Employee turnover in healthcare is at an all time high. Post-pandemic job dissatisfaction and burnout aren’t always easy to avoid but there are some steps you can take to create a solid foundation and an environment of productivity and care. Here we take a look at one of the key ways you can retain your nursing staff: the onboarding process. We offer tips and proven tactics to improve your healthcare organizations nursing onboarding process to ensure your caregivers feel respected, appreciated and most of all a valuable member of your healthcare team.
A recent study by the human resources consulting group Brandon Hall found that an excellent onboarding program alone can increase new hire employee retention by as much as 82%. The same excellent onboarding practices mean the 70% of those employees will hit the ground running thus increasing productivity. Conversely, without a great onboarding process in place 20% of new hires leave within 45 days and 50% walk off within the first year and a half.
Improve Your Healthcare Organizations Nursing Onboarding with These 5 Tips
Here we offer five clear ways your healthcare organization can improve the nursing onboarding process.
1. Be Clear in Job Description, Your Expectations and General Orientation and Onboarding Materials
- Make certain your new hires understand the parameters and responsibilities within the scope of their job and as it pertains to your healthcare organization.
- Provide an employee handbook or manual that clearly outlines the mission, values and policies of your healthcare organization. Make sure your new nurses understand the key aspects of the handbook.
2. Assign a Mentor or Buddy for Your New Nursing Staff
- A buddy can help your new hire understand the role much more easily than letting them navigate on their own. A mentor is someone who can offer guidance and support in the early days of the job. The buddy assigned to your new hire represents the organization’s culture and vision. What better way to feel as though they fit in with the team.
3. Introduce Your New Hire to The Team
- Set up meetings for your new member of the nursing staff with those colleagues with whom they will interact in their day-to-day as well as key staff members that help them do their job. This could be supervisory staff, administration, fellow nurses and any other stakeholders with whom they will certainly cross paths.
4. Familiarize Your New Nursing Staff with Training and Development Opportunities
- Even though your new nursing staff member is fluent in the specialty or duties performed in your healthcare organization and their position, they aren’t necessarily trained in the specifics of your care. Ensure success by providing the necessary resources, training and support that help them carry out their duties successfully.
- You can cover a wide range of topics related to the new hires’ position in the organization by including both online and in-person opportunities. Show them your support by making these opportunities available to them.
5. Ongoing Support is Crucial
- Continue to provide support for your new hires long after the initial training period has ended. This type of support is crucial to retaining your new nursing staff.
- Alert your staff to opportunities for advancement as well as career development and access to continued education resources and opportunities.
- Always be available to answer questions, provide moral support and share guidance.
Confident Nursing Staff Equals Success
By following a clear and supportive onboarding process your new nursing staff feels confident they understand your expectations. Your patients receive high-quality care and the momentum excites others within the team to do their best as well. For more on how to find the ideal nursing staff to suit the needs of your healthcare organization contact BOS Medical Staffing.
