One of the biggest areas of concern and risk DONs face nationwide is the difficulty of recruiting and retaining quality, compassionate long-term caregivers. It can be demoralizing to bring in the “perfect” employee, spend weeks training them, and then have them leave for a position at a neighboring home.
CMS also understands the impact of staff instability, and they are focusing on this area from a quality perspective. Because the more familiar our caregivers are with the residents, the better the care will be.
So what are senior living communities doing wrong? Maybe nothing. Many recent studies cite millennials as being a difficult generation to manage from an employment perspective. Previous generations weren't as self-focused as they are today. But all excuses aside, let’s talk about what we CAN change!
Hire and Retain the Right Nursing Staff
The old adage “hire slow, fire fast” applies in our centers as well. We seem to always be under the gun to fill a position instead of making a good hire. But if we can be more proactive with predicting vacancies in staffing and planning appropriately for them, we might be able to take our time and do our due diligence to avoid a bad hire.
We can also follow the advice of TMF Quality Innovation Network. This quality improvement organization has developed a strategy for recruiting and retaining quality staff. This package provides you with great information and suggestions for recruiting and retaining quality staff, instead of merely filling positions with warm bodies.
The packet includes a new employee feedback communication tool. This tool is incredibly valuable, because the probationary period is the time to focus on nurturing your newbies, making them feel appreciated, and providing guidance and support for meeting quality delivery.
The New Employee Feedback and Communication form asks the questions we tend not to ask. It's intended to be used as a collaborative approach to employee retention and to facilitate two-way communication between a supervisor and employee.
When opportunities for improvement in the orientation process, job satisfaction, or work environment are identified, the supervisor and employee work together to identify a course of action and agree on the steps to improve the areas of concern.
Simple? Maybe! So take a look at your hiring process and ask if it's where it should be. Look at your turnover rates—and remember, CMS will be!
Another way to determine your success (or lack of success) is to walk through your center and talk to your caregivers. Do you recognize all of them? If not, that can mean a couple of things. Maybe you aren’t out and about enough in your center—which can be a major problem. Staff want to be recognized and appreciated. If they never see you, they won’t feel valued!
Another reason you may not recognize staff: You have a turnover problem.
How's Your Hiring and Onboarding?
What is your LTC community's hiring and onboarding process? Are you asking the right questions and being realistic about your expectations and goals? Are you nice? Seriously, are you? Nice matters and gets a lot of mileage when it comes to employee satisfaction and loyalty.
Do a little investigating, ask the hard questions, review the TMF website for ideas and go take a few laps around your center! As always if you should need assistance with reducing your turnover rates contact your HealthCap Risk Manager!
