Combating Roadblocks To New Technologies

In my last post, I discussed how technology, specifically the iPad, is finding its way into hospitals and other healthcare settings nationwide – and in some cases, even becoming company sponsored.  But along with the adoption and implementation of high tech devices and programs, often comes the problem of how to ensure staff members fully understand how to navigate and utilize the new technology to its fullest.  Several factors often emerge as common roadblocks to an employee fully embracing new technologies.

Employees have a negative attitude towards the change.
Trainings given by an enthusiast of the technology may help shape a positive attitude toward the change. Someone who fully backs the product will be excited to teach others how to use it.  They will be able to answer any questions about how to perform required job duties faster and easier with the new technologies.

Inundate employees with positive communication surrounding the new technology.  Require senior management, top level managers and immediate supervisors to lead by example and utilize the technology to its fullest capabilities, eliminating the outdated technology and SOP that everyone was accustomed to.  Optimism spreads! This will convert your Negative Nancys to Gung-ho Gracys.

People are good at different things – some people just flat out don’t have the knack for technology.  
The solution to this is fairly obvious – hire a professional to enter your organization and present a well-organized and formal training to your employees for the new technology that you have adopted.  This will give your staff a chance to learn all the ins and outs by a true expert and fanatic of the new technology.

However, formal trainings are not always feasible in large organizations.  In that case, develop an incentive program to reward employees who make efforts to teach themselves the new technology or seek out training during off-hours. Rewards may be anything from tuition to be used toward more self-education to movie tickets.

Your organization may have shot its wad on the new technology and there just aren’t enough funds to spend on formal training.  
If funds aren’t available for professional trainings, there are alternatives.  Identify staffers who have a knack for grasping new technologies – either naturally or are driven to teach themselves.  It may be the nurse who blogs or the tech who tweets.  More than likely, these individuals will catch on quickly and will be excited to get their hands on the new technology.  Once these techies teach themselves how to fully navigate the new technology, allow them to lead training sessions for their peers and superiors.  Be sure to publicly praise and recognize these employees for fully embracing the technology and for their extra efforts in educating their co-workers.

You CAN teach an old dog new tricks.
Older employees may use their age as an excuse that they can’t learn new technologies.  The hard part may be convincing them that they are in fact perfectly capable of learning new things.  Hopefully, your organization has implemented a mentoring program; aging employees are paired with a younger co-worker to impart their wisdom and show them the ropes.  Use this program to also reverse mentor – require younger employees who are most likely comfortable with technology to educate their mentors on the new technology your organization has adopted.

Regardless of the roadblocks in your organization’s way to a fully engaged staff, creating a culture of knowledge-sharing will help.  Encourage employees to teach themselves and others while communicating with each other what they’ve learned.

Filed under: communications, healthcare, retention, technology

New Year’s Resolutions for Employee Retention

‘Tis the season for resolutions.  And I hereby promise to drop five pounds (for good this time), go vegan (for good this time) and read more books (fiction – I have enough non-fiction in my life).  But shouldn’t we also make resolutions for our professional lives?  With predictions of the job market taking a turn for the better in 2010, resolutions for employee retention should be top of mind for Human Resources representatives.  In order to prevent your current employees from jumping ship when the job market heals, resolve to strengthen your retention efforts this year.

I present to you my suggested employee retention resolutions for 2010:

Boost Morale

It’s easier for employees to be content with their current employer if the working environment is desirable.  Workers will more than likely thrive in an environment that provides a warm and friendly atmosphere, teamwork and co-workers that generally enjoy the work that they do.  Bottom line, staff members are more likely to leave if there’s a poor morale.  One of the biggest factors influencing morale is career pathing.  Make sure your staff members have clearly defined milestones they must accomplish to advance within your organization.  Pro-actively boost morale by treating employees fairly, delegating workloads appropriately, adequately staffing your organization and compensating your employees with what they rightly deserve.  It’s also imperative to lead by example.  Ensure the leaders throughout your organization are actively doing their best work, motivating their employees and cultivating a culture of positivity.  Speak to employees that are highly engaged to reveal what makes them excited about their roles.  Tout these reasons internally to actively promote the positive aspects of working for your company.  Because misery loves company, pessimistic employees can spread their negative attitudes throughout an organization.  Don’t let a Negative Nancy dictate the morale within your organization.  Speak to Negative Nancy and find out why she’s miserable.  Often times, these employees are more vocal about their concerns and are the most candid in revealing retention issues that are more widespread throughout your organization than you are aware.  If their concerns can be validated, make appropriate adjustments that will in turn boost morale across your organization.  But be wary; sometimes the squeakiest wheel doesn’t need more oil. It could just be a bad fit.

