How do nursing homes manage staffing when an employee is delayed because a babysitter is running late? What happens when a registered nurse is out on a four-week medical leave, or when several staff members are on leave at the same time? And how can managers cover summer vacations when everyone wants time off around a holiday weekend?
These were some of the topics discussed at the first Workforce Watercooler, a fast-paced, 15-minute peer sharing call held every Wednesday from 12 noon – 12:15. Approximately 20 nursing home staff attended the call, sharing both their challenges and some of the solutions that have helped them effectively meet the demands of ensuring adequate staffing to cover medical leaves, personal issues, or vacations.
Participants acknowledged that not every solution will work for every facility, but several creative approaches were shared, including:
- Meet with nursing leadership in the spring to discuss staff summer vacation plans and avoid duplication of leave time.
- Use agency contracts to cover extended medical leaves.
- Request by name agency staff with whom you have had a positive experience in the past.
- Maintain a per diem or PRN pool.
- Offer per diem staff bonuses for covering weekends or offer a call-in bonus.
- Shift bidding – allow staff to bid the pay rate they want to take on an unscheduled shift.
- Flexible overtime policies – allowing those scheduled for 8-hour shifts to work 10 or 12 hours.
- Stagger shifts to cover gaps.
- Offer supplemental staffing bonuses to all staff to support critical staffing needs.
Whether or not the facility is part of a corporate entity or is unionized affects their ability to implement some of these strategies. Some attendees noted that their corporate policies prohibited the use of agency staff, while others shared that collective bargaining agreements disallow individual variation in pay rates.
The Workforce Watercooler series provides an opportunity for nursing home professionals to share challenges, exchange solutions, and learn from one another’s experiences. As workforce pressures continue across the long-term care sector, peer-to-peer conversations like these can offer valuable insights and practical strategies that facilities can adapt to meet their unique needs.
Nursing home staff are welcome to join upcoming Workforce Watercooler sessions to share challenges, hear what is working for peers, and take away practical ideas they can adapt in their own facilities. Visit https://qi.ipro.org/upcoming-events/ to register.