With nursing shortages on the rise, there are no shortages of opportunities for good nurses. The best way to combat the turnover that might cause? Make sure your nurses are happy in their environment and their positions.
A Life Concierge
For most employees, a work-life balance is an important facet when choosing an organization. At Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif. nurses can choose from flexible scheduling and part-time, 8-hour or 12-hour shifts to accommodate different family and lifestyle needs.
At Kaiser Permanente’s Oakland Medical Center, employees have free concierge services on hand to help with daily errands and essentials. Nurses can call in for help with dinner reservations, car repairs, mailings, event planning, dry cleaning, and lawn and garden care.
“If you want to attend a dinner and play in San Francisco after work, the concierge service can make your reservations,” says Kathy Sommese, a clinical nurse supervisor for Permanente.
There are also numerous health-club membership and local attraction discounts, and tuition benefits.
Education
Most employees want to continue to grow in their career. This is why many medical facilities are now offering on-site degree programs, particularly when the facility is in a partnership with a surrounding university.
Many organizations promote further education by offering onsite master’s- and bachelor’s-degree programs for nurses, tuition reimbursement, scholarships and flexible scheduling to support nurses who want to continue their education.
Beyond a Signing Bonus
A signing bonus usually guarantees a two-year run for a nurse at a facility. But what about when those two years are up? Some places are forgoing signing bonuses for professional development programs, proving nurses with a career path that promises growth.
At Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital in Yakima, Wash., nurses are nurtured with a supportive corporate culture and numerous opportunities for upward mobility. “Into the Blue,” a four-day program, to all employees focuses on maximizing the spirit of leadership in every individual.
“The program essentially teaches employees how to better understand one another’s personalities and temperaments and how to foster healthy relationships,” says Jennifer Tate, Yakima’s director of organizational health and wellness. “It shows how to remove self-imposed limits to achieve your goals.”
More than 1,800 employees have gone through the program and have reported tremendous success.
“I’ve heard story after story of how this program has changed our employees’ lives both personally and professionally,” Tate says. “There was one woman who always wanted to learn how to scuba dive and this course motivated her to do so at the age of 60.”
Whether it’s opportunities for free tuition, leadership development or dry cleaning pickup, organizations need to remember that nurses spend a lot of hours in the workplace. The best way to retain these employees is to make them feel appreciated and empowered.
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