Imagination and kindness bolster staff retention
Let people know we are working together’
High-quality patient care isn’t always dependent on staff development. Opportunities for employees to step back from their work and rejuvenate can play a role as well. Employees need to be able to refresh themselves, says Sarah Gorodezky, MA, executive director of Alive Hospice in Nashville, TN. Also, they need to be recognized for a job well-done. Rejuvenation and recognition improve employee retention, she says.
Ice cream breaks up monotony
Staff rejuvenation is accomplished in many ways. To provide a change from the daily routine, management at the Hospice at Greensboro (NC) has treated all the employees to ice cream. They have the ice cream truck pull up to the verandah. The hospice also has more organized programs, such as an annual staff appreciation breakfast. At Christmas they carol to their patients all over the city, and gather back at the hospice for a party. "We do a lot of things throughout the year to break the monotony and to let people know that we are working together, but we are also living, playing, and having fun together," says Pam Barrett, MSSW, ACSW, executive director for the Hospice at Greensboro.
Here are two ways to keep staff from succumbing to burnout:
1. Allow for time off.
To provide respite and renewal for veteran staff members of five years or more, Hospice at Greensboro offers unpaid sabbatical programs. The sabbaticals can last up to three months and be used to study, complete a special project, travel, or for personal or professional development. "They keep people from burning out. Sabbaticals give people the ability to step back and be refreshed and replenished. They are very much like hospital respite care within hospice," says Barrett. One nurse at Hospice at Greensboro took a short sabbatical to complete a Red Cross disaster training program.
To encourage people to take care of themselves, Alive Hospice has a generous vacation and sick leave policy. People who have worked for the organization for 10 years get six weeks’ paid vacation. "We also allow for personal days so if people need a mental health day off they don’t have to take a sick leave day," says Gorodezky.
Also, employees can take a month of personal leave either unpaid or as part of their vacation. Part-time staff fill in, or caseloads are readjusted to cover the absence. Staffing has not been a problem because personal leave is not used very frequently, she says.
2. Organize ways to provide special recognition and rewards.
Every two to three years management at Pikes Peak Hospice distributes a survey to determine what types of appreciation and awards are meaningful to employees. "What we learned from our staff is that it is important for them to hear from their peers, supervisors, and the patients they serve that they have done a good job. Words of appreciation are important," says Linda Glick, MEd, LPC, director of supportive services at the hospice in Colorado Springs, CO.
Provide quick pat on the back
Therefore, complimentary letters from patients and their families are pinned to the bulletin board. Also, top management has assembled boxes of cards and stickers to make it easy to acknowledge a job well-done. "We encourage supervisors and managers to use them for their teams. It’s easy. All they have to do is go to the box and pick out a card. They don’t have to buy anything," says Glick. Balloons and a helium tank are also kept on hand to create a quick thank-you or congratulation "bouquet" with five or six balloons. The balloons have various messages printed on them.
For staff members to compliment one another, "You’re Super" sheets on neon-green paper were created. The employee simply fills in why he or she thinks the colleague is super. "If an employee received 20 You’re Super’ sheets a day they wouldn’t be very meaningful, but we haven’t had to control it. The sheets are used enough to make them valid, but they don’t get used so much they lose meaning," says Glick.
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