By Theresa Bontempo
Healthcare workers operate in some of the most stressful situations around, and they work tirelessly to give the best possible care to patients. Unfortunately due to high stress, large work loads, and lack of internal support, healthcare staff is susceptible to burnout and high turnover rates. Burnout has been so prevalent in the industry, the number of workers experiencing this is only now beginning to dip below 50%. It doesn’t matter the specialty or the size of the healthcare facility, all employees need to feel engaged in their work in order to prevent errors and provide better patient outcomes.
Employee engagement and satisfaction with their job not only creates better workers, but it has a tangible effect on patients and the success of the healthcare facility as a whole. That’s why we’re discussing:
- Why employee engagement is key
- How to improve employee engagement in healthcare
- Tips that you can implement right now to boost employee satisfaction
Why healthcare employee engagement is key
It’s essential to have engaged employees in a healthcare setting
Having engaged and satisfied healthcare employees provides benefits for both patients and healthcare systems.
While it’s the goal to have engaged and satisfied employees in every industry, it seems to be particularly important in the healthcare field. That’s because healthcare workers are helping patients who are recovering from illness, undergoing treatment, or healing from injuries—which can be life-changing for patients. It’s essential that they feel enthusiastic about their duties and that they feel connected and supported by colleagues, supervisors, and the healthcare administration. Employee engagement in healthcare means that workers find a sense of purpose in their care and treatment of patients, and that they want to see the patient succeed as much as they want to see the facility flourish.
Typically engaged employees are excited about showing up for their shift, and they’re always willing to lend their assistance or advice to the members of their team. Challenges are common in the healthcare field, and collaboration is one of the strongest ways to boost employee communication and engagement. Satisfied employees are much less likely to think about leaving their position, ensuring a lower turnover rate of highly qualified staff.
But healthcare workers not only need to find a purpose in what they’re doing to be satisfied, they also need the backing and support of supervisors and executive level staff. This means ensuring internal communication is prioritized, and that healthcare workers feel like their concerns are considered and addressed. A positive work environment like this ensures that the daily operation of the healthcare system goes smoothly, and that colleagues enjoy being at work and want to help each other out as much as possible. This is a very important component as healthcare teams need to work as a cohesive team during challenges and moments of high stress.
With engaged employees you can expect major benefits such as:
- Better patient care
- Employees that support their coworkers
- The healthcare facility grows and continues to meet the needs of patients
- Reduce staff turnover
How to improve employee engagement in healthcare
The 7 tips you need to know to boost employee engagement in your healthcare establishment
Building a culture of engagement among healthcare employees can be challenging, but can result in major benefits like improving the level of patient care and satisfaction. Image courtesy of All Nursing Schools.
Getting your healthcare workers to feel more engaged means making it easy for them to want to have a positive impact on patients and see their workplace succeed. If you want to level up the connection that your employees feel to their workplace, there are a multitude of ways to do that.
- Digital Signage for Employee Communications
One of the best ways to ensure that employees are engaged each and every day is to have a system of employee engagement software (like Shift) that offers digital signage for internal communications. Screens can be placed anywhere that employees typically gather and are a great way to keep workers engaged throughout their shifts. This is a specialized software that is designed to keep the path of communication open between not only colleagues, but between supervisors as well. Digital signage can be used in a variety of ways to support healthcare employees:
- Streamline important internal communication messages to display across the screen so all employees are aware.
- Recognize team members who went above and beyond what was required, or who have reached an important milestone in their career.
- Provide information for onboarding employees so that they know exactly where to go or find additional assistance or training materials.
- Provide the mission statement and goals of the healthcare facility so employees see everyday what they’re striving for—the best care possible for patients!
- Get feedback from surveys or polls.
Consistency is key when it comes to signage for employee communications, and with Shift you can fully customize the content you want to showcase.
