Incentive - February 2008 - (Page 40)

scheduling by awarding them with points that can then be redeemed for merchandise or travel rewards. Po w e r f u l Po i n t s USC University Hospital in Los Angeles demonstrates what a range of areas ShiftRewards’ point system can be applied to. Just offering to take on an extra shift grants the employee points, whether he or she ends up actually picking the shift up or not. The earlier that nurses sign up, the higher points they receive (USC’s Chief Nursing Officer Ellen Whalen reports that this has helped reduce the number of last-minute schedule changes). Points also are programmed to vary by how hard the shift is to fill. A shift on Mother’s Day earns more points than one on a random weekday. Points can even be awarded for good works not related to scheduling, like serving as an interpreter for a non-Englishspeaking patient, helping to start a difficult IV or acting as a mentor to a new , nurse—an 18-week commitment. These points can then be redeemed for a range of rewards, from a $5 coffee card good at the espresso cart out front of the hospital, to a variety of gift cards in varying denominations (Target, Home Depot, and Macy’s are some popular ones). Employees can also redeem points for merchandise from the gift shop for USC scrubs, or for a night at the RitzCarlton. Noting the demand for this kind of incentive program, and the advantages it has over monetary systems of reward, eShift is going to be introducing its own points-based rewards program next month. “I’ve watched this happen for a number of years, [where] the nurses want more pay, but once an increase in pay is put in, the enthusiasm for it wears off pretty quickly,” says Gleason. “Rewards can be a little more varied and a little more interesting. It’s not just flat money.” Staying ahead of the game, BidShift has already expanded ShiftRewards, partnering with SEI Meetings & Incentives to offer a vast, tiered online merchandise catalog from which nurses are now able to make selections. USC has already signed up for this service, which relieves the hospital from having to stock and help the nurses redeem the gift cards and merchandise in house. The shift to SEI will allow clients to do all of this automatically, where employees can see how many points they have in their account, choose rewards from SEI’s catalog, and have their rewards mailed directly to them, saving everyone time and giving the worker a lot more choice in his or her rewards. Though the programs are expanding their incentive options, they have already proved themselves effective in saving hospitals time and money, as the facilities can more efficiently schedule their own full-time nurses programs offer nurses looking for available shifts. While before, they could only see what shifts were available in their own unit, using BidShift and eShift allows employees to see all available shifts that they are qualified for (the programs are able to track nurses’ competency levels to verify that they are able to work in various units or capacities). This gives nurses more options if they want to take on more shifts, and actually boosts the workers’ attitudes by having more full-time staff on the floors. M o ra l e B o o s t e r “[Using BidShift] is better for the morale in the unit, because the nurses are working side by side with someone they know, and they don’t have to worry about this agency nurse and what they might know and not know,” says Whalen. By allowing employees to more easily work in other units, there is increased likelihood that nurses who want a change will transfer across units instead of out of the hospital completely. Whalen reports that the control nurses have over their scheduling through BidShift has aided retention. Sun Health, which introduced BidShift in early 2006, has seen turnover drop by nearly 10 percent in the past year, moving the company’s hospitals from above the state average to below it. Computer-based systems like BidShift and eShift also ensure fairness in the assignment of shifts, which helps cut down on any favoritism or last-minute trades between coworkers. “The process of staffing is much less adversarial,” says Zismann. “What it used to be was the staff would hold off until they could get the highest incentive, the managers would know who they could always call, and now, instead, it really puts it back on the staff. They can put in [a request], and they know what all the rules are, and it’s applied the same throughout.” Employees at Sun Health can redeem points for a range of rewards while relying less on outside staffing agencies. Spartanburg Regional Medical Center’s use of eShift led to a decrease in its use of agency nurses, resulting in a savings of almost $2.5 million in its first year of using the program. Six months after putting BidShift in place, Tucson Medical Center had cut its use of temporary contract nurses by almost half. The reason for this increased use of staffers comes from the better transparency these 40 | Incentive | February 2008 | incentivemag.com http://www.incentivemag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Incentive - February 2008

Incentive Magazine - February 2008 Editor’s Note: Archie and the Boys In The News Cover Story: On The Ball Incentives Incentive Primer: How to Use Sporting Events Incentive Interview: Jim Avery on Doing the Right Thing Employee Empowerment Motivates and Pays Dividends Hospitals, Nurses Win With Flexible Scheduling Legal Ease: Safety Programs and Unions Case Study: The Weitz Company Retains Its Boomers Potentials: Here and Now Star Power in the Kitchen Awards: Gift Card Trends for the New Year Travel News The Manhattanization of Las Vegas Classics Renewed: Monaco and France Advertiser Index Off The Cuff: Tumi’s Mike Landry

Incentive - February 2008

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