Sometimes a simple thank you goes a long way. However, providing more meaningful appreciation and recognition to your nurses can boost morale and create a more enjoyable work environment. A Nurse.com blog post suggests “Recognition should go beyond a thank you, a testimony or a speech at an employee meeting. It needs to happen in small, everyday ways.” Make recognition an integral part of your everyday culture to show your staff they are valued and appreciated.
As you maneuver through today’s pandemic, recognition has become especially meaningful as your nurses display remarkable courage and compassion. The DAISY Foundation, which is always a great resource, offers a list of creative ideas and best practices for ongoing and meaningful recognition during COVID-19.
“People work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise, and rewards.”
- Dale Carnegie
In an incredible show of recognition, hospitals across East Texas handed out 3,000 gift bags to nurses across the area. With University of Texas at Tyler leading the charge, they coordinated “24 Hours of Thanks” to show their appreciation of their hard work and dedication.
There are simple ways to recognize nurses: buy them lunch or dinner, write them a personal thank you note, or, if you’ve got the pipes, serenade your staff with a song. You can consider having an employee of the month program with nominations given by co-workers. The Today Show offers a great list of 18 gift ideas for nurses.
Or, if you happen to own a soybean field, plant your show of support as these farmers did in Iowa.
Incentives are another powerful way to reward your nurses. Keep in mind, however, a monetary incentive program can quickly become expensive if not managed correctly. Alternatively, you can consider offering non-monetary rewards – a system that gives points rather than money for picking up unpopular shifts, taking extra shifts, or learning new skills.
Swedish Hospital in Chicago is an excellent example of a collaborative approach to process improvement around incentives. In partnership with ShiftWizard, they designed and created a custom points & rewards program called Work Perks. This non-monetary incentive program offers bonus points which can be used to “purchase” items like free parking or tickets to a local sports event. Not only has this program saved Swedish Hospital over $1M in its first year, CNO Kathy Donofrio notes that “an unexpected result of the incentive program has been its impact on team building and morale.”
Good things happen when your employees feel appreciated.
As we say at ShiftWizard, happy nurses make happy patients!
You can read about the innovative Work Perks program here: Swedish Hospital Case Study
Related Posts You’ll Like to Read:
Nurse Resilience Series: Taking Care of You
Nurse Resilience Series: Fostering a Culture of Wellness
[WEBINAR] Incentive Strategies for Nurses: 3 Creative Non-Monetary Ideas
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