Incentives that draw staff Some employers are offering loyalty packages to attract new nursing staff recruits. But will this work long term? Alison Moore investigates

SUMMARY

You are a director of nursing facing a looming staff shortage. As pressures increase, your workforce numbers are dropping and you know that some of your most experienced nurses are approaching retirement later this year. What do you do to plug the gaps? For many, the answer over the past couple of years has been to recruit abroad while also trying to hold on to staff, hire newly qualified nurses and – hopefully – attract some back to work. But that has not prevented some trusts having large numbers of vacancies that they are still unable to fill. As other European economies recover from the recession, it may become harder to persuade nurses to move to Britain. A report produced for Health Education England last year found 83 per cent of trusts that responded were experiencing difficulties recruiting qualified nurses. One of the trusts that has made a concerted effort to boost its nurse recruitment and retention is Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust in Kent. A report to the trust’s board last December noted 195 nursing and midwifery vacancies and highlighted a range of measures the trust could

Filling vacancies Trusts may be more likely to recruit and retain nurses if they offer: 4 ‘Loyalty packages’, which could include the opportunity to take sabbaticals. 4 Incentives for students, for example bursaries and job guarantees. 4 Help with accommodation costs. 4 Bonuses for employees who recommend the trust to new recruits. 4 Training and career progression opportunities. 4 Flexible working practices that accommodate people with caring responsibilities. 4 An honest view of the positives of working for the organisation.

Many trusts are struggling to fill nursing vacancies. In an attempt to stand out from the crowd, some are offering loyalty packages and promoting their positive working environments, as well as the opportunities for training and career progression. Those that present a ‘rose-tinted’ picture risk alienating new recruits. Author Alison Moore is a freelance journalist

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introduce. Suggestions included offering staff loyalty packages with benefits, such as free or subsidised gym membership, accommodation and the opportunity to take sabbaticals, and offering students a tablet computer and a £1,000 bursary alongside a job.

The right people

The trust is also considering contacting nurses on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register who live within a certain radius to offer them meetings with senior staff, as well as looking at ways to reduce the time it takes to get new staff on the wards. It is also looking at recruiting from outside Europe. The aim is to employ 30 nurses a month over the next year to fill the existing vacancies and replace those who leave. The trust has decided against offering ‘golden hello’ sign-on payments and retention bonuses. A spokesperson says it hopes

an ‘innovative’ approach will attract staff who share its aims and values. He says: ‘Future staff could come from the local area, other parts of the UK or further afield. Our priority is to recruit and retain the right people.’ Research commissioned by recruitment agency TMP suggests that the reputation of a trust is the first consideration for around a fifth of nurses, with three quarters being wary of those seen as high risk. Historically, the big teaching trusts have been magnets for nurses. The inner and outer London weightings can also be attractive to those living within commuting distance. At Milton Keynes Hospital, a campaign based on a suggestion from one of its healthcare assistants (HCAs) offers potential recruits an example of how staff are listened to and can influence the organisation. The campaign, which highlights patients at risk of dehydration, and which earned the HCA a trip to Downing Street to explain the idea to the prime minister, also highlights a team approach in the organisation. The hospital’s deputy chief nurse Jane Naish says: ‘We know nurses are looking for a good ward team. It is about creating a working environment that trains you and gives you support. ‘One of the attractions for nurses coming here is education and we offer lots of post-registration education.’ The hospital is offering more HCAs the chance to train as nurses and has put some staff – including some on band five – through leadership courses. It also hosts days where local sixth formers can find out about nurse training. All placements at the trust have to meet strict standards to ensure that students

NURSING STANDARD

to a trust get the right experience under appropriate supervision, and newly qualified nurses are offered a two-year rotational scheme, enabling them to get wide experience across the hospital. And the trust has strict standards: it gives all would-be recruits a maths test on drug calculations, recruits on values and rejects about 20 per cent of applicants. Other initiatives around the country include using YouTube to highlight the career opportunities and standard of living in the Scottish Highlands. Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals Foundation Trust offers employees a bonus if they recommended a friend as a staff nurse. The employee gets a £200 introduction bonus and an additional £150 when their friend has worked there for a year. The new nurse receives a bonus of £100 after 12 months. The scheme has only been running since May last year, but already ten payments have been made and the trust is considering extending it to therapy services. So what works? Workforce expert James Buchan of Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh says: ‘Financial or non-financial inducements to “leave trust A and work for trust B” may just be redistributing a staff shortage from one trust to another and do not provide a sustainable solution. ‘An emphasis on improved retention has greater prospects, but must focus on the reality of day-to-day nursing. Practices that paint a rose-tinted view will be identified quickly by nurses and will put the trust in disrepute.’ RCN senior employment relations adviser Gerry O’Dwyer agrees: ‘There is often a dissonance between what the

NURSING STANDARD

organisation says and what the employee finds when they get there.’ He believes nurses want to nurse – and may be attracted to employers that offer them the opportunity to do as much of that as possible. But prospects for career development – both within their role and moving up – are also attractive. And with many nurses having family or caring responsibilities, flexible working is also important. So the message to employers is to be honest about what working in their organisation is like and be sure they are offering new recruits what they want. In the short term, the NHS needs to attract more nurses back into practice or away from other employers – and that will require yet more innovative thinking NS

ALAMY

Recruitment schemes

march 18 :: vol 29 no 29 :: 2015 19

Incentives that draw staff to a trust.

Many trusts are struggling to fill nursing vacancies. In an attempt to stand out from the crowd, some are offering loyalty packages and promoting thei...
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