Recruiting and retaining top LPN talent: Best practices

Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) are healthcare providers who work closely with physicians and registered nurses (RNs) to deliver primary patient care directly to people who are sick, injured, or disabled. They work in various settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes, home clinics, and other private healthcare settings. Before framing strategies to hire an LPN and retain that talent, it is essential to acknowledge the major cause of LPN turnover in healthcare facilities. 

Since the LPNs work more closely with the patients in need and perform basic care duties, they will have to work longer rotating shifts. Due to this, there is a huge chance they will feel exhausted and eventually burn out during peak periods. According to a survey by the American Nurses Association, around 62% of nurses are reported to have experienced burnout. Moreover, the survey also found that burnout was the leading reason for staff turnover in many healthcare facilities. Due to the high turnover rate and the aging baby boom population, there is a huge demand for LPNs, and it is projected to increase by 5%  from 2022 to 2032, as per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Best practices to hire an LPN 

There are various factors to be considered when you hire an LPN, including their educational qualification, experience, certifications, and license. As per a study published in the National Institutes of Health portal, almost 30% of newly recruited nurses leave their jobs in the first year. This can be prevented when we take adequate measures in the initial recruitment stage. Here are some best practices to be followed when you hire an LPN.

• Detailed job descriptions: Ensure that you provide a detailed and transparent description of the job role available within your facility. Posting a well-tailored job description with the unique features and benefits offered by your facility can help you attract top LPN talent.
• Competitive compensation: Competitive pay based on market standards is one of the main factors prioritized by LPNs when considering an employment opportunity. Along with compensation, providing additional perks such as allowances, accommodation, flexible schedules, etc can help you hire an LPN.
• Utilize referrals: A highly effective method for hiring LPNs is to leverage referrals from your existing staff. Building employee referral programs and offering rewards for successful referrals can improve employee engagement in the hiring process, thus helping you to recruit the top LPN talent.
• Structured interview procedure:  Establish a well-structured and streamlined interview process as per your facility’s needs. While interviewing, make sure that you ask targeted questions that align with your facility’s specific requirements to assess whether the candidate is apt for the role.
• Detailed compliance check: Performing a thorough credentialing and compliance check before you hire an LPN is essential for ensuring regulatory compliance. Even though the process can be a bit lengthy, it is always advisable to do proper credentialing and compliance checks to avoid any risks or issues that may arise in the future.

Best practices to retain top LPN talent

Just like hiring the top LPN talent, it is also a challenging task to retain the existing workforce. However, with proper retention strategies in place, the turnover rates can be reduced, and your facility will have an experienced workforce in the domain. Here are some best retention practices:

• Work-life balance: Work-life balance is crucial, especially for people in busy job roles like LPNs. To reduce burnout and improve employee retention, you can initiate strategies like flexible work schedules, adequate paid time offs, and other wellness initiatives. 

• Inclusive work environment: Foster a safe working environment within your facility where no one is left out, and mutual respect is promoted. Having a fair and unbiased policy can create an inclusive work environment where everyone gets equal opportunities in terms of promotion and recognition.
• Clear career progression paths: Offering opportunities for the hired LPNs to upskill them via various cross-training programs and supplying chances to practice the newly attained skill enhances career development and boosts retention. You can also employ a structured approach to track the progress, review performance, and provide feedback to help your staff have a clear career progression path.
• Review pay and benefits based on market standards: Periodically review the compensation and benefits provided to your employees to ensure that they align with current market standards. Also, the expertise, skill sets, certifications, and soft skills of the hired LPN should be considered while reviewing the compensation packages. 
• Reduce administrative tasks: Minimize the burdensome administrative tasks on your LPNs by optimizing workflow using technologies and assigning administrative staff to support such duties. This approach improves job satisfaction and creates a higher impact on patient outcomes.

Hire an LPN via MedSquirrels’ platform and skip heavy markups!

Implementing best practices not only helps in attracting and hiring top LPNs but also in encouraging a workplace culture that prioritizes employee well-being and nurtures long-term retention, leading to improved patient care outcomes in the dynamic healthcare landscape. However, an efficient alternative is to collaborate with an LPN recruitment agency to effectively manage the LPN hiring for your facility. This not only saves your time but can also help you hire the top LPN talent across the industry. 

MedSquirrels is a leading healthcare staffing platform in the USA that staffs top contract, contract-to-hire, and permanent hire LPNs in the most cost-effective and time-saving manner. A distinguishable feature of MedSquirrels compared to other LPN staffing agencies is that we work on a flat fee model. Unlike other LPN recruitment agencies that charge heavy markups, our platform just charges the payroll cost and a flat license fee. To know more about MedSquirrels’ transparent pricing model, request a demo today!