Improve Communication

Employees need to be heard.  Advise immediate supervisors to meet regularly with their reports to find out what they like most about their position, what they would like to change and what suggestions they have for the company overall.  These meetings will allow the immediate supervisor to gauge the employee’s engagement level and correct any performance issues before their annual review.  By communicating regularly with employees, supervisors are better able to assess which employees are vulnerable to leaving and potentially alleviate any areas of concern before the employee resigns.  Just as employees need to be heard, they also need to hear from immediate supervisors and senior management.  When changes are being implemented within your organization, communicate clearly and frequently to workers what the changes mean and what they can expect for the future.  Furthermore, get senior managers out from behind their office doors.  No one wants to work for a hermit.  Employees want to be able to approach senior management if need be.  Allow and encourage workers to have candid conversations with senior management.  Senior managers should be honest and open with their vision for the company, new developments within the organization and competitive strategies.  Effective methods to increasing senior management visibility include staff-wide meetings; small, town hall meetings and social events where executives are in attendance.

Recognize And Thank Employees

What do all employees desire from their employer?  In the words of Aretha, R-E-S-P-E-C-T!  You’ll find out what it means to your employees if they aren’t being recognized for going above and beyond.  Plainly, they’ll leave and seek recognition from your competitor.  Many workers have absorbed additional responsibilities resulting from staff reductions.  Don’t let these contributions go unnoticed; personally thank employees for their hard work.  Then, let other employees know how much you appreciate and recognize a job well done by publically praising your stellar staff members.  If budget allows, reward over-achievers with cash bonuses, gift cards, a premier parking spot or other prizes.  Foster a culture of team members recognizing other team members.  Even encouraging staff members to send glowing emails of appreciation to an employee’s supervisor will improve recognition efforts.

2010 is not the year to sit idly by while your staff grows more discouraged.  By implementing these vital retention strategies, your organization will surely suffer from fewer turnovers than those competitors disrespecting their employees and work environment.

Filed under: communications, retention

Cell Your Jobs

Hospitals across the nation are beginning to embrace mobile technology and implement mobile systems of communication within their organizations. One such hospital rolled out an iPhone platform for its’ nurses this summer.  The mobile technology allowed for critical care alarms to be sent to nurses and enabled these employees to make voice calls and send and receive text messages.  Hospital executives say using iPhones as a medium of communication resulted in nurses’ ability to respond to patients faster and reduced the number of overhead pages by 78%.

While it’s certainly beneficial that mobile technology provides opportunities for improved operations, it’s also vital to realize these efforts provide a unique opportunity to enhance recruitment efforts.  If your healthcare organization has adopted new media technologies, it’s imperative to include these initiatives while selling and promoting your vacancies to job candidates.

Tout your organization’s use of technology.  Healthcare employees desire to work for innovative organizations that deploy best in class technology.  Candidates are dissuaded from organizations with outdated equipment and lack of materials.  It’s also important to healthcare employees that they be employed by organizations on the cusp of research and development, providing them with opportunities for training and enhancing their skills.  Your organization’s use of mobile technology demonstrates it is not afraid to try new things and advance.

Promote your organization’s stellar internal communication.  Hospitals utilizing mobile technology receive the added benefit of an increase in and improvement in communication.  For example, nurses equipped with iPhones and Blackberries are provided two-way communication abilities with their co-workers as opposed to one-way communication inherent to pagers. Studies estimate that nurses spend 10 % to 25% of their time tracking down their co-workers. Mobile technology and social media increases the efficiency of communication with co-workers, patients and patients’ families.  This enables nurses and healthcare employees to spend more time doing what they enjoy most, attending to patients.  Because deploying mobile technology platforms may lessen a nurse’s workload, the number of nurses needed to adequately staff a floor may be decreased, possibly cushioning the blow of the nursing shortage and allowing room in the budget for a potential salary bump for employees.

