Becker's Hospital Review

36 POPULATION HEALTH 36 CEO/STRATEGY How to ensure employee satisfaction: 19 healthcare leaders weigh in By Kelly Gooch E mployee satisfaction plays a key role in the culture of hospitals and health systems. However, ensuring this satis- faction requires concerted efforts on behalf of organizations. Becker's Hospital Review asked healthcare lead- ers to share the most important lesson they've learned about addressing the issue. Read their responses below, presented alphabetically. Editor's note: e following responses were lightly edited for length and clarity. Vicki Cansler Chief human resources officer of Piedmont Healthcare (Atlanta) Don't raise expectations. But at the same time, listen to your employees via engagement sur- veys, etc., to ascertain what they truly value. To increase satisfaction, it's really about focusing on what employees value (rather than focusing on what they "think" they want). Larry Coomes Chief executive of Queen of the Valley Medi- cal Center (Napa, Calif.) Be seen a lot, listen a lot and smile a lot. Jordan DeMoss Vice president for clinical operations at Uni- versity of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital Employees want to be heard, and not just in a superficial, lip-service way. ey expect empa- thetic listening, action where possible, and hon- esty, even when the answer is "no." Healthcare is more complex and dynamic that it has ever been, and we need to be more intentional about explaining why decisions are made and how they connect to the purpose of the work we do. Adam Groshans President of Mercy Health – Springfield (Ohio) Being fully present when meeting with employ- ees and teams and following through on action items. If I commit to doing something, the im- portance of following up and sharing the feed- back with the group reinforces that we valued the feedback to begin with. Heather Harmon Vice president of human resources at Univer- sity Hospitals (Cleveland) Employee satisfaction is integral to the success of any organization. ose organizations that take the time to truly listen and respond to the feedback from employees achieve the greatest levels of satisfaction. e feeling of being heard and cared for will go further than almost any compensation or benefit program can toward an employee's engagement and satisfaction. Roberta Luskin-Hawk, MD Chief executive of St. Joseph Health, Hum- boldt County (Eureka, Calif.) e importance of giving employees a voice through shared governance and lean daily man- agement, while maintaining executive leader visibility and support. Anna J. Kiger, DNP, RN CNO of Sutter Health (Sacramento, Calif.) Leadership sets the culture for others. As lead- ers, we have to recognize that our actions speak volumes to those we lead. I find staying present, focusing on listening, and making it a point to follow up on employee concerns or challenges are all critical to ensuring my team at Sutter Health feels heard and valued. If my team feels understood, they are more satisfied with their work environment, and they are ready to work hard on behalf of our patients and our organi- zation. is coming year, Sutter Health will recog- nize the value and contributions of our nurses through our "Year of the Nurse 2020" cam- paign. We will celebrate our nurses by sharing their stories and highlighting how they contrib- ute to our nonprofit integrated health system's mission to enhance the health and well-being of people in the communities we serve. Amy King Senior vice president and chief people officer for Centura Health (Centennial, Colo.) e lesson I learned very early on in my career around employee satisfaction is when you ask your employees to provide their voice on areas impacting their experiences in the workplace; you must, unequivocally, take action on their input. ere is tremendous research supporting the conclusion that when managers action plan on one or two items from employee engage- ment surveys, the impact can be substantial, and engagement improves quickly. e actions you create and implement as a result of their expressions must include their ideas, feedback and solutions. Andre Machado, MD, PhD Chair of Cleveland Clinic's Neurological In- stitute Continuous improvement. One of the many privileges of working at Cleveland Clinic is to have great mentors. Lisa Yerian, MD, and Ste- ven Shook, MD, have mentored our team in lean management and continuous improve- ment. [Dr. Yerian is Cleveland Clinic's first chief improvement officer of continuous improve- ment. Dr. Shook is the vice chair of operations and quality improvement officer of Cleveland Clinic's Neurological Institute.] e principle is simple: ose doing the work know it best and oen know how to make it better. By listening to the physicians, nurses and support staff who are doing the work, we have always been able to make it better. e most successful efforts were achieved by means of collaborative activities where everyone had the opportunity to propose a change in the process, regardless of rank. It seems rather obvious, but the lesson is that em- ployees are more engaged when they feel that they can do more, not less. Making a difference is important to all of us in healthcare. Diana Richardson COO of Tus Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children (Boston) It is impossible to overcommunicate with our employees. Regular communication through many different formats across, up and down in an organization helps employees feel connect- ed to the medical center's mission and strategy. Leaders at all levels need to be visible and in- tentionally provide time and space for dialogue with frontline team members. Employees want to work in an environment where they make a difference and feel connected to a mission. Manny Rodriguez Chief marketing, experience and customer officer for UCHealth (Aurora, Colo.) e most important lesson I've learned about ensuring employee satisfaction is that it is cru- cial to demonstrate to employees that they are valued. ey need to know that they matter and that we care about their success and their pro- fessional goals. Listening to employees goes a long way to helping them understand that they are the most important part of any organization. Eugene Scioscia, MD Chief experience officer for Allegheny Health Network (Pittsburgh) It's all connected. If we can attain the ultimate employee experience, then we are well on our way to the ultimate patient experience. You can't have one without the other. Mark Sevco President of UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh We have learned that employee satisfaction leads to extraordinary patient experience re-

• Cover