Problem Statement
For a long time, there have been unending problem of high nurses turnover in the General Surgical Floor. Previously, several efforts have been made in the attempt to decrease this turnover without yielding the desired results. Moreover, there have been some strategies that have been implemented in the hospital with aim of helping to increase retention of the healthcare staff at the facility.
However, all these efforts have been implemented in vain. As a result of the persisted staff turnover, the services have been jeopardized due to insufficient professional nurses in the General Surgical Floor. For instance, there have been delays in service delivery and continued inconsistency in providing basic services to customers.
According to Abbasi and Hollman (2000), the nurse new rate is reckoned to be periodical; many nurses that have been already registered leave their positions as it seems to be rather difficult for them to handle the working stress connected with the given position.
Therefore, it is relatively important to craft both reactive and proactive measures to curb the ever-increasing turnover rate and instead provide ample environment that encourages retention of nurses’ in General Surgical Floor.
Therefore, it is important that new ways are sort to reverse the dilapidating working conditions and environments at the workplace to are the cause for increased staff turnover. These measures should not only reduce the staff turnover but they should also be geared towards increasing retention rate.
Research Questions
- What are some of the reasons why nurses’ turnover rate is high in the General Surgical Floor?
- What are the possible solutions that can be done by the management to increase nurse retention?
Aim of the Study
The aim of this study is to establish the causes and implications of nurse turnover and how their retention can be achieved in General Surgical Floor.
Research Methods
The study is to employ primary research in order to collect primary data from stakeholders at General Surgical Floor. In addition, secondary sources of information such as journals and books will also be used to understand the best portfolio visions to apply in situations similar to that of General Surgical Floor.
Portfolio of Visions on How to Decrease Turnover and Increase Retention of Nurses in General Surgical Floor
Every step should always be thought over in any kind of business plan and in any action, actually. It is very important, especially when one plans it to be successful. In order to develop a mechanism that is capable of decreasing turnover and at the same time increasing retention rate of nurses in general Surgical Floor, there is need to develop a portfolio of visions.
According to Shrivastava (1993), these visions must be shared amongst stakeholders, they must also be capable of developing and testing authentic mental models and more importantly, they should a appreciate systems thinking.
For that matter, the portfolio visions must have future thinking characteristics where they should aim to integrate future generations’ responsibility and by doing so, they should ensure that there is social justice that should be assured through dignity, equity, human rights, basic service and appreciation of stakeholders’ voices in the working environment.
Consequently, according to Senge and Carstedt (2001), to be able to decrease turnover in the organization and in trying to increase retention of nurses in this organization, it is relatively important to build three basic pillars. These pillars are economical, socio-cultural, and environmental. However, although other factors such as technological and ergonomics remain important, they can be incorporated in the three basic pillars.
These three pillars should be designed to bring forth sustainable development that is expected to revolutionize the turnover rate at the hospital facility.
For instance, in respect to the economic pillar, there is need to redesign the nurses’ job by making it better for these professional nurses, attach better wages and salaries to this position, give them better job security, provide good working infrastructure that is appealing to the workforce (Rusinko, 2005).
On the other hand, Leuenberger (2006) opines that the social pillar is desired to provide social justice in the organization that is will promote equity and fairness which are prerequisite for a motivational workforce. Moreover, under this pillar, there should be a continued educational program for the workforce that will encourage upward mobility in their professional life and for their own personal development.
Nevertheless, environmental pillar should also be implemented to ensure that the environmental conditions for operation in the General Surgical Floor are maintained under habitable high standards.
Moreover, in order to build a sustainable environment that will encourage nurse retention which is aimed at decreasing the currently witnessed high staff turnover, it is relatively important to the organization shifts its current thinking that is considered to be retrogressive by adopting three worldviews of rationalism, humanism, and naturalism.
This will surely build a sustainable organization. For that matter, according to Jaques (2002), a worldview of rationalism is intended to infuse each other and bring about the desired sustainable development in the General Surgical Floor.
For instance, it is expected that humanism will enable people in the organization to have better connection amongst themselves. In respect to this, Ewing (1987) holds that in most organizations, their systems of management have destroyed humanism in people and that is why there is usually high staff turnover.
For that matter, Darling, Hannu and Raimo (1996) opine that human beings are usually born with high self-esteem, curiosity to know new things, intrinsic motivation, dignity and they always need to be appreciated. Therefore, it is relatively important that new portfolio of visions must prioritize and appreciate humanism amongst nurses to increase their retention rate.
Still, the General Surgical Floor must also build structure for staff learning in order to encourage and promote creativity and innovation amongst its workforce. In addition, Chase (1980) holds that for the vision of humanism to be live in the organization and for it to be able to promote sustainable development, there is need to build learning structures that must appreciate openness and real trust that is free from intimidation and fear.
With the achievement of this vision, it therefore hoped that General Surgical Floor would have managed to build a sustainable development that respects humanism.
However, the core aim of achieving humanism in the organization is not to make the workforce compliant to the organization rules and regulations but to make them committed members of the organization. This will help in building a social network of motivated employees who are not only confined to work because of the rules but because of their inner drive to perform their duties.
