Strategies to increase staff satisfaction in aged care

Given the ongoing staffing challenges facing aged care communities, and the costs of training new staff, many communities simply cannot afford to lose staff. Investing in staff satisfaction not only helps senior care communities improve staff retention, but also plays an important role in the quality of care they provide. Fortunately, there are numerous ways communities can play an active role in supporting workforces and maximizing overall satisfaction.

The importance of employee satisfaction and morale

Mark Tapper, director of nursing services at Wake Robin

Mark Tapper, Director of Nursing Services at Wake Robin, explains that staff satisfaction is directly related to staff performance and quality of care. “Caregiving is a very emotionally challenging and draining job and we give ourselves to other people all day long, and if you don’t feel it, you’re not transferring that positive energy to the resident,” he says. “Ultimately, all informal care is about the connection with the person you care for.”

In long-term care facilities, staff see residents for extended periods of time, developing relationships with residents. If employees don’t enjoy coming to work, it can have a huge effect on the relationships and healthcare staff they can provide.

Fran Casey, chief people officer at Goodwin Living, takes a slightly different approach. “At Goodwin Living we focus on engagement versus satisfaction because you can have a team member who is satisfied but still not aligned with the exceptional service and care we try to provide,” she explains. Supporting team members is captured in Goodwin Living’s mission. “In our experience, team members who have a strong sense of purpose in their work have higher levels of engagement,” notes Casey. “Higher engagement, in turn, leads to higher morale, which leads to lower turnover, longer tenure and a greater likelihood that team members will refer family and friends for jobs at Goodwin Living.” The residents in turn benefit from it.

How staff shortages affect staff satisfaction

Casey explains that staff shortages can have a significant impact on staff satisfaction. Asking team members to work short shifts for long periods of time can have a negative effect on morale. “We see team members doing their best to fill the gaps, although this can leave them feeling tired and disengaged,” says Casey. In addition to providing consistent and predictable staffing to help prevent burnout and declines in engagement and morale, Goodwin Living shows team members that they appreciate their extra efforts during times when staffing is limited. For example, the entire leadership team will visit teams at night to thank them for their service as part of their March Madness appreciation effort.

Tapper explains that when communities are not adequately staffed, staff often cannot do a good enough job to be satisfied with their work. “This is the kind of work where people really want to feel like they’ve had a positive impact on the people they care for,” he says. If staff struggle to perform their basic duties, they will not have time to interact with residents, which can lead to frustration and detract from their overall job satisfaction. “If you don’t give employees that involvement, they don’t get as much out of it and money becomes a much bigger problem,” says Tapper, “and people can’t do work they are proud of. feeds them.”

How to measure staff satisfaction

Casey encourages senior care communities to conduct pulse surveys, hold focus groups and conduct an annual engagement survey. “It’s important that when you ask for feedback, you share the results (good or bad) and set up working groups to address the issues raised,” she explains. “It is critical that you report back to the teams that shared the information. This lets them know that their voice has been heard and that their opinion matters.”

In addition to surveys and meetings with large groups of employees, Tapper emphasizes the value of conducting regular check-ins. “The check-in is not an evaluation,” he says. “It’s a question about how are you doing here, how can we make your life better, what is a challenge and what works for you?”

Strategies to increase staff satisfaction

Tapper explains that Wake Robin focuses on offering its staff generous benefits, including a generous number of days off. More importantly, the community ensures that the staff actually takes up that time off. “We have a planner who really does everything he can to make sure everyone gets their vacation,” he says.

He notes that he is in favor of 12-hour shifts, although Wake Robin does not use them. “I think people are seeing the real benefit of having more days off to do the other important things they need to do in their lives,” he says, explaining that such shifts give staff more time to recharge , allowing them to return to work with concentration.

Casey explains that Goodwin Living asks questions, listens and responds to staff. “If we cannot move forward with a request, we respond in a transparent manner and explain why, which builds trust,” she says.

As a result, over the past year the community has implemented the following programs, almost all of which are based on feedback from team members:

• Student loan repayment: In January, the community introduced a comprehensive student loan repayment program for clinical team members.

• Increased Citizenship and DACA Support: In 2023, Goodwin Living expanded this financial support to two family members for each full-time or part-time team member who has been with the community for at least a year.

• Bereavement leave: Bereavement leave was increased from 2 days to 5 days for the loss of an immediate family member, and from 2 days to 3 days for the loss of non-immediate family members.
• PTO: The wait time for taking PTO was eliminated.

• Dental Benefits: Effective January 1, 2024, Goodwin Living expanded the benefits available under dental coverage through a new insurance company and plan.
• Tuition Assistance: In January 2023, Goodwin Living increased the amount of tuition assistance to a maximum amount of $5,250 per year for full-time team members who have been with Goodwin Living for at least two years, and $2,626 for part-time team members who have been with Goodwin Living. community for two or more years. This benefit may apply to university courses or specialized training programs.

Other Goodwin Living staff supports include:

• Career Pathfinder Programs that offer employees growth opportunities within the organization.
• Paid internship opportunities for the children of team members who receive a Goodwin Living Foundation Scholarship.
• Immigration support, including funding for citizen application fees, green card renewal fees, and work permit renewal fees for team members through the Goodwin Living Foundation.
• Wellness programs including financial planning, mental health awareness, self-defense and exercise classes, and more.

Budget-friendly ways to support staff satisfaction

Casey explains that some of the most beneficial engagement strategies are free. For example, send staff a written thank you note, stating the specific action the team member took and thanking them. Management can organize fun and inclusive events where team members engage in a non-work related activity.

“Involve team members in problem solving – those closest to the program are often the best to help you improve the process,” she says. “Provide opportunities for education, shadowing and development.”

Ultimately, it is essential to collect feedback from staff, which can help the organization become better informed about the types of needs and desires of support staff. “From formal surveys to less formal daily interactions between supervisors and leaders with team members, it’s important to monitor and listen to feedback that can lead to better outcomes for everyone,” says Casey. “This is the key to the success of any organization.”