Effective recruiting = successful retention
March 1, 2002
Effective recruiting = successful retention
Work environment, respect, appreciation keep staff
Just like peanut butter and jelly, recruitment and retention are two words that always seem to go together. Home health managers rarely talk about one without the other, and with good reason, according to experts who talked to Hospital Home Health.
While everyone in health care is aware of a shortage of nurses, home health managers have the added challenge of finding nurses with very specific skills who are willing to go into patients’ homes and to work independently. Once these nurses are found, no manager wants them to leave after a short time.
Sometimes, addressing your approach to recruitment can help with retention as proven by Henry Ford Home Health Care in Detroit. "We realized a few years ago that we had a big retention problem," says Greg Solecki, vice president of Henry Ford Home Health Care. To address the problem, the agency put together a strategic planning team composed of staff members involved in the different aspects of both recruitment and retention, he says. One of the primary objectives was to attract the right type of nurse to the job in order to increase the likelihood that the nurse would stay with the job, he adds.
"We knew that we didn’t want to run a ton of ads in the newspapers and that we didn’t want to offer signing bonuses," Solecki says. He questions the effectiveness of signing bonuses and adds that he believes signing bonuses "don’t enhance the profession of nursing."
"We also knew we couldn’t promise a 9-to-5 job with little or no paperwork," says Solecki. "In the early days, hospital nurses would burn out and come to home health to get away from long hours and paperwork," he explains. "The amount of paperwork required today is our No. 1 barrier to recruitment of many nurses," he adds.
Committee members also wanted the ads to attract nurses who were coming to something they wanted rather than running away from a job that they didn’t like, says Solecki. The ads approved by the committee focused on themes such as community service, one-to-one patient care and teaching, and making a real difference in someone’s life, he explains.
The ads were successful, he says. "We did attract a higher caliber of nurse than we had attracted previously, and the nurses were not disappointed to find that home health is a hard job," Solecki says. Nurses who responded by telephone or letter to the ads received an information packet and an invitation to call or visit a staff member. "If the nurse wanted to go with a staff member on a home visit, we would arrange it."
If this low-pressure approach to recruitment resulted in an application, Solecki’s staff responded within 24 hours. "At least, we tried to respond in 24 hours so that we showed the applicants we respected their time and their interest," he says.
Home health experience not required
Solecki’s agency doesn’t require home health experience and offers a 12-week orientation that teaches nurses the skills they need, he says.
"Obviously, an experienced home health nurse moves through the orientation program more quickly, but we make sure everyone feels comfortable with every aspect of the job," he explains.
At one time, Henry Ford Home Health partnered with a local nursing school to offer a six-month intern program that gave graduate nurses training in a wide variety of skills that are used in home health. "The program resulted in some very skilled nurses who stayed in home health, but it was inordinately expensive for one organization so we discontinued it," says Solecki. This is, however, one idea he recommends to others who might find multiple partners to share the costs.
Barbara Ballard, MPM, director of home health services at Brookwood Medical Center in Birmingham, AL, enjoys a low turnover rate at her agency and attributes it to "the family feeling" of her staff.
"I am able to attract staff members because our salaries are competitive, but they stay because this is a nice place to work," she says. In addition to treating all staff as professionals and asking for their input, it is important to recognize that supporting employees in their personal lives also is a good way to keep employees, Ballard adds.
"We make our social workers, chaplains, and counselors available to staff members when they have difficulties in their lives." This access to support demonstrates to employees that they are valued, she says.
"I also respect their specific skills," she says. Although Ballard oversees home health and hospice services, she does not cross-train employees to work in both areas, she says. "Home health nurses want to help patients get better, and hospice nurses want to help patients die peacefully." These two tasks require two different approaches and personalities, and it creates job dissatisfaction when you try to force a nurse to do something for which he or she is not suited, Ballard adds.
Nurses also want to be appreciated, Solecki says. A simple recognition program at Henry Ford uses a form titled, "I heard something good about you." The forms can be generated by any employee who passes the note on to his or her supervisor who then routes it to appropriate department managers. The employee receives a handwritten note from Solecki. "At first, I didn’t know how effective these notes would be, but I get calls from employees telling me that I made their day. I also see the notes posted in their cubicles."
Employees have potluck dinners, raise funds for local charities, and receive special recognition at quarterly events, Solecki says.
The key is to create a culture of respect and appreciation, he says. "If the nurse enjoys working with the patients and being around the co-workers, he or she isn’t going to leave for another 50 cents or dollar an hour."
[For more information, contact:
- Greg Solecki, Vice President, Henry Ford Home Health Care, One Ford Place, 4C, Detroit, MI 48202. Telephone: (313) 874-6500. E-mail: [email protected].
- Barbara Ballard, MPM, Director of Home Health Services, Brookwood Medical Center, 2010 Brookwood Medical Center Drive, Birmingham, AL 35209. Telephone: (205) 877-1859.]
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