There is no more important investment you will make in the care and well-being of your patients and/or residents than creating a work environment where healthcare professionals thrive. Below are three steps for creating workplace conditions where employees are productive and engaged. Even more so, though, where they are personally fulfilled by the work they do, the relationships they create and the differences they make in peoples’ lives.
1.
Create an authentic culture.
Ensure that your organization’s core values are widely known and understood, and that they are role modeled consistently by leadership. Communicate clearly (and often) what these values mean to the organization. Translate them into specific behaviors expected to be exhibited by all. Finally, establish systems for ongoing reinforcement. Embed these expectations in all job descriptions, performance evaluations and reward and recognition systems.
2.
Give all employees ample opportunities to do meaningful work.
Healthcare professionals’ superpower is their caring attitudes. Most entered this field out of a personal commitment and conviction to make a difference in the lives of others. Empowering these deeply caring professionals to connect with patients and families, to personalize care and to express compassion enables them to reach their fullest potential as caregivers. Implement practices like No Pass Zones, Care Partners and shared decision making to create opportunities for connection. In addition, provide skill-building in compassionate communication, mindfulness and active listening to ensure that these caring attitudes are prevalent across the organization.
3.
Create avenues for all employees to voice their ideas for improvement to leadership.
Encourage employees to provide input into ways to enhance organizational performance. Doing so sends the powerful message that what they think – and how their work environment affects them – matters to the organization. This improves morale and builds momentum for continuous improvement while increasing the flow of solutions that will make care and the work environment better. Executive rounds, improvement events and work teams are all avenues that engage employees as solution-finders.
