Working in the long term care setting can be both rewarding and challenging. One may find staff to be either delightful to engage with or want to avoid them at all costs.

Why is this suddenly happening?

Loss of seasoned staff.

Retiring of staff or turnover related to burnout.

Use of agency that may not know the residents as well as facility staff.

Increased work load.

Change of ownership of facilities.

Changes in policy and procedures that aren’t communicated effectively.

Increased resident acuity being admitted.

Staff upset with agency use who may or may not be receiving compensation greater than facility staff.

Staff observing outsourced staff not completing assignments and continued to be asked to return while facility staff are expected to complete their assignments timely and accurately.

Lack of being recognized for doing a good job.

Leadership not visible.

How can we as a team reverse this lack of engagement and continued staff turn over.

Invest in your staff.

Be visible and ask them what they may think are the top 3 items of importance to them to want to work at your company.

Expect everyone on your team and that means anyone who comes to work each day to be held to the expectation that they complete the job that they were hired to do.

Give each employee feedback if they are not performing at the standard of excellence that meets the needs of your residents.

Do not rebook agency staff that do not complete the expected roles they are being scheduled for.

Round each unit everyday on everyshift and engage with your staff.

Have time slots to meet with each employee individually weekly or monthly depending on the size of your departments to explore what is working and what is not.

Insist that your individual department heads do the same.

Invest in your staff’s educational growth , as well health and wellness.

Please see link below and article that explores way to implementing a non-monetary incentive program through ShiftWizard. Note: I have not used this system but this article is intriguing to me as a long term care nurse and how this program was able to decrease agency use in a company and give back to their employees.

“Executive Summary

In response to rising agency nurse costs, Swedish Covenant began an initiative in 2016 to reduce their reliance on premium labor. They sought out software systems that could help them use their full-time staff more efficiently, thereby reducing agency usage. After reviewing the top solutions on the market, Swedish Covenant invested in ShiftWizard’s integrated scheduling, communication, and incentive management platform with a two-fold purpose: 1) to reduce agency nurse costs, and 2) to digitize and improve internal processes. Swedish Covenant and ShiftWizard collaborated to develop a custom Points & Rewards program known as “Work Perks” to incentivize full-time nurses to pick-up extra shifts so that managers did not have to default to agency nurses to avoid vacancies. ShiftWizard and the Work Perks program decreased agency costs by more than 75% in their first year, saving over $1.4 million. The initiative was also successful at increasing employee satisfaction and team cohesion, while reducing time spent scheduling. $1.4 Million in Agency Savings” https://www.shiftwizard.com/case-studies/swedish-covenant-health/

The information presented is informative and does not constitute direct legal or regulatory advice

September 2024\Skilled Nursing Support\maria.messina@skillednursingsupport.com

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