Sell your organization’s superb patient care.  Mobile technology certainly can improve the manner in which patients are cared for.  Not only do mobile initiatives allow nurses more time for attending, they also ensure the reduction of overhead pages, resulting in a quieter environment for patients to heal.  Many smart phone applications exist that are able to house a patient’s medical history, track their progress, their medication dosage, etc.  The applications help to improve a nurse’s performance and accuracy.  Nurses and healthcare employees want to work for organizations providing superior patient care – that’s most likely why they chose healthcare in the first place.

Use mobile technology to communicate and interact with candidates.  It’s important to realize that a vast majority of candidates are accessing the internet via their smart phone are receptive to advertising.  According to Neilson, 28% of the mobile web audience is between 25 and 34 years old while 38% are between 35 and 54 years old. A Pew study found that 32% of all Americans have accessed the internet via their cell phone.  Minorities lead mobile technology adoption with the majority of wireless internet users being African American. Because most people carry their cell phone with them at all times, you’re most likely to reach them in a timely manner.  Candidates may receive your messages even when they are “unavailable”; while they’re in a meeting, traveling, after business hours, etc. Furthermore, the recall rate of ads appearing on iPhones is 41% and 33% for other mobile devices and a third of those recalling the mobile ad will respond to it. Because more and more candidates are adopting mobile technologies every day, it’s imperative to include these initiatives in your recruitment strategy.

Filed under: communications, healthcare, recruitment, retention, Social Media

Don’t Wait… Communicate!

The National Association for Business Economics feels the recession is officially over and job cuts will begin declining by the end of March, 2010.  NABE panelists agree that there will be continued job loss during the rest of 2009 but they expect job losses to “bottom” during the first quarter of 2010.  However, 61% of the panelists believe there will not be a full recovery of lost jobs during the recession until sometime in 2012.

If these predictions are correct, organizations should be preparing now to ensure their recruitment procedures are streamlined and optimized for future hiring needs.  Data collected from TMP Worldwide’s New Hire Surveys indicate employer communication with candidates during the application process is consistently low.  Take advantage of this lull in recruitment to train your recruiters and hiring managers on the importance of communicating with applicants during the application process.  Develop standards requiring recruiters and hiring managers to personally follow up with applicants within 24 hours of receiving their resume.  Reach out to candidates within a day after an interview and check in with them regularly to advise them of their application status. Candidates should receive an employment offer or notice of rejection as soon as possible.

By consistently communicating with candidates during the application process, they will feel special and important to your organization before they are even hired.  And, if a candidate is not offered the position, they will take their positive application experience with them and may re-apply for a better suited position at a later date. It’s never too early to start building a platform for retention; it starts in the pre-employment process!

Filed under: recruitment, retention

Preparing For The Economic Turnaround And The Deluge Of Retention Issues

Retention of top talent and sound internal programs are essential for the survival of all organizations. And in times of economic turmoil, it is more crucial than ever to encourage current employees to extend their tenure. Currently, retention rates are somewhat inflated due to the economic downturn.  However, experts say 55% of people say they will be looking for another job or returning to school once the job market expands.  No doubt, some of those future job seekers are currently employed at your organization.  In order to prevent a mass exodus of your current staff, employers need to begin preparing today for the future onslaught of retention issues once more jobs become available.

First, accept that what’s done is done.  You can’t take back the three rounds of layoffs that happened or your denial of cost-of-living raises for the past two years.  Employees won’t forget those things, but they’re looking for you to make it right.  Fifty seven percent of employees believe their employer is exploiting the recession in order to require longer shifts with lower wages. In fact, 49% of workers say a pay increase would most likely extend their tenure and 28% plan to ask for a raise.  But salary bumps won’t be enough.  Start by focusing on your staff members as individuals.  Even in a down economy, employees still expect to be treated fairly, be recognized for a job well done, work for a leader who coaches and collaborates, find personal meaning and connection in their work and enjoy a positive work/life balance.  Be sure to keep all levels of staff members well informed.  Talent is engaged and encouraged to extend their tenure when they are inundated with honest communication.  Your staff should receive clear and timely information regarding both positive and negative news from management. Employees also appreciate being involved in discussions surrounding their job satisfaction.  Employment is about relationships and the strongest relationships are built on trust, respect, recognition and open communication.

