Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1456545
42 HEALTHCARE NEWS What makes a hospital a 'best place to work'? 3 hospital leaders weigh in By Lauren Jensik, Gabrielle Masson and Alia Paavola A mid the pandemic and nationwide staffing shortages, workplace culture and strong leadership have never been more important for hospitals when it comes to recruiting and retaining employees. Four hospitals and health systems recent- ly made Glassdoor's list of "Best Places to Work": Houston Methodist; Memphis, Tenn.- based St. Jude Children's Research Hospital; Cincinnati Children's Hospital; and Roches- ter, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic. Glassdoor's rankings are based on the input of employees, who voluntarily complete a review of their job, work environment and employer over the past year. Becker's spoke with top executives from three of the organizations to determine what makes their system a great place to work and if there were any characteristics or strategies that helped differentiate their organization from others. Editor's note: Responses were edited lightly for length and clarity. Question: What differentiates your company culture from other health systems? Marc Boom, MD. President and CEO of Houston Methodist: is is an easy one. We are a values-based organization where everything we do is grounded in what we call "I CARE" values: integrity, compassion, accountability, respect and excellence. ese are not corporate buzzwords; we live these values every day. It is how we treat each other and our patients, and how we conduct busi- ness every day. ese values set us apart, and frankly, are why we have made it through five COVID-19 surges stronger than ever, despite the many challenges. Dana Bottenfield. Senior Vice President of Human Resources at St. Jude Children's Re- search Hospital: Our mission: Finding cures. Saving children. It's a simple statement but it represents the heart of every employee and every supporter of St. Jude. Even though our work spans many disciplines, most notably research and clinical operations, you can see our mission connects employees and drives our decisions. It's remarkable to be a part of a culture that is based on both what we can do and what we should do. Steve Davis, MD. President and CEO of Cincinnati Children's: To maintain our vi- brant culture, Cincinnati Children's seeks to hire and retain extraordinary people. at includes doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers, as well as scientists, staff, admin- istrators and leaders. We are committed to attracting and inspiring a diverse workforce — at all levels. Our goal is to help every team member fulfill their dreams while helping us advance our mission and values. Q: Why do you think your organization is worthy of this recognition? Dr. Marc Boom: We have a saying here that we don't chase awards, but rather fo- cus on the fundamentals of safety, quality, service and innovation. When we do that, the awards tend to follow. When we get out- side recognition like this, it reinforces the importance of always focusing on our em- ployees who selflessly give themselves for our patients day in and day out. Glassdoor is especially gratifying because it reflects our employees' own opinions. at's what mat- ters — what our own employees think. Year aer year, employees tell us in our annual employee opinion survey what they think — the good and the bad. Every year we rise above national benchmarks. e praise goes to the employees — they preserve and pro- mote the culture here. Dana Bottenfield: is is a humbling recog- nition because it comes from our employees and their feedback. However, we understand it's a snapshot in time. Just like we continue to push the boundaries in our research and our approach to clinical care, we have an obliga- tion to keep finding ways to provide a space where employees can bring their whole self to our campus and do their best work. Dr. Steve Davis: Because of our clinical, re- search and education expertise, Cincinnati Children's is a magnet for the best talent in the world. at helps explain why in the last fiscal year, we had 1.5 million patient encounters — including children with rare or complex dis- orders from all 50 states and dozens of other countries. Cincinnati Children's is among the top recipients of pediatric research grants, and nearly one-third of our employees are engaged in scientific research. With a work- force of 16,500, Cincinnati Children's is the largest hospital system and the second-largest employer in our region. We are dedicated to ensuring that every one of those employees has a sense of belonging and feels valued. We also want every patient, family and visitor to feel welcome and safe. Investing in our people is essential to that. Q: What is a needle-moving strategy that you've recently implemented to help build a positive work environment? Dr. Marc Boom: During the last surge, it was easy to see how exhausted our employ- ees were. As an organization we have treat- ed more than 30,000 COVID-19 patients. So we designed a strategy to show our appreciation in real ways. We announced the "Summer of R&R" to encourage our employees to take time to refresh. The pro- gram lasted for months and we launched it by rolling out a $1,000 thank you bonus to all 27,000 employees, and followed by prize giveaways and a series of appreciation ac- tivities. Building on the strategy of showing appreciation, that program was followed up in the fall with each employee and phy- sician receiving a $500 gift card to a large grocery store chain to make Thanksgiving a little better for everyone. The strategy went beyond appreciation. We offered numerous mental health programs to support our employees, including ex- tended free therapy sessions and daily af- firmations. Dana Bottenfield: We have many strate- gies that focus on listening to our employ- ees, but the last few years have tested all of our "traditional" approaches. I think the fact we kept our performance review pro- cess as well as our strategic plan develop- ment moving forward provided stability for our employees. Beyond the traditional, the emergence of COVID-19 in 2020 was a scary time for everyone. Our focus on keep- ing staff, patients and their families safe and informed over the past two years was a tremendous demonstration of our com- mitment to their physical and psychologi- cal safety. We made an intentional effort to not just communicate campus changes and policies but also to provide a clear and in-