The Importance of On-the-Job Engagement for Nurses and 10 Strategies for Improving Nurse Engagement

When asking a nurse to shed light on what a typical workday is like for them, you might encounter a silent smirk, wide eyes with raised eyebrows, a snort followed by a headshake, or even a bout of sudden laughter.

These reactions might resonate with you because you know there’s no such thing as a typical day for a nurse.

Nursing can be unpredictable, overwhelming, tiresome, stressful, and incredibly rewarding. When fully engaged, a nurse’s commitment and satisfaction can outweigh the emotional and physical exhaustion that can come with the job.

Since nurse burnout continues to be a risk, how do you get nurses more engaged?   

In this article, we will divulge ten strategies of implementation that may improve nurse engagement and reduce burnout.

Table of Contents

• What Do Current Statistics Say About the Level of Engagement Nurses Feel on the Job?
• Factors That Contribute to Lack of Engagement for Nurses
• How Do You Get Nurses More Engaged?
• Improving Nurse Engagement: 10 Strategies To Implement
• Trusted Managed Services: Helping Facilities Improve Nurse Engagement and Reduce Burnout With Contingent Staffing Solutions

What Do Current Statistics Say About the Level of Engagement Nurses Feel on the Job?

Nurse engagement can often be measured by employee satisfaction with the workplace, intention to stay, and the likelihood of recommending the employer.

A nursing workforce study conducted by NCSBN and the National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers found that 610,388 RNs reported “intent to leave” the workforce by 2027 due to stress, burnout, and retirement. 

Further statistics from the Press Ganey employee engagement database found that 19% of RNs who were at an organization in 2022 left in 2023. An astounding one-third of the healthcare workforce reported being unengaged, making them two times more likely to leave their job than their highly-engaged peers.

This high turnover risk can cost an average organization around $25 million a year in lost revenue reinforcing that an engaged nursing workforce is essential for any organization to not only survive but thrive.

This data demonstrates the critical challenge that healthcare administrators are facing today. Improved nurse engagement is crucial for building and maintaining optimal organizational outcomes.

Trusted Managed Services is a healthcare MSP (managed service provider) that can help you improve nurse engagement. Working like an external human relations department, we can ensure the availability of clinical staff and handle your contingent labor staffing challenges.

Why Is It Important for Nurses To Feel Engaged?

Research shows that nurses with higher work engagement have higher job satisfaction, lower intention to leave their jobs, and provide better quality of care.

When nurses feel engaged with their organization and profession it may lead to reduced:

• Burnout
• Turnover
• Compassion fatigue

Nurse engagement can improve retention, saving organizations the costs associated with replacing employees who quit. Healthcare organizations may also see positive impacts from nurse engagement through employee productivity and efficiency, fewer errors, and better patient outcomes.

Factors That Contribute to Lack of Engagement for Nurses

Here are some factors that may contribute to a lack of engagement and negatively affect nurses’ experience on the job:

• Low compensation
• Long work hours
• Fatigue and burnout
• Minimal benefits
• Lack of support
• Limited resources
• Uncooperative work environment

How Do You Get Nurses More Engaged?

Providing nursing staff with clear communication, support, and recognition fosters engagement and boosts nurses’ job satisfaction and motivation. Discussed below are the strategies that leadership can implement to increase nurse engagement and achieve positive results within a healthcare organization.

Improving Nurse Engagement: 10 Strategies To Implement

#1: Acknowledge the Difficulty of the Job

Caregiving requires a great deal of physical and emotional strength. Recognizing that a nurse’s job is difficult can be a simple step and may help nurses feel seen and understood.

Acknowledging nurses’ efforts and genuinely praising good outcomes shows empathy and can be extremely meaningful and effective.

Here are some ways that may show nurses that they are valued and appreciated:

• Verbal praise and recognition: Simply saying “thank you” or “I appreciate and understand what you went through today” can go a long way in boosting morale and motivation.
• Celebrating special occasions and achievements: Recognizing birthdays, work anniversaries, or completion of a special training program with small tokens of appreciation, such as flowers or a card, can help create a positive work environment.
• Celebrate National Nurses Week: Every May, recognize the invaluable contributions these nurses have made and celebrate their achievements.

#2: Create an Environment Where Nurses Feel Empowered To Speak Up

Research indicates that empowered nurses display more authority, higher performance, and increased awareness of their contribution to organizational goals than less empowered nurses do.

So, how do you get nurses more engaged through empowerment?