Some employees will job-hop no matter what.  And admittedly, there is such a thing as good turnover.  If there are still under-performers after downsizing, let them walk; you’re not losing too much.  But simultaneously, identify your top performers and discuss career-pathing options for them within your organization.  Companies left standing at the end of the recession may find themselves short-staffed in senior level positions. You’ll be surprised how internal promotions can boost morale and do wonders for your retention efforts.  Consider promoting a deserving staff member within your company during the economic upswing instead of hiring externally (you’ll save money with reduced training required).  And besides, there will be plenty of entry-level workers to fill their vacant position.

Consider company-wide retention efforts to benefit those not so fortunate enough to receive a promotion.  Employees will appreciate your investment in their training.  This will convey that your company cares enough about its’ staff to advance their skills, potentially resulting in employer loyalty.  In the end, at the very least, you’ll have a better equipped team.  Alleviate staff-wide frustrations.  For example, deploy best in class technology.  No one wants to fight with a rustic desktop everyday!  And for Pete’s sake, bring back the coffee in the break room!

Realize that investing in or implementing a retention program will be well-worth the money spent upfront.  Discovering your organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses while extending employee tenure during the economic downturn will enable your organization to gain more ground during recovery and surge ahead of your competitors when the economy rebounds.  Employers face both hard and soft costs when staff members leave their organization.  When top employees leave, they take intimate knowledge of the organization, sales and customers with them, while competitors gain an advantage by absorbing your former talent.  New hires have learning curves to overcome and a lower productivity rate than their experienced predecessors, directly affecting overall business operations, revenues and customer service.  Companies must expend 100% of the departing employee’s annual salary, 20% for training and an additional 26% in benefits to fill a position.  Organizations may also spend resources on agency/temp workers, paid overtime and sourcing costs.  Therefore, retaining current employees will add to the bottom line once the economic winds change.

Finally and most importantly, be aware of how your employees are feeling.  Employers are overrating their employees’ morale.  Eighty four percent of employers say their staff members are content to simply have a job when in reality, only 58% of their employees actually feel that way.  Engage in Early Impression Surveys (sometimes called Early Intervention or Stay Surveys) to identify factors making employees vulnerable to leaving before they actually leave. By identifying points of pain in the employment experience, you can make appropriate adjustments and prevent turnover before it happens.  Engagement Surveys prove useful for gauging how motivated your employees are to perform their responsibilities to the best of their ability.  Conduct Exit Interviews to understand why employees leave, what attracted them to your organization initially and what could have been done to prevent turnover.  Exit Interviews also provide an opportunity to capture employees’ contact information who express interest in returning to work for your organization.  Alumni or Boomerang programs are an effective way to rehire a former employee who thought the grass was greener on your competitor’s side… and regrets it.

TMP Worldwide’s retention offerings enable our clients to discover their internal strengths and weaknesses, compare themselves to their competitors, discover points of frustration in the recruitment and on-boarding processes, measure the effectiveness of their branding and internal communication efforts and prevent employee turnover before it happens.  Our analysts also provide added solutions and recommendations that our clients can implement themselves to improve internal and external communication programs and strengthen retention and recruitment efforts.  Consider strengthening your retention program today, before it’s too little, too late.

Filed under: retention

Teaching An Employee To Fish – Self-Education 101

Most employees want to enhance their skills and stay abreast of industry trends and new developments.  If they don’t, get rid of them – they’ll never be top performers.

Companies can leverage employee training programs as a retention strategy to help prevent employees from leaving for another career opportunity.  When employers invest in employee training, they prove their staff can engage in professional development within their organization and that management cares enough to groom their employees for promotions.

However, not all companies can afford an in-depth employee training program right now.  One free alternative is to foster a Culture Of Learning within your organization.  This tactic will not convey the same level of dedication to employee career pathing, but will lead to increased engagement because employees will still be enhancing their skills.

The end goal in fostering a Culture Of Learning is for employees to be able to enhance their knowledge-base via self-education.  As the cliché goes, “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.”  The same principle applies for fostering a culture of learning.  Employees will never learn how to teach themselves if they are always spoon-fed information.  In addition, it takes resources to prepare information for the spoon-feeding!

