{"id":11287,"date":"2018-12-12T23:09:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-13T06:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nursemk.wpengine.com\/prevent-nursing-turnover-by-improving-your-recruitment-strategies\/"},"modified":"2022-03-02T15:09:10","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T20:09:10","slug":"prevent-nursing-turnover-improving-recruitment-strategies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nurse.com\/solutions\/blog\/prevent-nursing-turnover-improving-recruitment-strategies","title":{"rendered":"Prevent Nursing Turnover by Improving Your Recruitment Strategies"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cost of nursing turnover is exorbitant for healthcare organizations.<\/h2>\n

Replacing just one staff nurse can range in cost from $36,900 to $57,300, according to our continuing education module Keeping Colleagues: Nurse Retention Is Everyone’s Responsibility.<\/a><\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re replacing a nurse from a specialty area such as intensive care or labor and delivery, the cost can be even higher \u2014 jumping to double the amount of that nurse\u2019s annual salary, said Blake Ingram, senior vice president of business development at OnCourse Learning Healthcare, a Relias Company.<\/p>\n

The issue of high nursing turnover is so important that we recently hosted a free webinar for recruiters and other healthcare industry and nursing professionals titled, \u201cReduce Nurse Turnover. Recruit Better. Retain Longer<\/a>\u201d and published a nursing turnover whitepaper<\/a> to offer insight on why nurses leave their jobs and strategies to help recruiters, administrators and managers turn the tide to reduce turnover and its associated costs.<\/p>\n

One of the featured speakers for our webinar was Lori Burt, vice president of talent management at the University of Maryland Medical System.<\/p>\n

\u201cReducing nursing turnover and improving nurse retention is a complex topic, but one that is fraught with opportunities to change the trajectory and improve retention,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to recognize that there is no one magic bullet to reducing nursing turnover<\/a>,\u201d Burt continued. \u201cYou need to look at how you recruit nurses, how you onboard them and how you treat them once they\u2019re on the job.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Healthcare organizations also need to brand themselves as great employers and ensure that what they\u2019re selling during the recruitment process is what their nurses are going to experience once they come on the job, Burt said.<\/p>\n

Better recruiting alone will not necessarily stop all turnover \u2013 you need a partnership and effective communication between recruiters and nurse managers<\/a>, said Burt. \u201cIt\u2019s more than just hiring someone with a license. Savvy recruiters and managers will want to consider if the person is a good fit for the organization and the unit\u2019s culture. Some ways to assess this are to use online pre-employment assessment tools, and bringing in any candidates they\u2019re strongly considering hiring for a peer interview with the unit\u2019s staff,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Staff members who participate in a peer interview, who like the candidate and advocate for their hiring, will want to help that person succeed once they\u2019re hired, Burt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce a new hire is on the unit, they should be given a mentor or buddy, someone who can serve as a resource and provide support,\u201d she said. \u201cThis will help the new hire feel they\u2019re receiving the training they need and help them fit in.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She also said once nurses are in the door and working for an organization, if the experience is not good they will leave.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when they leave, in addition to the cost of hiring someone new, organizations have to pay premium pay rates for overtime and travelers to fill the void<\/a>,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Take a holistic, broad scope approach<\/h3>\n

The second featured speaker of our webinar, Ingram said the holistic approach in nurse recruiting and retention requires examining the continuity and effectiveness of recruiting and advertising in several key areas during the hiring phase and after, which include:<\/p>\n