A large part of building an experience culture at a hospital includes implementing appropriate strategic priorities and programs, according to a research report from the Experience Innovation Network, a part of Vocera.
The report outlines four key priorities on which hospital innovation leaders should focus, including.
1. Setting leadership expectations. Hospital leaders should have an experience-focused vision and set of values to guide leaders' work, and promotion should be based on leadership competency and demonstrated experience skills. Strategic initiatives hospitals should consider include skill- and interest-based experience assignments, leader rounds and mentoring programs.
2. Creating behavior standards. Experience-based behavior standards for the hospital as a whole, as well as for specific job roles, should be created through a collaboration involving frontline staff, physicians and leaders. Job descriptions, hiring criteria, onboarding and promotion should all include an experience element. Training in empathy and communication can also help promote an experience-based culture.
3. Managing performance. Daily work should be clearly defined and workers should have access to visual management resources. Additionally, an experience culture can be built using engagement processes (e.g. rounding and staff huddles), formal and informal recognition and reward programs, and storytelling that inspires an experience focus.
4. Restoring workforce joy. Hospital experience leaders need to recognize the emotional burden that caring for vulnerable patients and families can have on nurses, physicians and other staff. To combat the emotional toll the workforce faces, experience leaders should invest in programs that provide emotional support, including resiliency programming, mindfulness training, healing services resources, burnout prevention, team-building activities and collective celebrations.
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