Here are some ways to create an environment where nurses feel empowered:

• Start the conversation: Discover if your nurses have enough staff, adequate supplies, the right technology, and manageable workloads.
• Encourage open dialogue: Active listening to nurses fosters a collaborative approach to problem-solving and creates a culture of respect.
• Promote a non-disciplinary environment: Encourage open and honest communication so that staff may feel confident and comfortable addressing concerns before they become problematic.
• Be receptive to feedback: Establishing a feedback culture is modeled by leader behavior that values input and minimizes defensive responses. This encourages sustainable learning opportunities and builds credibility, contributing to positive resolutions.

These methods of open communication may empower nurses to speak up which can, according to research, lead to:

• Better patient care
• Increased safety
• Improved satisfaction
• More effective teamwork

#3: Take Action To Make Change Where You Can

Active listening is essential for open communication, but just listening alone is not enough to ensure that nurses feel heard — it’s what leadership can do about what they hear that counts.

According to research, the perception of feeling listened to is two times greater among those who shared their thoughts with leaders who then took action rather than just listened. 

When it’s possible, taking action after actively listening to nurses’ perspectives and concerns can improve nurse engagement and establish trust.

Some ways in which leadership can practice actions after active listening include:

• Fixing the problem or issue
• Authorizing the implementation of a solution
• Following up with the employee
• Advocating for higher-ups to act on the issue or suggestion

#4: Provide Access To Ongoing Training and Education

Ongoing career development encouraged by leadership can improve nurse engagement and validate to nurses that their professional skills and expertise are held in high esteem. Providing nurses with continued education and training may bring your organization a huge payoff by:

• Improving competencies
• Creating versatility
• Developing leaders

Continuous learning programs help nurses take control of their careers.

A study performed by Bright Horizons suggests that the majority of nurses are fully invested in learning. With 62% of nurses stating that they’re either currently continuing their education or would consider further education, the retention benefits of providing ongoing training and education are clear.

Nurses want to learn — and they are willing to commit to employers who make learning possible. 

In fact, according to the same study, one in four young nurses would only accept a job that offered training and education.

Improving nurse engagement through education might be an effective way for nurses to gain new knowledge, reinforce pre-existing skills, and rediscover their love for the profession.

#5: Make Safety a Priority—For Patients and Nurses

Working in an unsafe environment that requires nurses to be responsible for more patients than they can handle can lead to disengagement, burnout, and poor quality of care for the patient.

One study examined survey responses from thousands of nurses across hundreds of hospital settings. Its results revealed that higher levels of nurse engagement and more favorable nurse-to-patient staffing ratios were consistently associated with positive patient safety ratings.

Health facilities can prioritize safety by addressing staffing shortages. Utilizing contingent staff is a great way to provide favorable nurse-to-patient ratios. 

Trusted Managed Services can help increase your staffing and help you set up your contingent workforce program. 

Our MSP can streamline all of the processes associated with your on-demand pool of contingent staff including hiring, onboarding, timesheets, payments, reporting and analytics, and so much more.

Schedule a free consultation today to learn more about our Trusted Managed Services.

#6: Promote Self-Care and a Comfortable Work-Life Balance

Promoting self-care and a comfortable work-life balance is becoming increasingly important as millennials begin to dominate the workplace.

Harvard Business conducted a survey to find out what constituted a comfortable work-life balance defined by millennials. Overall, the dominate definitions of work-life balance included:

• Enough leisure time for my private life (57%)
• Flexible work hours (45%)
• Recognition and respect for employees (45%)

A cross-sectional survey analysis was completed on work-life balance concerning burnout. Common indicators that signaled a lack of self-care or work-life balance included:

• Skipping or eating poorly balanced meals
• Missing breaks
• Working late
• Getting insufficient sleep
• Being unable to attend to non-work needs
• Having to change personal plans to accommodate work demands

Evaluating any occurrence of these behaviors can help objectively assess whether work-life integration is lacking at your organization.

Improving nurse engagement through added benefits such as flexible scheduling, family leave, and childcare may enhance your nurses’ quality of life, organizational outcomes, and quality of care for patients.

#7: Support Teamwork and Optimized Work Flows

Leadership is responsible for ensuring that nursing staff get any education and training needed for practicing effective teamwork, as it is essential for the success of nearly any healthcare organization.

