Indiana SNF Invests in School Partnerships, Culture to Bolster Staff Amid Fierce Wage Competition

Close relationships with local educational institutions – colleges and high schools included – and a reinvented company culture five years in the making have helped Indiana operator Providence Health Care at the Woods recruit and retain staff.

Providence president and CEO Mandy Lynch and Jessica Zook, director of health information, shared details on these initiatives during a Wednesday webinar hosted by PointClickCare.

The independent nonprofit, 107-bed facility doesn’t have the luxury of attracting staff with sign-on bonuses or paying the highest market rate, Lynch said. But its turnover rate is lower than the industry standard.

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Providence had its direct care workforce turnover increase from 15%-20% pre-pandemic to 35% during Covid. The national median for this statistic was nearly 100% even prior to Covid, with even less continuity among lower federal star ratings, according to an analysis published in Health Affairs in early 2021.

Certified nursing assistants (CNAs) specifically saw a 129.1% median turnover rate, the study found.

Lunches with the facility director of nursing and personalized tours of the campus for nearby students are all cost-effective ways to attract local talent for a standalone facility limited in resources that may be available to larger competitors in the market, Lynch said.

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“Social media is a really big platform that is often underutilized,” Lynch added, Providence uses Facebook as its primary platform. “We use it as a resource for attracting our talent and really promoting what we’re doing within our walls.”

Simple campaigns on the platform, picturing staff with and without masks have been an inexpensive way to build company culture while also endearing the facility to prospective residents and their families, Lynch said.

Right place, right attitude

Instead of trying to pull staff in from neighboring counties or states, Providence has been investing in local colleges and high schools by giving students the opportunity to get their clinical hours on-site and paying for their education.

“This is [certified nursing assistant, CNA] students from local high schools, nursing students at the local colleges, even therapy students; any opportunity to have students we want to be a community that is focused on education and allowing them a place to learn,” Lynch said.

Prospective full-time staff will have the chance to see what they could be a part of: “They’re inclined to want to join something that they see value in.”

The other half is putting more of an emphasis on staff attitude or outlook, Lynch said. An example might be a housekeeper that may be more open to following a career path to become a CNA at the facility, someone that already knows and cares about the residents, she added.

‘Grass is greener where it’s watered’

While Lynch considers retention “a whole other beast in itself,” she believes it’s crucial to invest in the people who show up and listen to what their needs might be. Providence’s $2,500 monthly budget for posting to sites like Indeed have been diverted to employee engagement.

“We really feel the grass is greener where it’s watered … What can we do for the people who are here? We have to really get their feedback,” she said.

A remodeled break room, an automatic $2 per hour raise after one year of employment and a reward for perfect attendance are all ways Providence has sought to retain its staff.

Employees usually leave an organization within the first 90 days, Lynch said, making the one-year threshold a milestone to be celebrated, and that employee considered a valuable asset.

With 10 other SNFs in the area, Providence needs to stand out with its culture too, Lynch said.

For leadership, that culture building has been focused on constant communication and immediate feedback from management – showing staff that they have been seen and heard by fulfilling attainable requests as soon as possible.

“I really think it’s important that we just meet with them and talk with them,” Lynch said. “They feel it’s more of a coach mentality and a relationship-based desire to do well because someone cares about them and the work that they’re doing. I think that’s just a change in philosophy that we’ve experienced, and it’s had a very positive impact among our staff out on the floor.”

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