Employee appreciation is focus of new Advancing Excellence initiative

The Advancing Excellence in Long-Term Care Collaborative and Hallmark Business Connections have partnered to create an employee recognition campaign ultimately designed to help providers increase staff engagement and reduce turnover.

The “You Make a Difference” program enables employers to acknowledge staff members' achivements and milestones via personalized greeting cards, to which monetary incentives can be added, if desired. The incentives can be redeemed for gift cards from national retailers, restaurants and entertainment and travel providers.

The average turnover rate in a nursing home can exceed 50 percent, according to the campaign. Longevity in employment can result in improved clinical quality outcomes and decreased hospitalizations among residents as well as cost savings for nursing homes in the form of reduced recruiting and training costs.

The Advancing Excellence website has additional information about the “You Make a Difference” program, including instructions on how to get started, ways to build a recognition program, best practices and more.