Staff Incentives Pay Dividends at St Andrew's Aged Care Village, Ballina

St Andrews Aged Care Facility is located in Ballina on the North Coast of NSW. It has 117 residential places with a large role in dementia care. As described in previous QPS Newsletter articles from St Andrews the management is not frightened of "thinking outside of the box" and their staff incentive scheme is another example of their inventiveness.

The results of the Fire and Emergency Competency Test highlight the impact of their incentive based education program.

It can be seen from their trend analysis that St Andrew's has now had four consecutive years of continual improvement. Starting at 79% the facility has improved each year to now rank among the very best in the data base. Even more impressive has been the big jump in participation from 42 participants last year to 76 this year.

The management at St Andrews attributes this success to several factors. Firstly, this year has been an accreditation year and the staff members have shown strong motivation to do well. A more intense focus on educational outcomes has been one factor in their accreditation preparation.

Secondly, the facility introduced a $50 Myer Voucher draw for all staff that scored 80%+. It was noticeable to management that staff spent a little more time completing the test and more discussion on "what was the right answer" was observed during and after the testing period. The Fire Officer observed an unprecedented number of queries about fire procedures this year.

The fire officer at St Andrew's instructs staff on the safe use of fire extinguishers.

The third and perhaps most interesting strategy has been the introduction of an Education Bonus in 2008. Staff members receive a $200 gift voucher for completing 10 self learning packages in their own time. When the program started there were 82 packages in the resource library and in the first year 643 self learning packages (SLP) were completed with 62 of approximately 140 staff participating. During 2008, 54 staff members were successful in getting the bonus. This year 782 SLP have been completed with 81 staff participating and 62 receiving the bonus. The Fire Safety and Infection Competency Tests were also added to the requirements along with attendance of at least two general staff meetings.

Chief Executive Officer Phillip Carter adds "that unlike two to three years ago, staff members are now much more willing to put their names on the tests and this indicates the growth of a culture that is based on teamwork and support." The program is also linked to the staff performance and development program as managers are able to recommend various packages to staff.