LHC #140 - Nurse Retention through Leadership Development

 

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Improving Nurse Retention through Leadership Development

Training Your Supervisors and Managers Can Have a Positive Impact on Keeping the Clinicians You Need

July 23, 2008

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In this issue...

-- Developing Your Leadership Team Can Positively Impact Retention of Nurses and Therapists

-- The Top Ten Competencies of Highly Effective Home Health Executives

-- The Academy for Home Care Leadership Offers Education for Home Health Managers

-- Strategic Staffing: Finding and Keeping the Employees You Need in Home Care

-- About the Author

-- Permission to Reproduce

Welcome,

. . . to Stephen Tweed's Leading Home Care Report, the premier online newsletter for CEOs and executives of America's leading home health care agencies. (For strategies and insights on how to grow your Private Duty non-medical home care business, we invite you to subscribe to Private Duty Today, our newsletter for non-medical home care.)


Developing Your Leadership Team Can Positively Impact Retention of Nurses and Therapists

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Gas prices are having a negative impact on Home Health Agencies, and one of the negatives is having nurses and therapists quit because it costs them too much to drive between visits.

While the cost of gas is a big issue, we have found that money is the last of seven strategic issues affecting whether or not a nurse or therapist will continue to work for your agency. Money becomes the excuse when the other factors are not to their satisfaction.

Our research with home health nurses shows that the factors most important to them in a great place to work are:

  1. Being valued and appreciated for what they do
  2. Feeling like they are able to do meaningful work by caring for their patients
  3. Working for a manager or supervisor who puts service before self
  4. Having an opportunity to grow personally and professionally on the job
  5. Having the flexibility to have a comfortable balance between work and home life
  6. Having positive interpersonal relationships with co-workers and supervisors
  7. Being fairly compensated

It's interesting that in our surveys, managers and supervisors nearly always put pay and benefits much higher on this list of important factors than the nurses themselves do. And the lesson is, many managers and supervisors have the wrong idea about what makes a great place to work for a nurse, therapist, or other clinician.

Another study conducted by Dr. Linda Flynn at Rutgers University identified the characteristics of an agency where nurses most want to work. The seven characteristics in this study are:

  1. Support for education
  2. A knowledgeable and supportive supervisor
  3. Dedication to quality care
  4. A strong, supportive administration
  5. Good communication between staff and administration
  6. Flexible work schedules
  7. Competitive salary and benefits

Again, pay and benefits come in seventh out of seven.

So what can you do to create a great place to work for your nurses and therapists?

One step is to design and implement a leadership training program that helps your managers and supervisors develop their leadership skills. It's pretty clear from the research that strong leaders in a home health agency make it easier to recruit and retain the nurses and therapists you need to grow your business.


The Top Ten Competencies of Highly Effective Home Health Executives

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Several years ago we conducted an industry study of leadership attributes to define the top competencies of highly effective home health executives. The top ten are:

  1. Seeing the bigger picture
  2. Clearly communicating expectations and directions
  3. Making decisions
  4. Coaching and counseling
  5. Setting priorities and managing time
  6. Planning
  7. Recruiting and selecting good people
  8. Measuring and managing team performance
  9. Inspiring others to follow you
  10. Solving problems

These are all competencies that can be learned through an effective leadership development process.

We have worked with several home health agencies over the past few years who have launched focused, effective programs to improve their recruiting and retention of nurse and therapists. One key element is to design and conduct an ongoing leadership training institute to provide interactive learning of these skills and competencies.

If you are interested in conducting leadership training for your managers and supervisors as a way to improve nurse and therapist retention, give us a call or visit our web site.


The Academy for Home Care Leadership Offers Education for Home Health Managers

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Want to develop the leadership capabilities of your middle managers and supervisors?

Are you planning an annual leadership retreat and looking for a great speaker?

Have you been facing challenges with retention of nurses and therapists and don't know what to do about it?

We can help at Leading Home Care. We can help you design and implement a high-impact, interactive learning program for your managers that will give them the knowledge and skills they need to do a better job of retaining your nurses and therapists.

Whether you are looking for an ongoing leadership development institute, or a one-shot annual leadership retreat, we can help you create a memorable learning experience for your home care team leaders.

Call us today at 502-339-0653 and ask for Julie Raque. Julie will help you set up a personal telephone conversation with Stephen Tweed to discuss your specific needs for leadership development and nurse recruiting and retention.


Strategic Staffing: Finding and Keeping the Employees You Need in Home Care

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National Home Care and Hospice MonthOur work with home health care agencies across the country suggests that the ability to attract and retain capable people can be a major source of competitive advantage in your marketplace. We are convinced that your ability to grow your business and get ready for the future will be based on your ability to recruit people and market your business. The key to your success will be to keep your recruiting and your marketing in balance.

As a leader in home care, you recognize the importance that staffing plays in the growth of your agency. Your ability to serve more clients will be determined by your ability to attract and retain capable clinicians.

Before you can provide service to your first client, you must have recruited someone to actually do the work. If you want to have a growing, profitable business with many delighted clients, you'll need to begin by finding and keeping staff members.

Instantly Access this eBook

Order the Strategic Staffing eBook and you'll receive an email within seconds with your personal download link. You may download your complete 116-page eBook anytime within the next 24 hours. Order now and you can begin learning about Strategic Staffing within minutes. This manual is in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Need help or have questions about this Strategic Staffing eBook or any other product? Call our experts at 1-888-668-9333.

Order Your Strategic Staffing eBook right now. Download it immediately!


About the Author

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Stephen Tweed, CSP, is Chairman and CEO of Leading Home Care ... a Tweed Jeffries company. For over 25 years he has been a recognized leader in strategy and leadership development for home care companies and associations. He is the author or co-author of five books, four of which were written specifically for the home care industry. He has served on the boards of directors of three not-for-profit home care agencies, and has served as interim President & CEO of a $25 million homecare company.

Stephen is a past-President of the National Speakers Association, a 3500 member international society of experts who speak professionally. He is also the father of a 38 year-old son who is physically disabled and uses the services of home care on a daily basis.

Meet the entire Leading Home Care Team


Permission to Reproduce

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Permission is granted to healthcare publications, associations and companies to reproduce this article in your publication, or to distribute copies to your leaders, on the condition that you reproduce the credits and contact information as follows: "Reprinted with permission from Stephen Tweed's Leading Home Care Report. Copyright 2008 Stephen C. Tweed. To receive a FREE subscription to this newsletter, log on to www.leadinghomecare.com."



Contact Leading Home Care

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phone: 1-866-209-5101

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