RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION STRATEGIES USED BY OCCUPATIONAL-THERAPY DIRECTORS IN ACUTE-CARE, REHABILITATION, AND LONG-TERM-CARE SETTINGS

Objectives. Occupational therapy directors need to recruit and retain therapists to ensure both the delivery of high-quality services and th e viability of their departments. At present, research on the recruitm ent and retention of occupational therapists is limited; recruitment a nd retention strategies can be cited, but their utility and effectiven ess have not been determined. Method. A survey was designed to identif y the recruitment and retention strategies used in various practice se ttings and the perceived level of effectiveness of those strategies th at were used. The surveys were mailed to 500 occupational therapy dire ctors. Once the sample size was adjusted to exclude non-eligible subje cts, the eligible sample size was 471. Of these, 320 (68%) were usable . Results. Ten of the 23 recruitment strategies listed on the survey w ere used by more than 70% of the respondents. The top three recruitmen t strategies were staff member referrals, professional development opp ortunities, and newspaper advertisements. Seventeen of the 23 retentio n strategies listed on the survey were used by more than 70% of the re spondents. The top three retention strategies were interpersonal staff member relationships, employee appraisals, and continuing education. Conclusion. Findings suggest that occupational therapy departments' re cruitment and retention plans could be improved by expanding the numbe r of strategies used and by incorporating techniques that appeal to a broader range of therapists.