on or retire.
For those periods when you need extra nursing staff to cover for unexpected gaps in your staff numbers, contact Loyal Source today.