How do you measure employee engagement in healthcare? You can start by identifying what motivates your staff. If your nurses are happy at work, they will perform their jobs without complaint and may even agree to a more flexible schedule. If care workers are engaged with their work, they may be more willing to work long hours without complaint. Read on for some tips for healthcare employers.
The importance of measuring employee engagement in healthcare cannot be stressed enough. Engaging employees in your healthcare organization increase employee satisfaction and lowers turnover, while disengaged employees negatively affect patient satisfaction. Happy employees are more productive, and happy patients experience better outcomes. Several studies have linked the quality of work performed by employees and patient satisfaction. Therefore, it makes sense to evaluate employee engagement in healthcare with the help of an employee engagement survey.
The following article will examine the key factors in healthcare employee engagement. And don’t forget to measure turnover, motivation, and recognition.
Retention
Turnover rates and motivation levels are indicators of a healthy work environment and high levels of engagement. According to a recent study by Quantum Workplace, only 13% of healthcare workers were actively disengaged from their jobs. High levels of employee engagement are related to employees’ discretionary efforts and commitment to core patient care tenets. For example, in a recent survey, Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital in Miami, Florida, secured an overall favorability score of 92%. In addition, it was among the top 10 hospitals in the country for its overall morale. Nevertheless, CEO Luis Allende-Ruz noted that healthcare employee engagement was an ongoing uphill battle.
Turnover
The study examined the prevalence of turnover intention and associated factors among healthcare employees. Participants were recruited from 31 provinces in mainland China. Hierarchical logistic regressions were used to identify potential factors associated with turnover intention. The results show that turnover intention is more common than one would expect. The findings highlight the importance of retention strategies and various interventions to improve staff satisfaction and reduce turnover.
Motivation
High-performing, engaged employees are more productive. They feel like they are important and have a meaningful role to play. They are less likely to seek outside work opportunities and work harder than necessary. This employee is also emotionally invested in the organization, improving patient outcomes. To understand the key components of employee engagement, consider the definition of “high-performance,” which is the opposite of low-performance. It is essential to determine what drives an employee to stay on task.
Recognition
Whether you want to increase employee engagement and retention rates or make employees feel appreciated, recognizing your employees is an excellent way to do so. The healthcare industry has one of the highest employee turnover rates in the country, and employee appreciation has proven to improve engagement levels. In addition, healthcare organizations with highly engaged employees experience 22% higher productivity and 41% fewer patient safety incidents. To help employees feel appreciated, consider offering extra paid time off or a relaxing experience.
Digital Signage
Aside from increasing employee satisfaction and morale, digital signage can also help you celebrate and recognize your employees’ work. For example, you can use your signage to celebrate a staff member’s work anniversary, thank them for their hard work, acknowledge their great ideas, or commemorate a team member’s milestone. Employee recognition can be particularly useful in the manufacturing or logistics industries, where many employees have fewer desk-based jobs and are not constantly updated with the latest company news.
Absenteeism
Absenteeism as a measure for healthcare organizations has the potential to improve overall patient care, and the lack of employee involvement may contribute to poor patient outcomes. Organizations may want to reduce absenteeism by implementing a mandatory paid sick leave policy that allows employees to take a certain number of sick days per year. They can also implement employee fitness programs incorporating healthy food and physical activities into the workplace.
While absenteeism among health workers has been studied, the results are mixed. One study of nurses in Canada found a strong positive correlation between self-reported absence and absences documented in administrative records. Additionally, the majority of nurses reported that they underestimated their absence. However, other studies show that job satisfaction can impact employee absenteeism.
Transparency
To improve employee engagement, healthcare organizations must foster a culture of transparency. Transparency and regular communication are important in this regard. Healthcare workers are motivated to express their opinions, and their feedback is invaluable to administrators. Whether through surveys, 1-to-1 meetings, or coaching sessions, regular feedback will help identify any disengagement. Using these methods can also reveal any areas of non-authentic practice.
Patient satisfaction
The first step is to identify critical workplace conditions. Healthcare leaders should determine what factors affect patient satisfaction to measure employee engagement. Focus on the visible factors. For example, if a certain department consistently has high patient satisfaction, it may indicate that a particular staff member is disengaged. Consequently, leaders should address these issues to increase employee satisfaction. Once they have identified the areas for improvement, they should look at the behaviors of their employees.
Final Words
When measuring the level of employee engagement, it is important to keep the patient and the staff at the forefront of all decisions. High employee engagement correlates with lower patient mortality, complications, and accidents on the job, which all translate into better clinical outcomes. Yet, many practice managers neglect to measure employee engagement. This is unfortunate, given that employee engagement is correlated with clinical outcomes. In addition, healthcare workers play highly-emotional roles. Lack of engagement can result from various fundamental issues in the healthcare sector, including a lack of human interaction.
