He answers your job posting; no typos and he’s a volunteer at the shelter.
He comes in for two rounds of interviews; a firm handshake and no scuffs on his shoes.
He accepts the position; he even brings in donuts for the first day of onboarding.
Fast forward one year. You’re completing his exit interview.
Understanding what happened in those twelve months is what keeps HR leadership up at night.
Following generations that remained loyal to their company for 30+ years (complete with 6 weeks vacation and a healthy pension), it’s not uncommon for today’s employee, for example in the tech sector, to hop around every year. Think about landing a coveted position at one of the top tech giants where the average tenure is 1.8 years at Uber, or 2.1 years at Tesla; or 2.5 years at Facebook. Apparently, free snacks, ping-pong breaks, and in-house happy hours are not the ultimate drivers of employee retention.
Now think about healthcare, and more specifically nursing where teamwork and practiced protocols are critical to positive outcomes and patient safety. What is actually driving retention?
At Laudio, our research identifies nurse engagement as a key driver of retention where meaningful interactions (including recognition, appreciation, and celebration) are critical to the nurse manager’s role within his or her unit.
Most notably, appreciation matters according to Paul White, Ph.D., a psychologist, and co-author of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace.
In an August 3rd guest column in McKnight’s Long Term Care News, Dr. White highlights the value of appreciation in the workplace. He reports, “through a series of studies and interviews with one million employees across the world, the Gallup organization found the process of communicating appreciation to employees to be one of the core elements related to increasing employee engagement.”
He also cites a study by the John Templeton Foundation that found, “sixty-five percent of North Americans have reported they have not received any recognition for work well done in the past twelve months. And while 51% of managers believe they do an adequate job of showing recognition for work well done, only 17% of the employees who work for them agree.”
Furthermore, he reports that “the impact is significant — for those who leave a job voluntarily, 79% report that a lack of appreciation is one of the main factors contributing to their departure.”
Clearly, there is a disconnect between managers and those they manage and a dire need to improve this relationship. For healthcare, it’s compounded by the fact that some nurse managers are responsible for up to 200+ nurses. Finding the time and means to express appreciation, as well as corrective interventions, is a challenge for overburdened nurse managers. Fortunately, Laudio provides a solution for managers to address this very issue.
If you would like to learn more about how Laudio addresses appreciation and so much more, contact us for a demo.