Furthermore, another relative portfolio vision that should be adopted by General Surgical Floor is rationalism in the management styles. With the current management styles that are being practiced in the hospital, it is imperative that its closed door style of management that is currently in practice should be transformed to transparency was where rationalism is upheld.
According to Booth (1993), the era in which corporate decisions were made under closed doors has been bypassed with time. Corporate decisions, therefore, need to be incorporative of all stakeholders in the organization without alienating others in the decision-making process.
For that matter, transparency relates closely with naturalism since it is intended to increase feedback loops amongst different stakeholders that is important for coordination and understanding in any organization.
Therefore, transparency is capable of driving sustainable development since it plays a major role in facilitating a more naturalistic environment for business processes. It should, therefore, be adopted in the management of General Surgical Floor.
Nevertheless, it is an established fact that General Surgical Floor facility faces some crucial issues which pervade its workforce that has been attributed to the high rate of staff turnover.
Therefore, as one of the portfolio visions to increase staff retention rate in the General Surgical Floor, it is relatively important that the hospital be well equipped. According to Ewing (1987), it is an established fact that there is no workforce that will ever be productive and comfortable in any working environment that is characterized by poor state of working facilities.
Nonetheless, it is also important that quality management must also come in as part of the portfolio visions. Rusinko (2005) holds that quality management is well placed to help top management and the entire staff of General Surgical Floor in implementing healthy working environment for sustainable practice and for continued development.
On the other hand, Ewing (1987) opines that quality management is a good recipe for both social and economic well being of the organization and all of its stakeholders. One of the reasons for adopting quality management in the General Surgical Floor is that it is the best way of ensuring continuous improvement of all employees as they are made part and parcel of the improvement process.
Moreover, quality management is a key element in empowerment of employees in the organization. Therefore, it is expected that with well implementation of quality management in General Surgical Floor, there will be increased staff retention which will surely solve the current skyrocketing rate of staff turnover.
Therefore, a portfolio vision on quality management is a valuable paradigm that will bring forth value in increasing retention rate of staff in the hospital if it will be well implemented.
However, Jaques (2002) holds that for this to be achieved there is need to draft measures and standards that will monitor the implementation process of quality management.
For that matter, quality management will provide better management framework that will help managers to implement sustainable working environment in the General Surgical Floor. Therefore, this will help to bridge the gap between the current problems of high rate of staff turnover to a high staff retention rate.
Nevertheless, it is also important to re-engineer technological appliances and equipment of the General Surgical Floor since one of the major reasons for a high rate of staff turnover is the backward technology being used in the facility.
For that matter, the service delivery at the facility is usually of poor quality which in the process affects the morale of nursing working in General Surgical Floor. Therefore, equipment in this facility must be replaced in order to have facilities that match the current technology on the market to motivate nurses serving there.
According to Rusinko (2005), a hospital facility that is operating using a dilapidated facilities are usually the major contributors for job-related accidents. Therefore, the morale of the staff is deemed to erode. As a result, slightest opportunity elsewhere will lead to their massive turnover.
Therefore, improvement of facilities at the General Surgical Floor becomes paramount in its portfolio visions if the rate of staff retention is desired to be improved.
Nonetheless, it is relatively important to this point to acknowledge that to transform General Surgical Floor effectively, it is relatively important to change the management approach of the organization in its portfolio visions. One of the reasons that have been established to be contributing to the highest staff turnover is the poor management style being used in the facility.
Several staff has previously characterized the management to be authoritative and non-participatory. This has resulted to high staff turnover since they are subjected to victimization at a slightest point. For that matter, staff turnover is appreciated by the workforce to be their only resort in the effort of rescuing themselves from the repressive management.
Therefore, it is relatively important to prioritize management style in the new portfolio visions. The new management should appreciate participatory approach that should be considerate to workforce concerns and contributions. This will improve staff morale and give them identity at the workplace therefore acting as a good recipe for increasing staff retention at General Surgical Floor.
References
Abbasi, S., &Hollman, K. (2000).Turnover: The Real Bottom-line.Public Personnel Management, 29(3), 333-342.
Booth, S. A. (1993). Crisis Management Strategy: Competition and change in modernenterprises. London: Routledge.
Chase, W. H. (1980). Issues and Policy. Public Relations Quarterly, 25(1), 5-6.
Darling, J., Hannu, O. & Raimo, N. (1996), Crisis management in international business: a case situation in decision making concerning trade with Russia. The Finnish Journal of Business Economics, 4, 12-25.
Ewing, R. P. (1987). Managing the New Bottom Line: Issues Management for Senior Executives. Homewood, IL: Dow Jones Irwin.
Jaques, T. (2002). Towards a New Terminology: Optimising the Value of Issue Management. Journal of Communication Management, 7(2), 140-147.
Leuenberger, D. (2006). Sustainable development in public administration: A match with practice? Public Works Management & Policy, 10(3), 185–201.
Rusinko, C. A. (2005). Using quality management as a bridge to environmental sustainability in organizations. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 70(4), 54–60.
Senge, P., & Carstedt, G. (2001). Innovating our way to the next industrial revolution. MIT Sloan Management Review, 42(2), 24–38.
Shrivastava, P. (1993). Crisis theory/practice: Towards a sustainable future. Organization & Environment, 7, 23–42.