The first RTOP Tip, which can be found here, provided key tips on drilling down to what’s currently happening at your home. Before moving on to translating the information into actionable steps, it’s important to ensure that you have gathered as much information about your home as you can. To develop a solid staff retention program, this crucial step cannot be rushed! This is why we’ll continue to focus on the discovery period by outlining additional ways to fully understand all factors that impact turnover.
Tips:
The cycle of turnover, as illustrated on page 18 of the Staff Stability Toolkit—illustrates how factors such as feelings of resentment and lack of trust can impact stress levels, turnover rates, and financial stability. You’ll notice that these factors are qualitative in nature and unlike quantitative data like the number of vacancies and overtime—this type of information will have to be obtained by directly talking with your staff about their experiences.
We suggest you continue to use the Drill Down Tool posted on the Primaris website to calculate numerical data and then turn to page 13 of the toolkit for Retention Committee Discovery Assignments. This page will provide you with questions you should ask to learn more about the experiences of employees working in your home. As you discuss experiences, remember to:
- Be objective as you listen. Becoming defensive will shut communication down.
- Do not disregard negative comments. Take these comments as opportunities to move in a more positive direction.
- Set people at ease by acknowledging that what they say will not be used against them and that you truly need their input to improve the work environment. They need to know it is okay for them to speak freely about their experiences and that their input matters.
- Consider assessing your own management and leadership practices. One place to help you with this is the Leadership Practices Inventory developed from The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner.
- Become a student. It’s important to learn from other leadership experiences as well. Visit the Primaris “Nursing Home Web Resources” website to discover a variety of retention initiatives.
Resources:
Take advantage of upcoming educational opportunities available right here in Missouri:
The DON’s Institute: Essential Tools for the Director of Nursing in Long Term Care – Columbia, MO
Reserve Sept. 13–15 for this conference hosted by the Missouri League for Nursing which will dive into relevant “hot topics” such as effective frameworks for consistent assignment, techniques for better communication with employees, and addressing recurring human resources issues that arrive when dealing with staff. To register, call 573-635-5355 or visit: www.mlnmonursing.org.
MoAHA Annual Conference: The Future of Aging Services—Who Decides? - Osage Beach, MO
Scheduled from Sept. 22-24, this annual conference intends to provide a thorough discussion on the varying needs of seniors and the changing landscape of providing care for them. With sessions such as “Employee Retention: What a Difference it Makes,”
“Changing the Culture of Future Leaders in Aging,” and a Culture Change panel---this conference is a must-not-miss!
To register, visit: http://www.moaha.org/Education/AnnualConference.aspx
MU Enhanced Leadership Academy – Columbia, MO
Starting Sept. 29, this structured educational program features an innovated, evidence-based curriculum for RNs in LTC. Focusing on improving retention, this program helps prepare leaders who can create and sustain improvement by strengthening the RN-NHA relationship. For registration information, please contact Alexis Roam at aroam@primaris.org or visit: http://nursingoutreach.missouri.edu/leadership1011.htm
Gaining Staff Insight: Experience What They Experience
