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Weekly Q&A: Participation in recruitment and retention activities

HCPro's Weekly Update on the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®*, May 1, 2007

This week, a reader asks how direct care nurses can participate in recruitment and retention activities. Read the response below from our advisor Gina Boring, BSN, RN, ANCC Magnet Recognition Program® project coordinator, Aultman Health Foundation, Canton, OH.

Q: How can direct care nurses participate in recruitment and retention activities?

A: There are many opportunities to showcase how direct care nurses participate in both formal and informal recruitment and retention activities. Below are a few key ideas to get you started.

Recruitment
Mentoring nursing students offers bedside nurses the opportunity to participate in recruitment of new staff. But you can start even younger than that: Many hospitals offer formal programs to high school students to give them the opportunity to meet with professional nursing staff and discuss the challenges and benefits of nursing.

Another avenue for recruitment is at conferences or job fairs. Every time nurses identify themselves as employees of the organization during such events, they have the potential to casually recruit as a result of discussions with colleagues.

Retention
The key to illustrating in the documentation that staff nurses are involved in retention is through structure, process, and outcomes. Start the description of nurse retention with evidence of the structure that provides stability for the process. For example, if a shared decision making model is responsible for recognizing nurses during Nurses Week, discuss the structure of the council and how these retention efforts are generated.

Once the structure has been identified, discuss the processes used to encourage nurse retention, for example, clinical ladders, enhancement programs, and longevity compensation. The final step, outcomes, is easy to identify through turnover, retention, and satisfaction rates.

Editor's note: Do you have a question for one of our advisors? If you'd like us to consider your query for publication, please send it to Cameran Erny.

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