Cheap thrills: inexpensive methods to motivate and recognize staff.

Many nursing homes claim quality employee incentive and recognition programs as well as policies, procedures, and practices that have been well-received by employees. However, with tight budgets it's often difficult to focus on financial incentives to recognize staff, improve morale, and increase resident satisfaction.

The key to the ideas outlined in this article is that they cost the facility a minimal investment relative to the total operating budget, yet they achieve a high return from a qualitative and, where applicable, quantitative perspective.

Employee benefits

Many nursing homes conduct employee benefit surveys to compare facilities in a geographical area. If you do this, you will find the easy part of the survey is determining what questions to ask, because employee benefit programs tend to be similar.

Nontraditional approaches may help distinguish your organization from other nearby facilities and therefore maintain or improve employee recruitment and retention:

* This may be a no-brainer, but think about how much you spend on employment advertising. Your best recruitment source might be your own staff, in the form of a finder's-fee program. Wouldn't you rather pay your staff to bring in recruits than pay for an ad in a newspaper that may not bring results?

* Provide discounts for employees to shop at local retail stores, and offer discounted memberships to national chains. This will help employees spread those paychecks just a little further.

* Pick up an issue of any human resources publication and you likely will find a reference to the high cost of covering for an absent employee. Perfect or near-perfect attendance programs can substantially reduce these costs, as well as provide additional income to employees. Offer staff bonuses in the form of cash, gifts, trips, or extra days off.

Employee of the month

The results of the typical employee attitude survey indicate that recognition is often rated as more important to employees than salaries. Traditional programs, such as Employee of the Month programs, serve an important purpose, but there is room for imagination and creativity in developing effective and inexpensive recognition programs.

Other worthwhile suggestions for employee recognition include the following:

* A personalized communication from administration, such as a handwritten birthday card, is appreciated because it is personal and shows effort. (You might be surprised at the number of employees whose birthdays are not acknowledged.) Consider including a $1 scratch ticket, a favorite giveaway item.

* Contests, such as naming the employee newsletter or identifying the employee by his or her baby picture, in which an employee can win a useful gift certificate are valuable. You many want to obtain the girl certificate from a local supermarket, instead of from a restaurant where the employee may not be comfortable dining.

* Conduct an inventory of your staff's skills and hobbies, and you may be shocked to find the number and types of talented people at your facility who could entertain residents. And just think, wouldn't you rather pay your staff to entertain the residents than paying your current entertainers? Staff might also have the capability to teach residents to perform tasks on the computer, paint, play music, cook, and sing.

* Give out bottled water to staff on hot days. You can have your own private label that advertises your facility to spread the good word.

Employee participation

A time-worn principle of employee relations states that the more your employees are involved in operations, the more you can expect they will buy into existing programs and policies, as well as new organizational developments and operational changes.

Here are some examples:

* Develop permanent and ad hoc committees and task forces for specific problems, especially problems which are brought up by nonmanagement staff. Common nursing home problems you could address include unlabeled laundry, meal delivery times, and holiday scheduling.

* Conduct a potluck employee meal and ask employees to bring their favorite dish to share with coworkers. This kind of program might coincide with a theme day that is part of the activity calendar.

* Have staff conduct a weekly 50/50 raffle, with proceeds going to subsidize an employee event.

* For those organizations considering or involved in culture change, you can't change a culture without involving the key players. Mechanisms need to be in place to obtain input from all categories of personnel on all shifts.

* Have a photo contest for residents and staff, and fill your walls with the best pictures. Watch how often visitors are drawn to pictures as they enter the lobby and walk down hallways.

* Establish a caregivers' committee to review new medical products for use in your facility. Staff will take pride in being selected for this prestigious position.

To gift or not to gift?

Several years ago, I was approached by a family member conflicted between the desire to give staff holiday gifts and the facility policy of no gifting so that employees are not left out.

This facility solved its problem by setting up donations to a special employee fund. Funds collected supported future employee recognition programs,--Julian Rich

Shake up your "Employee of the Month" program

Regarding "Employee of the Month" programs, here are some refinements that may rejuvenate your program:

* Include previous winners in the decision-making process to determine future winners

* The process should encourage nominations from employees, residents, and family members

* Select winners based upon predetermined criteria to reduce accusations of favoritism

* Give every nominee something (eg., a free lunch or a flower)

* Publicize the winners internally and in local newspapers--Julian Rich

Julian Rich is the president and CEO of Penacook Place Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Haverhill, MA. He is also a board member of the Massachusetts Aging Services Association--the state affiliate of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging--and the Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Health Care Administrators. Contact him at [e-mail].