Arm your employees with the knowledge of how and where to go to glean information to teach themselves.  As everyone knows, I’m a huge proponent of reading blogs.  Instruct your staff to call upon their googling powers to discover relevant blogs relating to your industry – no doubt there will be several!   Peruse their blogrolls to discover other industry blogs.  Take note of frequent commenters, as they may also contribute to a blog of their own.

Once you have gathered plenty of blogs with relevant industry content, I recommend enlisting the help of an RSS Reader to help you cull and manage the vast amount of information.  My preferred reader is Google Reader because it is user-friendly and free.  Keep track of important posts with the help of a social bookmarking site; I personally use delicious.  You can discover other bookmarkers with similar interests and subscribe to a feed of their bookmarks within your RSS Reader.  Within many RSS Readers you can also share a relevant post with others utilizing the same reader.  Which brings me to the Culture Of Sharing….

A Culture of Learning is best culminated in conjunction with a Culture of Sharing.  I firmly believe it’s imperative to share your knowledge and absorb knowledge from others to be a well-rounded and informed employee.  Schedule regular meetings with knowledge-sharing on the agenda.  Be sure to include all levels of staff; entry level employees are just as capable of learning new industry ideas as senior managers.  The first meeting may entail demonstrating to employees how to tap into information to teach themselves.  However, every meeting thereafter should be run as a round-table discussion of what they’ve recently discovered about their business sector.  Promote the Culture of Sharing by encouraging employees to share interesting posts via their social bookmarking site or within their RSS Readers.  Create an internal wiki, allowing every employee editing rights to create new pages containing information they deem important or thought-provoking enough to share with the entire company.

Developing a strong Culture of Learning puts you on the cusp of industry tends without continuous training.  And a Culture of Sharing allows your employees to be agile, adapting to industry changes and discovering new strategies more quickly.  Fostering a Culture of Learning and Sharing will result in a more engaged and informed staff, two factors in extending tenure within an organization.

Filed under: communications, retention

Strengthening Retention With Telecommuting Options

Times are tough and companies are tightening their belts. Many employees haven’t seen merit increases for quite some time. In fact, some have even seen pay cuts. It’s been proven employees are not motivated by money alone. Salary increases do not always equate to a more engaged staff of employees. However, salary does play a part in retention. Research shows that employees will seek employment from a competitor if their salary offering is 10% more for a comparable job to their current employment. To retain workers, companies should conduct regular reviews of the salaries offered and make adjustments accordingly. But, for companies not in a fiscal position to increase workers’ paychecks, offering telecommuting options just may cushion the blow of an employee’s pay cut or lack of a raise enough to retain them.

Let’s look at the economics of telecommuting. I’ll volunteer myself as an example. Gas prices in Atlanta are currently $2.46/gallon for midgrade gas. I’m unable to afford to live in the city of Atlanta and must commute approximately 30.4 miles (according to Google Maps) both ways to work every day. Automotive.com estimates that my car gets about 23 miles per gallon when driving on both the highway and city streets. Therefore, I spend $3.25 per day commuting to TMP Worldwide’s Atlanta office. That adds up to a total of $845 spent on gas alone for commuting to the office per year.

Of course, every employee’s situation is different. Some employees would enjoy an increased savings by eliminating expensive parking space payment. Not all employees drive to work; many workers in urban areas take public transportation. Telecommuting still offers these employees a cost savings. Employees who walk to work still enjoy a cost savings by being able to write off a percentage of their power and internet bills as a home office expense on their taxes.

For many people, working from home means that they need one fewer car for their household. I would fall into this category because my husband works out of the house. If we were to become a household with only one car instead of two, we would save $6,036 annually.

Working from home is becoming more and more appealing with the increased desire for flexibility from the work force. This is in part because of the increasing Gen Y employment group. Employees appreciate that telecommuting allows them to better achieve a work/life balance. Employees with children are better able to meet family needs. Workers with a desire to travel are able to do so after working hours. Then, they can spend the week working from a location of their choice (hopefully tropical) without needing to request vacation time. If staff members are feeling a little under the weather, telecommuting enables them to sip chicken noodle soup from the comfort of their sofa while they check their email, eliminating the need for them to take a sick day. My fellow tree huggers appreciate that they can reduce their carbon footprint. But one factor remains a benefit for all employees: cost savings.

