Employee engagement is critical in any industry, but especially so in healthcare, where leaders, and employees, are tasked with responding to significant, transformational changes to the industry and to their organizations' business models.
Employee engagement isn't easily achieved, but there are many things healthcare leaders can do to swing the pendulum toward satisfied, engaged employees.
Vicki Hess, RN, an employee engagement expert and author of the book, "6 Shortcuts to Employee Engagement: Lead & Succeed in a Do-More-with-Less World" (Healthcare Edition, August 2013), discussed the importance of employee engagement and how healthcare leaders can drive physician and staff engagement within their organizations, in a recent interview with Becker's Hospital Review.
Question: One common problem with employee engagement in healthcare is that organizations really only worry about engagement when it's time for the employee survey. In your book, you advocate that employee engagement must be part of ongoing hospital strategy. Why is this so important?
Vicki Hess: Employee engagement has been shown to be a driver of positive results in many areas including patient satisfaction, quality and safety. If a healthcare organization is serious about positively impacting engagement, there needs to be a strategic component to drive focus and action over time. When executive leaders are committed (through thought, word and deed) to creating an engaging environment, employees take notice.
Having said that, a key tenent of the book is the It Takes 3™ model, which says that engagement is contingent upon the commitment form the organization at a strategic level, the leaders at a tactical level and individuals at a personal level. When all three elements are present, engagement rises.
Q: A key portion of the book is dedicated to explaining how organizations can reduce "POWs" — drivers of disengagement — and increase "WOWs" — drivers of engagement. Can you explain these concepts and give some examples of how leaders can both reduce POWs and grow WOWs?
VH: A POW is something internal or external that feels like a heavy blow. Healthcare is full of external POWs right now (decreasing reimbursement, changing models of care, new IT systems, etc.). Leaders can't always change these POWs (in fact, many times leaders are introducing the POWs). They can however be open and honest and explain the "why" behind the POW. Leaders can also coach employees on how to manage their response to these external POWs. By identifying the Perpetual, Predictable and Preventable POWs that the team experiences, leaders can drive positive change.
On the flip side are WOWs. A WOW is something internal or external that gets you satisfied & energized. Fortunately healthcare is full of WOWs when it comes to making a real difference in a patient's life or lifestyle. Leaders can help to grow WOWs through positive connections, recognition and gratitude practices. Adding levity and humor to the workplace is another way to grow WOWs. Healthcare is a serious business, but leaders don't need to take themselves too seriously.
Q: You argue healthcare organizations must measure engagement in ways beyond an annual employee survey. Can you discuss some of the less formal ways leaders can measure employee engagement?
VH: In the book, I describe four ways to measure engagement on a regular basis. These methods include 1) Regularly conducting an environment scan; 2) Incorporating engagement into regular rounding with staff; 3) Including measuring of engagement in regular one-on-one meetings; and, 4) using team meetings as a venue for checking in. Creative leaders also add employee engagement to their PI/QI/Lean daily management boards and measures. Making employee engagement measures visual promotes shared responsibility (for more information on this topic, read my Becker’s article on Lean and engagement).
The key to making these regular activities measurable is to keep track of the data as you go through the actions. What trends do you see? What's working? What's not? Tying these to the overall action plan from your engagement survey brings all the efforts together succinctly. Having a real-time method for tracking engagement provides a distinctive edge, especially in times of rapid change or crisis management.
Q: Last question. Your book encourages leaders to learn what things make individual employees more satisfied, energized and engaged. What are some ways leaders can go about uncovering this?
VH: The best way to uncover what gets each team member satisfied, energized and productive is to ask and listen. I strongly encourage regular (non-performance management related) one-on-one meetings between leaders and direct reports to create connections and further understanding of engagement drivers. In the book, I share specific instructions for the Match Game that allows leaders to connect what gets employees satisfied, energized and productive with what's happening in the workplace. There's also an Engagement Snapshot detailed in the book that acts as a conversation starter for the engagement discussion.
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