It’s simple. Better staff engagement equals better patient care and a better healthcare organization. When looking at engaged employees, 85% display a genuinely caring attitude at work and 91% view their workplace as dedicated to patient care.
If you’re wondering what steps your organization can take, we’ve got some ideas to give employee engagement a shot in the arm.
Listen and follow up
Your employees have a lot of great ideas. Send out a monthly survey, asking for suggestions or concerns. Whenever you get a response, add it to a list that can be dealt with in a timely manner. And be sure to update staff about how their responses are being addressed. You can do this daily, weekly, monthly or semi-annually, depending on the urgency of the issue.
To ensure the feedback keeps coming, hold a monthly raffle for everyone who participated. Give a useful prize, like a portable cooler.
Recognize staff
Almost two-thirds of staff members say that being recognized makes them less likely to look for a position elsewhere. Celebrate your organization’s major milestones or set goals for each employee. Then reward them when they meet—or exceed—those goals. Get creative by asking departments or groups to go above and beyond, such as getting patients seen within five minutes of their appointment time.
Simple gifts, like chocolate stars, can go a long way toward keeping staff engaged.
Provide mentors
Pairing staff members with a mentor can provide a huge boost to engagement and retention. In fact, 83% of staff members say that a mentoring program increases their chances of staying at their current organization.
The first step is to determine what kind of program would be most beneficial. Consider:
- One-on-one, group or project: Can several of your staff members work with one mentor, or do they need more specialized help?
- Formal or informal: Should meetings simply be a chance to talk and search for advice or do they need a staff-building agenda and timetable?
- Duration and goals: Should mentorships be three, six or 12 months? And how will you measure their success?
Prioritize physical and mental health
Over the last two years, more than 70% of health care staff have experienced anxiety, stress and insomnia. That’s why helping them care for their physical and mental health has never been more important. Keep healthy snacks, such as trail mix or granola bars, in the office for staff.
Organize a lunchtime or after work walking club or, if possible, create a meditation room where staff can pray, relax or perform a calming activity, like stacking Zen stones. And be sure to provide access to health experts, personal trainers or mental health counselors
Create team building opportunities
In a busy office, it’s easy for people to focus more on work and less on the coworkers they encounter on a day-to-day basis. But when staff members get to know each other on a personal level, they’re better able to understand stress points and eliminate conflict and communication barriers.
Whether they’re getting to know each other while enjoying great food or taking part in a charity walk, offering a gift for staff members like a T-shirt can help them feel more like a team. Other great team activity ideas include virtual games, volunteering and a company barbecue or picnic.
Engage your employees
When you show your staff how much they’re valued, it can be a powerful way to improve employee engagement. And for every investment you make in your staff, you’ll get better patient care.