Quick Answer:
The 2023 Nurse Retention Report shows that 55% of nurse retention is driven by interpersonal relationships and workplace familiarity. While 34% of nurses value colleague bonds, only 16% emphasize pay and benefits. Interestingly, retention bonuses are mentioned by just 2%. This indicates that creating a supportive, familiar work environment is more crucial for nurse retention than financial incentives alone.
Answer provided by Nurse Recruitment Experts
Table of Contents
Introduction to Nurse Retention Report 2023
The nursing shortage persists and the financial stability of healthcare providers remains shaky. Lacking the resources to increase compensation, smart leaders know investing in retention among their nursing staff is a high-return strategy to bolster their teams and the patient experience. We surveyed 2,000 nurses to find out what they want. We, at Nurse Recruitment Experts, hope you find this report useful in improving your nurse retention strategy and help you figure out how to keep nurses from quitting.
With an ongoing shortage of nurses and many studies on staff leaving the profession, healthcare’s workforce challenges are well-known. Our research continues an investigation that goes beyond burnout and churn. Instead, it reveals more specifically what social factors drive nurse retention.
We analyzed 10,000s of candidates in our database and surveyed over 2,000 nurses on social media to understand:
- The role of financial incentives in nurse retention.
- Why nurses do or do not desire to change jobs.
- What healthcare providers can do to provide their nursing staff a better employee experience.
You can continue reading the report below, or click here to download the PDF.
55% of nurse retention is driven by interpersonal relationships and working environment.
34% of respondents attributed their retention to interpersonal relationships with colleagues. 80% of respondees who mentioned coworkers included no other factors.
21% of nurses referenced familiarity with the workplace, patients, and the wariness of “the grass being greener” if they moved. Most nurses in this category also mentioned interpersonal relationships.
Pay and benefits lag behind. Retention bonuses mentioned by only 2% of nurses.
16% of nurses mentioned pay and overall compensation. 32% of this group spoke about pension package. Over half who mentioned pay also spoke about interpersonal relationships.
9% brought up insurance plans and marginal perks. The most-popular was health insurance (40% of the group), followed by life insurance (20%).
Only 2% of nurses mentioned retention bonuses. Nobody referred to pizza parties, although such events surely encourage interpersonal relationships.
Interpersonal Relationships
34% of respondents attributed their retention to bonds with colleagues. At the same time, no respondents mentioned how their employer facilitated or promoted coworker bonds.
Encouragement of togetherness should be worked through nurse ambassadors and staff on the ground, rather than as a corporate mandate.
Want to retain nurses? Retain their friends
Strong bonds with co-workers provide emotional support, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging, all of which are vital for coping with the challenges of the job. Here are 2 suggested strategies to encourage interpersonal bonds:
- Team-building activities: Regular get-togethers can help nurses get to know their colleagues on a personal level, building trust and rapport. Involve families to deepen the bonds.
- Mentorship programs: Pair experienced nurses with newcomers, promoting knowledge sharing and relationship building.
Encouragement of togetherness should be worked through nurse ambassadors and staff on the ground, rather than as a corporate mandate. Here are 2 suggestions:
- Keep it fun: 32% of nurses mentioning coworkers commented on enjoying their company. Consider how you can foster a positive, enjoyable working environment among staff.
- Incentivise participation: Provide a reasonable budget so ambassadors can direct funding to activities and incentives nurses actually want.
Interpersonal Relationships Responses
Below are some of the standout responses in this category:
“No bullying….coworkers that help each other…friends at work….a boss that respects you…working in an area or specialty you enjoy…feeling appreciated by patients and families.”
“The coworkers mainly, and more specifically the culture. Of course pay, benefits, opportunity for growth… it takes awhile for a place to feel like home but once you stick it out through all the good and bad and end up being one of the ones that has been there the longest, that’s where the sweet spot is”.
“Seniority, best coworkers, the floor I work on, my manager, our patients. grateful for it all”.
Familiarity
16% of nurses referenced familiarity with the workplace, patients, and wariness of “the grass being greener” if they moved.
Encouragement of togetherness should be worked through nurse ambassadors and staff on the ground, rather than as a corporate mandate.
“The grass isn’t always greener”
The survey’s “familiarity” category challenges the commonly-held, 2-dimensional view of participation in company culture as subscription and interaction with an agreed set of values.
Rather, it suggests that instead of just staying for a positive culture, nurses also don’t leave because they’re unsure about finding a better one. One nurse said:
“Partly loyalty, partly knowing that the grass isn’t greener anywhere. There is no perfect place to work. I am pretty committed to my patients that come in all the time”.
Administrators must consider that leaving is a big upheaval for their staff. Implement policies to make them feel at home, and make it easy to form relationships with both staff and residents or patients.
Familiarity Responses
Below are some of the stand-out responses in this category:
“Partly loyalty, partly knowing that the grass isn’t greener anywhere. There is no perfect place to work. I am pretty committed to my patients that come in all the time (I work psyche). I know I’d probably feel that way no matter where I go but I’m pretty settled.”
“The effort it takes to make a change and lack of diverse opportunities in my small community.”
“The good still outweighs the bad.”
“The grass is never greener on the other side. If you get along with your co- workers then stay.”
Pay and Benefits
16% of nurses mentioned pay and overall compensation. 32% of this group spoke about pension package. Over half who mentioned pay also spoke about interpersonal relationships.
Remarkably, a mere 2% mentioned retention bonuses, despite this kind of financial incentive becoming increasingly common amongst employers.
Secondary Role of Pay and Benefits
While pay and benefits were mentioned by a portion of respondents, they played a secondary role in nurse retention, as evidenced by the lower percentages. Furthermore, retention bonuses, a commonly suggested solution, were mentioned by less than 2% of survey respondents.
This suggests that while competitive compensation and benefits packages are necessary, they may not be sufficient on their own to retain nurses. Instead, long-term care facilities should prioritize building a workplace culture that values relationships, loyalty, and a sense of belonging.
We know that competitive pay attracts nurses, These results demonstrate that retention is a different story. Nurses want to feel wanted, at home, and part of a work family: work environment over dollars.
About Nurse Recruitment Experts
Since 2019, Nurse Recruitment Experts (NRX) has sourced and hired 10,000s of RNs, LPNs, and CNAs for health systems across the US and Canada. Collectively, our clients – spread across 37 states and provinces – are estimated to have saved over $80,000,000 in agency fees through directly hiring staff.
NRX focuses on amplifying clients’ employer brands and reaching a wider field of passive candidates. Our informational series, Nurse Recruitment Secrets, regularly reaches 11,500 healthcare HR professionals monthly via its blog, newsletter, podcast, and webinar content.
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