Feeling In on Things

The Big Picture

Suggestions:

• Educate employees regarding the big picture of your organization and show how they make a difference in the big picture.
• Share your mission statement and your strategic plans.
• Provide customer service training.
• Explain "marketing" and the public image of your facility; discuss what is involved and the role of each employee.

Input on Care Decisions and Care Conferences

Suggestions:

• Allow any employee assigned to a permanent group to give input to managers.
• Encourage nurses to request CNA input for all care plan and MDS updates.
• Ask CNAs to keep the ADL care plan updated.
• Seek employee input for behavior management.
• Seek employee input for feeding problems.
• Invite and encourage employees to attend care conferences.
• Ask employees to participate in family care plan review.
• Utilize the knowledge of employees who are "experts" in providing specific cares.

Input on Procedures

Suggestions:

• Request and accept employee input for procedure changes.
• Provide the format for CNAs to write the initial procedure and have the nurse fine-tune it, e.g., new bed, lift, etc.

Input on Quality Improvement

Suggestions:

• Include employees at all levels on CQI teams for issues such as retention, orientation, staffing policies, documentation tools, and shift routines.
• Put a suggestion box on each unit and ask employees to share their ideas and concerns prior to a scheduled meeting. These can become agenda topics for the meeting.
• Ask for employee assistance on a problem you need to solve.
• Ask employees to share the problems they encounter in providing care.
• Ask employees to share the problems residents bring to their attention.
• Ask for employee input on equipment or product purchases.
• Invite employees at all levels to attend monthly staff meetings.

Input on Committees

Suggestions:

• Invite employees at all levels to serve on committees that deal with topics such as quality assurance, infection control, ethics, and dining room.
• Provide the time employees need to attend meetings.
• Report committee happenings to all employees.
• Provide a vehicle for employee concerns to be shared at meetings.
• Encourage employees to participate on committees that focus on internal functions, e.g., recognition, dinner, picnics, etc.
• Encourage employees to report on committee functions at monthly staff meetings.

Input on Room Changes

Suggestions:

• Keep a running list of employee suggestions for roommate possibilities.
• Encourage employees to share roommate conflicts.
• Keep employees informed of your rationale for room changes.
• Teach employees all factors involved in roommate choices.

Input on Departmental Planning

Suggestions:

• Create an employee  task force to assist in goal planning for their own department.
• Encourage your employees to develop their own goals.
• Ask for employees' involvement and opinions on equipment purchases.
• Have the employees evaluate products or types of products.
• Ask employees for their input on staff allocation or assignments.

Input on Benefits

Suggestions:

• Request and respond to employee concerns regarding benefits.
• Offer options and allow employees to select which benefits they prefer individually given available dollars.
• Periodically ask staff to evaluate the benefit package; make adjustments accordingly.
• Ask employees for their input on employment ads.

Case Management -- Seek Employee Ideas to Improve Care

Suggestions:

• Help employees develop their communication skills.
• Ask employees open-ended questions to encourage their sharing of ideas.
• Communicate directly with employees regarding care, activities, and personal needs.
• Give employees' ideas serious consideration and respect.
• When an employee asks you a question and the answer is not at hand, be sure to get back to the inquirer with an answer at a later date.
• Educate employees about specific resident population needs.
• Assign CNAs to a specific group and to a specific licensed case manager.

Regular Meetings with the Administrator

Suggestions:

• Schedule regular meetings between the administrator and employees at all levels to discuss corporate information or to share feedback.
• The administrator should schedule informational luncheon meetings with departmental staff.
• The administrator should schedule an employee newsletter to share corporate news or plans that affect employees.

Problem-Solving Meetings

Suggestions:

• Choose informal leader(s) to participate in problem-solving groups.
• Request, accept, and respond to employee input.

Provide Opportunity for Orientation Feedback

Suggestions:

• Have orientation be a goal based orientation and individualize it to meet the assessed needs of the orientee.
• Have employees involved with the staff developer in planning in-services.
• Host participatory meetings with hand-on involvement -- "be creative."
• Conclude each orientation session with an evaluation form or interview.
• Ask experienced employees to serve as mentors and as personal advocates for newly hired employees.
• Include the mentor in the new employee evaluation process.
• Develop a support team for mentors. Also develop a support team for new orientees.
• Allow the orientee to evaluate the preceptor or mentor at the end of the orientation.
• Create a CQI team out of the preceptors for evaluation and on-going improvement of the orientation process.
• Encourage employees to share positive and negative feedback about the orientation process.
• Have the administrator meet informally with the employees after the orientation.
Schedule weekly meetings with the orientee during the first three months to provide feedback.

Encourage and Accept Employee Prepared Articles in the Facility's Monthly Newsletter

Suggestions:

• Encourage employees to author or co-author articles.
• Encourage employees to write articles regarding positive employee/long term care experiences.
• When you come across an article pertaining to employees, share it with your employees.

Share-a-Gram

Suggestions:

• Provide and nurture a vehicle for sharing information and feedback.
• Include sharing of employee personal accomplishments in your share-a-gram.
• Share employee compliments as well as resident and family compliments.

Preface

Chapter One: Good Wages and Working Conditions

Chapter Two: Scheduling Options

Chapter Three: Recognition

Chapter Four: Feeling In on Things

Chapter Five: Fringe Benefits and Other Incentives

Chapter Six: Growth Opportunities

Additional Resources