Research shows that effective teamwork can help keep nurses focused and engaged. The principles that characterize a successful healthcare team include:

• Shared goals
• Clear roles
• Efficient and clear communication
• Measurable process and outcomes
• Effective leadership

Although effective teamwork can set your staff up for success, working as a nurse can still be exhausting due to understaffing and long working hours.

To optimize your staff’s time at work you can improve scheduling to ensure adequate coverage for all shifts. Here are some ways to optimize workflow:

• Limit overtime and shift lengths.
• When possible, allow nurses input into their scheduling.
• Automate busy work to give nurses more time to perform quality work.
• Consider implementing MSP software that can streamline daily processes to improve workflow and increase your overall program efficiency.

#8: Ensure Your Nurses Are in the Best Position

Organizations can increase nurse engagement with a quality onboarding process. Leadership can help nurses find the position that fits them best by evaluating:

• Aptitudes
• Skill levels
• Preferences
• Goals

Every nurse has different strengths and interests — making sure they’re in the best position available for them increases the likelihood that they will be satisfied and productive in their roles.

A nurse in their best position who is allowed to excel tends to be more engaged and less likely to leave their job.

#9: Acknowledge Success and Achievements

Patting a hard-working nurse on the back for their success and achievement can improve nurse engagement by: 

• Providing a vital boost to continue their excellence
• Creating happiness for their job well done
• Establishing a positive work environment

Acknowledging nurse success and achievement can be tangible, but it doesn’t have to be. Verbal recognition offers direct and immediate feedback that reinforces a positive work culture and encourages employees to continue their efforts.

Here are some ways that leadership can acknowledge nurse success and create engagement:

• Verbal praise
• Thank you notes
• Employee of the month/year awards
• Recognition boards
• Service anniversary awards
• Certification and training completion recognition

#10: Utilize Contingent Nursing Staff

Healthcare facilities frequently struggle with staffing shortages due to a variety of reasons, including:

• Seasonal demand fluctuations
• Unexpected leaves
• Sudden surges in patient volume 

To offset the ongoing shortage, hospital and health system leaders can support staff nurses by creating a solid contingent team — creating a more balanced workload for staff nurses.

Contingent nursing staff can help reduce the need for excessive overtime, and it allows permanent staff the opportunity to take much-needed time off without compromising patient care.

Utilizing contingent nursing staff gives healthcare organizations the flexibility to scale their workforce up or down as needed and align with budget constraints and patient needs.

An MSP, like Trusted Managed Services, combines process, practice, and technology to help you streamline, simplify, and manage the entire contingent workforce supply chain.

Here are some advantages of using an MSP to help you manage your contingent workforce include:

• Cost: By reducing time to hire and time to fill, an MSP can increase the productivity and performance of your contingent workforce, reducing the costs of hiring, training, and replacing workers.

• Quality: An MSP provides access to a larger and more diverse pool of talent for your contingent workforce and implements rigorous screening and assessment processes to ensure that your contingent workers will strive to uphold your standards.
• Risk: Through a gap analysis an MSP can help you mitigate the risks associated with your contingent workforce, validating that your organization is in compliance with laws, regulations, and standards.

Trusted Managed Services: Helping Facilities Improve Nurse Engagement and Reduce Burnout With Contingent Staffing Solutions

Staffing shortages continue to wreak havoc on the healthcare industry, creating a vicious cycle of overworked healthcare professionals wondering if they are in the right profession. To get through this, you’ll want to navigate staffing challenges with an MSP you can trust.

Trusted Managed Services offers a customizable and comprehensive solution to your facility’s staffing challenges, allowing you to improve patient care through nursing engagement.

With Trusted Managed Services, your team has the tools to:

• Identify candidates faster: Instead of your human resources department sifting through thousands of candidates and resumes, your MSP can instantly connect you with candidates that meet your specific requirements and expectations.
• Gain insights on your hiring process: Utilize our industry knowledge to get a clear understanding of any gaps in staffing, how many hours you need to keep your facility properly staffed, and how much it’s all going to cost.
• Spend less on contingent staff: Get high-level comprehension into competitive pay for contingent staff and easily convert temporary staff to permanent staff.
• Focus on retention: Helping to reduce high turnover, you’ll have more time to spend researching and implementing ways to offer staff flexibility and will be able to improve staff development and retention rates.

If you’re seeking nurse engagement strategies to stop losing nurses and improve nurse engagement, our MSP solutions can optimize your recruiting process and maximize your resources with invaluable data. 

If you’re ready to elevate your nurse staffing strategy, request a demo today.