An Insightful Interview with Stuart Downs, DNP, RN, CENP, CPHQ, NEA-BC, FAONL, FACHE
Stuart Downs, Nursing Administrator at Northside Hospital Gwinnett in Lawrenceville, GA is not your typical nurse leader. After reconstructive foot surgery forced him to pivot from his nursing career as a critical care nurse, he decided to become a nurse leader, where he could further assist those who care for patients.
What sets Stuart apart are several traits and innovative programs that allow him to engage, retain and re-engage his nurses at a time when vacancies in Critical Care are rampant.
Stuart has ZERO vacancies in this crucial area. Why?
It’s mainly due to Stuart’s authenticity combined with a program he lovingly calls “Great Nurses for a Great Community,” which encompasses the following leadership programs and traits.
Recruitment at Resignation
The reality is that Travel Nursing usually pays more than full-time employment. And while it doesn’t always offer the stability and benefits of being a full-time staff member, Stuart understands that sometimes nurses just need to make extra money – at least for a short time.
When a nurse tells Stuart (or a member of his team) they’re leaving for a travel position, he understands that life happens, and doesn’t make them feel embarrassed or guilty about it. He realizes that when the immediate financial need is alleviated and that nurse is ready for full-time employment again, his best chance of re-recruiting them and filling critical vacancies in his own organization is to refuse to burn that bridge.
He truly understands and lovingly reminds them that no one will love them, invest in them or care for them more than he will, so if and when the time comes for them to get back into a full-time position, he will welcome them with open arms.
So far, he has re-recruited almost 50 nurses back to his hospital over the last several months!
How do you react when someone tells you they have to leave? Do you try to “guilt” them into staying or resentfully kick them out the door? Or do you let them know they will always have a “home” with you?
Consistent Culture of Caring & a “You Stayed” Campaign
Stuart’s focus is on people and he walks his talk while they are employed with him, so they know his re-recruitment promises are not simply lip service. His “You Stayed” Campaign encompasses several programs to reward people for remaining loyal, including:
Reducing burnout from multiple extra shifts and getting more volunteers to work them: Nurses are already working extra shifts; Stuart feels that it’s time to put more money in their pockets, rather than always in the pockets of contract nurses.
In this program, nurses sign a contract stating that they will only be asked to work one extra shift per week for the next 12 weeks, but will earn a significant bonus for doing so. As a result of this program, nurses volunteered for well over 1,500 extra shifts in a 12-week period, resulting in a significant savings over hiring high-dollar contract nurses for all these shifts.
Real-Time Rounding: This is a program of shared leadership that gives nurses a voice. When they were asked about the cart full of sweets provided on rounds, nurses asked for healthier snacks. This was changed to a massive fruit cart and the nurses love it!
Written appreciation: During the holidays, Stuart writes a letter to the family members of each person working for him, thanking them for sharing their loved one(s) during the holidays and letting them know of their profound impact on patients who need hospitalization during these times. Both nurses and their families love these extra notes of appreciation from Stuart.
Do you “walk your talk” by consistently focusing on your people? Or do you re-focus on recognition and rewards only when someone threatens to leave?
All of these programs represent a culture of caring that also helps Stuart with the last piece of the puzzle:
Campaign for Recognizing Contract Nurses.
Let’s face it: due in part to the recent “Great Resignation,” having a pool of contract nurses is critical to the success of most hospitals. Stuart lets his contract nurses know that he realizes the hospital couldn’t have made it without them, so in addition to appreciating his permanent staff, he has implemented a recognition program for Travel Nurses. So many contract nurses love the culture at Stuart’s organization that he has added over 30 permanent staff members from these nurses alone!
Do you have a program to reward all of the people who contribute to your success? It’s essential to reward full-time employees but don’t forget about the part-time and contract workers who also contribute.
These innovative programs have helped Stuart’s organization achieve enviable results in leadership, employee engagement, hiring and retention. But the most wonderful thing about Stuart is that he is so enthusiastic and committed to showing his people how much he values them that it just oozes out of him… and it shows in his results.
With all the hype around the difficulty finding people who actually want to work (don’t believe ALL the hype!), remember that recent research shows that, as a whole, our younger generations are a bit leery of self-employment, with its high health insurance costs and lack of financial stability and predictability.
Many prefer to build their careers at larger organizations, but they need to know that the organization they decide to work for truly cares about them and their lives.
We can all take a lesson from Stuart and get excited about finding innovative ways to solve our hiring, engagement and retention issues, rather than simply wringing our hands about the “Great Resignation” and the lack of people who want to work.
They’re out there. All we have to do is show that we care about them as people.
