The roles of nurses are extremely important. Thanks to them patients can receive the highest quality assistance. The demand for nurses is always high because there are always people who need their help. Now, as the UK is facing severe shortages of nursing staff, recruiting new nurses is urgently needed. Nevertheless, finding the right candidates and encouraging them to start a career in nursing is just the first step. Once that is done, a lot of effort must be placed on retaining nurses and making sure they stay on in nursing.
Here we take a look at some of the best strategies to retain nurses.
- Support their growth and development
No matter what profession people choose, they want to know that they have opportunities for growth. The same applies to nursing. Every nurse needs to feel like their employer is committed to helping them learn new things and enhance skills they already have. There are many possibilities for advancing a career in nursing and to retain new nurses they have to be aware of what they are and have to be able to access them. Giving nurses access to professional training and various education courses is essential.
- Make nurses feel appreciated
Nursing is a rewarding but not easy career choice. One of the common reasons for nurses quitting their jobs is not getting enough recognition for their work. It is important that managers build a relationship with nurses, make them feel appreciated, and regularly thank them for the hard work they do every day. That is crucial to building trust and creating a friendly work environment that makes nurses excited to come back to work each day.
- Reward high-performing nurses
Developing a reward programme for the best nurses encourages the whole nursing team to work hard. It also gives them motivation to stay in their role. Moreover, once someone wins the prize, they feel appreciated and are more likely to keep doing their best. In a similar manner, giving rewards to loyal nurses who have been working for you for several years is also a good idea. This way you can show them how much you appreciate their dedication.
- Offer a flexible work schedule
Nursing is a career that often comes with long hours. Most nurses are aware of that but giving them the chance to have some time for themselves is essential to retain them. If you offer them flexible options to balance work and life, they might stay with you for longer as not many employers do it.
- Offer various benefits
People want to work for companies that care about their employees. Offering nurses various benefits is a great way to show them how important they are to you. You can be creative with benefits you offer but some of examples you might want to explore are:
- Paid time off on their birthday each year
- The option to do some of the paperwork at home rather than in the office or hospital
- Free trips to nursing conferences and events
- Restaurant vouchers
- Free gym membership.
How to improve the retention level of international nurses?
While these strategies can be applied to retaining both UK and foreign nurses, improving the retention level of international nurses requires additional attention. For them getting a job in nursing in the UK means not only beginning a new career but also relocating to a different country.
Hiring international nurses is one of the best ways to respond to the current shortage of nurses in the UK. That is why knowing how to retain them is extremely important.
To retain international nurses, it is important to offer them support from the very beginning. International nurses might face a number of challenges when they are coming to the UK and it is important that you help them overcome them. This way you will create a strong bond with them right from the start and will show them that working for you means being in a supportive environment.
Have a look at some of the common challenges international nurses face and support you can offer them.
| Challenges that international nurses might face | What you can help with |
| Language barrierAdjusting to new cultureMeeting new peopleManaging financesFinding their way around new city | Finding language coursesFinding a place to liveIntroducing them to some of your friendsShowing them around the city |
After international nurses arrive and settle in, you have to provide them with professional support and a supportive learning environment. This way you will ensure that they will be productive in their role and that they will enjoy working as nurses in the UK.
Retaining international nurses is essential because as the recent series of reports commissioned by NHS England revealed ‘Overseas recruitment, while not the only lever, will have to play a major role if these shortfalls [of nursing staff] are to be addressed and the ambitions of an additional 50,000 nurses by 2025 be met.’
Why do nurses quit their jobs?
To be able to successfully implement the discussed nurse retention strategies, it is important to understand why nurses quit their jobs in the first place.
- Stressful work environment – being a nurse can be stressful so it is important that you provide nurses with ongoing support and give them resources to take care of their mental wellbeing.
- Overtime work – working as a nurse often means long shifts so if on top of that nurses are forced to do overtime work, many realise that it is too much and decide to quit. Make sure that you only ask nurses to work overtime if it is absolutely necessary and allow them to work less some other day to compensate.
- Lack of good management – leadership is very important so that nurses receive guidance and assistance they need. When you are choosing a leader for the nursing team make sure they will be up to the task.
Of course, the decision to quit the job in nursing can be motivated by many other personal reasons. Each nurse is different but making sure that the issues mentioned here are not present can significantly reduce the nursing drop out rate.