Best of 2025: 9 zero-budget staff motivators that beat a pay raise

Editor’s note: As we close out the calendar year, we wanted to revisit some of the best stories we’ve published this year both to remember our triumphs, but also as inspiration to take your practice to the next level in the new year.

Turnover is eating medical practices alive. A recent Press Ganey survey of nearly 350,000 health care workers found that employee engagement inched up in 2024, yet almost one in four respondents were still scanning job boards for something better. For small offices that can’t simply open the checkbook, the question is brutal: How do you keep good people from walking when salaries already feel tapped out?

The encouraging news is that once basic needs are met, money rarely tops the wish list. Frontline nurses, billers and receptionists crave flexibility, respect and growth, none of which requires another line in the budget. Here are nine no-cost tactics to lift morale today and retention tomorrow.