As baby boomers retire, managing and retaining a workforce increasingly comprised of millennials has become another healthcare administrative challenge. At a time when we face a nursing shortage, it’s important to understand some general values of millennials to recruit and retain the best nurses from this generation.

As a regional program director for The DAISY Foundation, I often visit healthcare organizations using The DAISY Award to meaningfully recognize their nurses for the compassionate care they provide. The DAISY Award is an example of meaningful recognition, one of the six elements of a healthy work environment as described by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.

When visiting “DAISY” organizations, I’ve witnessed the impact of meaningful recognition and The DAISY Award as it crosses generations. I have especially noted its impact on millennial nurses. The look of gratitude in the eyes of a young nurse recognized by more senior nurses for The DAISY Award, builds bridges of gratitude between generations. During DAISY Award presentations, I’ve observed millennial nurses embrace their colleagues of all generations, celebrating with them in the extraordinary work that they share as nurses.

In these celebrations, each DAISY honoree is presented a certificate, a DAISY pin and a statue entitled, “Healer’s Touch,” carved by a tribe in Zimbabwe. The tribe’s work is supported by The DAISY Foundation.

We often receive notes from DAISY honorees who express their gratitude for the existence of The DAISY Award. One note resonated with the theme of making an impact; a theme the millennial generation embraces.

“… When I heard how The DAISY Award came to be, you can’t, as a nurse, not be touched … This foundation makes me want to give back to my community even more. The statue was such a perfect symbol of caring and knowing it also is providing for the welfare of tribes in Africa – so awesome!!”

The voices and contributions of the millennial generation will continue to grow and their contributions will need to be recognized in a way that is meaningful and affirms value for them.

The DAISY Award is used by more than 4,000 facilities throughout the United States and in 25 other countries. The continued growth is attributed to the success of The DAISY Award program in these facilities and to the open communication between organizations about its impact.

Meaningful recognition can help retain and recruit great nurses, which makes good business sense. More importantly, it makes great people sense. Millennials will resonate and thrive in a culture where all generations work together, providing exceptional and compassionate care. The DAISY Award is an exemplar in acknowledging the positive impact this generation of nurses makes in the lives of others.