- Offer peer support
Another great way to improve employee engagement in healthcare is to offer a system of peer support or mentorship. Whether it is officially a mentor/mentee relationship or something more casual, this is a very helpful way for less experienced employees to see how to perform duties and respond in times of challenges. Lots of healthcare workers could benefit from having a one on one relationship, which can boost their morale and keep them liking their job for the long run.
Healthcare workers know firsthand how stressful some days can be, especially if they’re dealing with life and death situations. Having someone they can confide in who has been in their position before can be incredibly valuable. Ongoing peer support and mentorships are very beneficial when the participants get to offer their own feedback about what’s working, and what they’d like to see more of.
- Ensure employees have a voice
One of the best ways for employees to become more involved and invested in their workplace is to ensure that they have a voice—and that their feedback is taken seriously. No one likes having a hierarchical system in place that does not value employees’ voices when they’d like to offer an alternative or when something needs to be changed. Providing ways for employees to give feedback on programs, initiatives, or goals can seriously improve their levels of satisfaction with the healthcare system.
Offering options like surveys on a digital signage board specifically for employee communication is a great way to get feedback to the supervisory or executive level. This shows that the healthcare facility’s administration really does care about what employees have to say.
Digital signage for internal communication is one of the best ways to help healthcare employees stay engaged and reduce the high amounts of turnover that can affect the industry. Image courtesy of Grand Canyon University.
- Set goals and offer feedback
Employees need to know what is expected of them to be successful at their job. They also want to know when they’re doing something right, or they’ve made a mistake. The only clear way to do this is to make goals or targets explicit in the workplace, and let workers know when they’re doing well or going above and beyond what is required. People want to know that they’re doing well, but if no one lets them know, they may think that their contributions don’t really matter. Nothing could be further from the case especially in the team-centric approach that is essential in healthcare.
Ongoing feedback is also a great opportunity to point out to employees where they could improve. Open communication about performance and goals ensures that employees feel valued and seen by their employer, and they’ll want to reach those goals or targets and continue to work on areas where they could do better.
- Keep employees engaged with continual learning
Professional development and leadership development are crucial ways in which healthcare employees can really start to feel engaged. No one wants to feel like they’ve leveled off, or that they’re forced to remain stagnant in their position. Most healthcare employees want to continue to learn, so they can be of even more help to their fellow coworkers as well as patients. Giving opportunities to expand skillsets or offer specialized training courses encourages employees to broaden their knowledge, making them even more engaged and valuable workers.
Collaborative environments like healthcare settings thrive when the team can come together to achieve great results. Healthcare systems that put the effort into fostering a learning culture see much more engaged and satisfied employees—who are also much less likely to change jobs.
- Build a culture of trust and transparency
The culture of trust and transparency must be present at all levels of the healthcare workplace, from the top to the bottom. Employers that are making the effort to keep open communication between their employees and include their input in decisions are taking the right step forward towards building a place of trust. You want your healthcare employees to feel like their experiences and concerns are valid, and that the healthcare system is clear on what it needs to work on or change.
Once the administration is aware of some of the pain points or issues that can be changed, it shows they’re really listening to their employees. Surveys and other modes of feedback can offer healthcare employers valuable insights into how employees really feel, and what is working. Reporting results of surveys transparently improves the culture of trust between employees and employers.
- Encourage supervisors and leaders to be available
Healthcare employees want to know that their supervisor is available and willing to listen to their concerns. Leaders who don’t regularly engage with their team shouldn’t expect to get much candid feedback, even if that’s exactly what they want. Instead, encourage supervisors and team leaders to interact with healthcare employees, and assist them when they’re out there with them.
Knowing that the leadership is focusing on building a collaborative team that actively encourages ongoing communication between employees can foster genuine relationships.
How will you engage your healthcare employees?
Engaged employees in the healthcare industry are able to provide the best care possible to patients. When they’re feeling burned out or they lack the support they need, it can lead to disengagement and an increased chance of errors or omissions. Give your healthcare employees the engagement they need with Shift’s employee engagement software and digital signage for communications!