Filed under: retention, flexible scheduling, recruitment, retention, telecommuting

Why Employers Win With Flexible Scheduling

The healthcare industry has mastered flexible scheduling and nurses have long been enjoying a variety of shift options for many, many years.  However, it’s essential that flexible scheduling initiatives are maximized, now more than ever, with increasing numbers of Generation Y nurses entering the work force.   As I write this article, my iPod is blaring in my ears and my flip flops are kicked off underneath my desk, both signatures of Gen Y.  Yes, I am a proud member of the Millennial Generation.  So, I can explain first hand why flexible scheduling is so valuable to young employees in their twenties and how employers who maximize flexible scheduling win in the talent war.

An overwhelming 83% of Gen Y members claim they want flexibility in their jobs.  It’s no accident that flexible scheduling is so highly prized by younger employees.  Every generation forms its own unique world view and attitudes towards the workplace based on the culmination of environment, world events, cultural beliefs and values instilled into us as children.  Growing up, we watched our parents put in 60+ hours a week at the office, only to have their jobs downsized or outsourced.  Many other Gen Yers saw their aging parents be forced into lesser roles while younger, cheaper employees took over their positions.  Because of this, we are not seeking a career that monopolizes our time.  It’s just not worth it to us.  Gen Yers won’t think twice about rejecting a lucrative job offer if we feel we will be continually asked to work extra hours.  We’re much more comfortable accepting a job offer with flexible scheduling that allows us time to build a life outside of work.  That’s not to say we don’t strive for success: we judge success differently than our parents.  Gen Y does not base our happiness solely on how prestigious our career is; we feel it’s equally important to be well-rounded and successful in roles outside of work.

We work to live, not live to work!  Unlike our more mature co-workers, Gen Y is more interested in having a career that accommodates our personal life and we’re better able to balance the number of hours we work and the number of hours we play as compared to our parents.  Having a life outside the workplace is of the utmost importance to us because we grew up being hyper-scheduled and over-involved.  It was stressed upon Gen Y to join in an array of activities ranging from sports to academic clubs. Personally, I was the captain of my high school cheerleading squad and a member of a separate all-star cheerleading squad.  I was also on a competitive dance team, elected to student government and joined Spanish Club and Spirit Club to further beef up my resume for college.  Guidance counselors were constantly reminding us how good volunteering looks to colleges so it’s no wonder Generation Y is highly civic-minded.  As part of my duties for student government, I volunteered at the Salvation Army and local nursing homes regularly.  Somehow, I still found time to study for my Advanced Placement classes and support my brother at his football, basketball and baseball games.   See what I mean by hyper-scheduled?  Because Gen Y never lacked for activity, we place a high value on having many interests and hobbies and that notion followed us well into our adult lives.  When employers maximize their flexible scheduling options, Gen Y employees are sure to strike a balance between working and being involved in many activities outside of the workplace, resulting in a more engaged workforce.

Because we cherish our life outside of work so dearly, we’ll rarely work overtime and miss a dinner date with friends.  That’s not to say that we won’t want to work long and hard for your organization.  In fact, we’d prefer to work longer shifts and have more vacation days.  For example, if nurses are able to work 12-hour shifts they’ll earn 182 days off a year as compared to working 8-hour shifts with 91 days off a year.  More vacation days lend more time for traveling or relaxing with friends, a priority to young employees.  However, there are some of us that do prefer to work overtime or later shifts.  College tuition has skyrocketed, leaving some Gen Yers with an overwhelming debt to pay.  Some young nurses may even opt for overtime shifts to better prepare themselves for a feared layoff.  Young employees also appreciate a sense of control over their employment.  Flexible scheduling offers a sense of control by allowing the nurse to choose, to a certain degree, when she is at work and when she is not.  Flexible scheduling also offers nurses some control over their income by picking up extra shifts.  Because Gen Y is trending towards marrying much later in life, many young nurses are single and living alone.  Working a night shift or overtime may not interfere with young nurses’ work/life balance.  In short, while some Gen Y nurses may shy away from an increased number of shifts, others will jump at the chance to work extended hours.  But above all else, every Gen Y nurse appreciates how flexible scheduling offers the option of working overtime.

