Phone a Friend: Bonuses Paying Off for Hiring and Keeping New Staff

Referral and retention bonuses are working to help FCCS attract and retain a strong workforce, while also allowing our agency to provide more consistent support to the children and families we serve.

In fact, the most recently reported all-agency retention rate is hovering around 98%... and enlisting current employees to find friends who are qualified candidates to fill positions has helped with that number. 

An FCCS employee who refers someone receives $500 after the person they recruited completes the employee screening process (typically 30 days after hire). They receive an additional $1,000 after their recruit completes the probationary period.

All new employees are eligible to receive a hiring bonus of up to $1,500 with a $1, 000 pay out after completing the screening process and $500 after they’ve been with the agency for a year. 

The hiring incentive plan - which aligns well with our Call to Action of Valuing our Team FCCS Culture - has been in place since 2022 and results are positive. 

Nursing Supervisor Katelynn Gohring took full advantage of the referral program by recommending three candidates: her fiancé David Ford who works in IT, nurse Amy Kinkead, and medical assistant Areanna Ford. 

“They all love it here,” said Katelynn, who eagerly recommended each of them. “I knew they were hard workers with big hearts that could handle the task of taking care of our kiddos.” 

Amy is happy to be part of Team FCCS. “This role can be tough, but I feel that sometimes I do have an impact on a child or family’s life and that makes all the hard times worth it.” 

Areanna says she’s also happy to be here: “I have such an amazing unit that I work with and they’re always willing to help and support each other.” 

“Also, the agency provides a great work life balance and I never have to worry about missing anything with my kids!” Areanna added.  

“We hope that the culture we’re building at FCCS is the driving force behind retention, but recognize that these incentives are helping too,” said FCCS Human Capital Management Analyst Chaylon Hodge. 

From 2023 through 2024, 320 employees received either their initial retention bonus or both the initial and final retention bonuses. During that same period, 63 employees received either their initial referral bonus or both the initial and final referral bonuses. 

The new employees filled a variety of positions including caseworkers, nurses, social service aides, data entry operators, and management analysts.

For the third quarter in 2024, the all-agency turnover rate was only 3.9%.

Maintaining a team of qualified and passionate staff is essential in our efforts to keep kids safer and make families stronger for longer. 

“We want to offer families continuity of care,” said Dr. Mary Miller, our Director of Employee Relations. “The agency needs skilled people with a wealth of experience to ensure families have the supports they need over time.” 

According to Mary, we need everyone to do our best work. “It’s not tied to one position, we need experienced staff from caseworkers to payroll to communications to the entire agency working together to fulfill our mission,” she said.