A plethora of research has linked a favorable work environment to less turnover and higher job satisfaction, and according to the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, recognizing nurses' contributions to their organization is a key pillar for maintaining a healthy work environment.
However, not all recognition is equally meaningful. Beyond just annual weeks of recognition filled with snacks and banners, it's critical that nurses feel their individual contributions matter and are valued by their organization.
Making this a part of an organization's culture requires them to have a comprehensive system in place to ensure there is a sustainable focus on recognizing individual contributions, according to the AACN's Healthy Work Environment standards. The group's data has consistently shown units that implement healthy work environment standards outperform those that do not across many factors including nurse staffing and retention, moral distress, and workplace violence.
In a Dec. 19 LinkedIn post, Beth Kutscher, editor-at-large at LinkedIn News, posed the question to her followers of what meaningful nurse recognition looks like within their organizations. Below are two responses from the thread.
"I will sometimes start my staff meeting with everyone writing a thank you card to another employee," Alex Whitefield, MSN, RN, manager of Steele Street Medical Center, a Kaiser Permanente clinic in Tacoma, Wash., said in response. "It's a great way to take pause and reflect on those around you, show gratitude. They seal them and I mail them to their home addresses. My team will talk about getting a great note from a colleague a week or so later. Or that they read this wonderful comment with their family and their family was so proud of the impact they have at work. It's amazing to get a random note from someone to tell you thank you — and in healthcare that goes a long way."
"Recognition is not just about words, it's about action," wrote Rajkumar Venkatramani, MD, section chief of oncology and director of clinical business operation at Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Center in Houston. "'Meaningful recognition' means including nurses in decision-making and valuing their contributions."