Flexible scheduling gives them the option of working while receiving further training to obtain other certifications and degrees.  This is appealing to the Gen Y nurse because she is achievement-oriented.  Gen Y was conditioned to always work hard to be the best – and we were rewarded for it.  Sure, every Gen Y kid received a trophy just for being on the T-ball team, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t pushed to succeed.  This is where our sense of entitlement comes in.  We were taught that if we work hard, we’ll receive (and deserve) a reward.  Therefore, we will do everything we can to ensure we achieve and procure what we believe we are entitled to.  Don’t be surprised if your Gen Y nurses are seeking further education to enhance their career outside of your organization.  It’s important to us to learn every skill we can to take with us to our next job.

Watching our parents’ employment hardships also taught us to always look out for “number one” (ourselves).  Therefore, we have no company loyalty.  Put simply, we work for ourselves, not an organization.  It’s not uncommon for a Gen Y employee to job hop.  It’s estimated that the average Gen Y worker will change jobs at least seven times over the span of their lifetime, radically different from the employment patterns of previous generations.  A younger nurse will find it less risky to change jobs compared to her older co-workers.  Gen Y puts less emphasis on retirement and health insurance because of their young age.  They also don’t experience a loss of seniority privileges.  That said, if a Gen Y nurse feels her schedule is interfering with her personal life, she won’t hesitate or feel guilty seeking alternate employment.  It’s in an employer’s best interest to offer as much flexibility as possible to prevent Gen Y nurses from feeling boxed by their shift schedules.

Because of the downturn of the economy, Gen Y is slowly discovering that jobs don’t grow on trees.  The recession and high unemployment rate has taught us to appreciate our jobs more.  However, once the economy rebounds, Gen Y nurses are more likely to search for another job if they feel their position isn’t satisfying and their schedule does not offer enough flexibility for their personal life or their efforts to further education and skills.  A typical Gen Y nurse expects and requires her work to be personally fulfilling; she will not accept anything less than satisfying. Employers need to take this time to ensure their Gen Y nurses are engaged and content with their scheduling options and positions in general.  The less turnover an employer faces once the economic winds change, the more ground they will gain during the economic recovery.  Departing nurses take with them intellectual property, while employers face increased costs of agency or temporary replacement nurses and paid overtime for existing staff members to accommodate the staffing shortage.  Turnover can lead to decreased flexibility in scheduling because there are fewer nurses to work the same number of shifts.  Gen Y nurses will disapprove of the resulting inflexibility which could result in decreased morale.  Therefore, retention and increased flexible scheduling options during the economic downturn is essential.

Retention of the Gen Y nurse is vital to the long-term success of a healthcare organization.  Once the economy starts to look up, more and more baby boomer nurses will start to retire.  Younger nurses will need to fill this gap in staffing.  It’s estimated that within the next three to four years, 30% of the workforce will be comprised of Gen Yers.   By 2025, experts predict that 40% to 60% of the workforce will be made up of Gen Y employees.  These next few years will serve as a tipping point for employers that have not implemented retention and recruitment efforts geared towards Generation Y.  Those who only cater to baby boomer nurses will be left behind, short-staffed.  Employers who are now implementing as many flexible scheduling options as possible are ensuring their long-term success for two reasons: retention and recruitment of the Gen Y nurse and the ability for baby boomer nurses to ease into retirement.  By giving older nurses the flexible scheduling options to work part-time, they are more likely to extend their tenure, giving the employer more time to recruit and on-board Gen X and Gen Y nurses.  Baby boomer nurses will enjoy the benefits of easing into their retirement rather than having to adjust to a decrease in income immediately.  The employer benefits from offering flexible scheduling because they will not suffer the sudden loss of experienced nurses all at once.

Employers always win by maximizing their flexible scheduling options.  Retention strengthens as a result of enhanced employee engagement and recruitment efforts succeed because flexible scheduling aids in proving the organization is a best-in-class employer.  Remember, recruitment is a two-way street.  Just as you are selecting candidates, they are selecting their employer as well.  And candidates, especially Gen Y candidates, will favor enhanced flexibility in their position.

Filed under: retention, flexible scheduling, Gen Y, healthcare, recruitment, retention