We hate to be Captain Obvious, but there’s a staffing crisis going on and if your organization isn’t rising to the occasion, battle ready, you’re going to be on the losing end of it. (Or maybe you’re already there!)
Chances are the best people for your organization are going to be courted by several competitors.
Your competition may not be better than you…
but they may be better at wooing the best people!
And they may be better at keeping the best people!
So, where does that leave you? Scrounging for the crumbs?! Begging for people to stay!? Why be on the defensive when you can create a great offensive!
In the battle of Better, Better, Best you have no choice but to bring your A game if you are going to compete. Recruitment, retention, turnover… these “buzzwords” in senior living, these elephants in the room squeezing you of out of time and money…are not easy problems to address, don’t get us wrong! BUT they can be overcome with some creativity.
Hats Off!
We are taking our sales hats off here because we care about this field with a passion so deep and a hope that’s so overwhelming!
In a recent blog, we discussed the 11-star experience and how as an organization you can make your new hire’s start with you a memorable experience, if not a magical one.
We can all agree on this point, that the new employee needs to feel important from the beginning….but what about beyond those first few days, weeks and months? How do you continue to make your newer team members feel valued so you keep them?
Next Level Stuff
Our clients at Friendship in Virginia are taking their investment in new employee satisfaction to a whole new level. They started a travel voucher program for their new hires. Hold on to your hats… newly hired full time RNs and LPNs receive a $5000 travel voucher when they reach the 90-day mark (with paid vacation time when they take the trip). Yes, this is next level stuff.
The mailer that advertises the program says “Your job is hard, LET US HELP YOU RELAX” in bold on the front with images of iconic destinations in the background. When an employee reaches the 90-day milestone there is a celebration where the employee is presented with the voucher.
The words and the gesture drive home a level of importance for these employees. The sentiment conveys the message “Team members are very important here. You are important here”.
Get Out of Your Box!
We’ve asked you to get impractical with how you welcome new team members to your organization. Now we’re asking you to get impractical with how you keep those great employees!
We’ll shout it from the mountaintops! If you are not thinking and acting differently you are not going to “win” and retain the best people! If you are not taking risks and being impractical you are not going to be successful!
We’ll drive even deeper into this concept in our next blog! (Yes, we’re teasing you!)
