Employee Engagement

High turnover is a growing concern among healthcare employers because it has a direct effect on employee satisfaction as well as patient care. It affects how employees interact with patients, how much effort they’re willing to put in their work, and how often they’re going to miss work because they simply just don’t want to be there. If this is the case, the most important question you must ask is: “Why do I have a high turnover rate?” Reasons may include but are not limited to:

It’s no secret that employee engagement is a key driver of performance and productivity at any workplace. In healthcare, specifically, engaged employees offer fewer mistakes, put the patient first, and build stronger and more effective teams.

Stories are highly effective communication tools, partly because they bring a sense of enjoyment. Whether it’s this morning’s front page headlines or the latest box office hit, stories are the key elements that engage audiences. But how can this be applied to your healthcare organization?

As HR departments seek ways to be more strategic, they’re looking at workforce analytics. A report by Deloitte says less than a quarter of companies felt ready or somewhat ready to use analytics in 2015; in 2016, 32 percent of companies did. By some accounts, healthcare organizations are lagging on this trend, but the advantages they could gain through people analytics are numerous.

Healthcare human resources leaders continue to face challenges in adapting to today’s changing healthcare demands. For example, with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), hospitals and other health systems are now held at higher standards of accountability in delivering quality patient care.

With the healthcare industry’s move towards value-based care, consumerism has become increasingly relevant for the success of healthcare organizations. Research, however, has shown that healthcare employers are not ready for this emerging trend. Although the majority of hospitals and health systems recognize the importance of consumerism most have not put consumerism into action, according to the first annual State of Consumerism in Healthcare survey by Kaufman Hall and Cadent Consulting Group.

The effectiveness of your performance management strategy may be one of the most important facets contributing to your healthcare organization’s long-term success. The fundamental goal is to work together to improve employee efficiency, maximize talent, and assess progress to ensure employees are meeting their objectives and career goals. It’s a continuous process that empowers, inspires and engages employees in ways that foster ongoing learning and improvement, making your people a competitive advantage.

Company culture has been a hot topic for employers across all sectors in recent years, and for good reason. According to Josh Bersin, Founder and Principal at Bersin by Deloitte, there is a retention crisis and research reveals that establishing a successful culture is among the top three talent challenges facing business leaders today.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) recently released the report, Critical Conversations on the Changing Health Environment: Physician Engagement. The report discusses the historical divide between clinical leadership and hospital administration and the necessity to bridge the gap in the new healthcare environment where delivering high quality patient care and improving population health outcomes have become increasingly important factors for long-term success.

The idea that employee engagement is key to a healthcare organization’s success is true. In fact, a Deloitte study reveals that culture, engagement, and retention have emerged as top issues for business leaders. Eighty-seven percent of organizations cite that it’s their top challenge and 50 percent call the problem “very important.”