Becker's Hospital Review

Becker's Hospital Review 5th Annual Meeting - call (800) 417-2035 8 Google has gotten a reputation for providing its employees with a luxurious work environment, and it seems that approach is paying off. Every year since 2012, Google has topped Fortune's an- nual list of 100 Best Companies to Work For, and its stock broke $1,000 per share last year, accord- ing to a CNN Money report. What makes Google great? According to the com- pany's website, it's a research-based, deliberate approach to every aspect of the workplace. "Data is central to everything we do — even when we choose a paint color for a conference room wall or plan a lunch menu," the site declares. Although Google may not seem to have much in common with hospitals and health systems, ex- perts on employee engagement and satisfaction say healthcare providers can benefit from adopt- ing a similar research-driven approach. "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it," says Britt Berrett, PhD, president of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas and co-author of the book "Patients Come Second," which focuses on the link between high employee engagement and satisfaction and high patient engagement and satisfaction. He says a scientific approach like Google's is "absolutely appropriate" for hospitals and health systems. Paul Spiegelman, chief culture officer for the compliance company Stericycle and Dr. Berrett's co-author, says conducting surveys and gathering data can be critical to increasing workers' engage- ment and happiness. "Data is a tool to drive ac- tion," he says. "The data helps you understand the pulse of the organization, and it helps you then create action plans." Gathering data: Engage- ment improvement starts with surveying employees The foundation of a Google-like approach to em- ployee engagement is taking the organization's temperature with various surveys, Mr. Spiegel- man says. Healthcare organizations can conduct more complex, formal surveys through vendors such as Gallup. They can also opt to use smaller- scale "pulse surveys." "You could take a smaller survey that just asks a few questions and do that on a more informal ba- sis through the course of the year to see if you're making progress," Mr. Spiegelman says. Healthcare leaders can also take surveys them- selves to check their progress and guide plans for improvement. Mr. Spiegelman and Dr. Ber- rett offer a free, five-minute "culture IQ" test for healthcare providers. It consists of 10 questions that measure to what extent an organization has created a culture of engagement, asking survey- takers to rate themselves based on statements such as "We hire for fit in addition to skill" and "Our employees feel like they are here for a pur- pose beyond just their job." Joe McCaffrey, managing director of research and insights at The Advisory Board Company, explains there are four main characteristics of an engaged employee: the organization inspires them to perform their best, they are likely to be working for the organization three years from now, they would recommend the organization to friends as a great place to work and they would go above and beyond to help the company succeed. These four characteristics are the foundation of how The Advisory Board measures engagement levels for hospitals and health systems. Gathering data through surveys to back up en- gagement improvement efforts is critical to get- ting employees on board, according to Sarah Strumwasser, senior director of research and in- sights for The Advisory Board. "Having the data to support where your great- est opportunities are really helps to gain buy-in from the workforce," she says. "Without that data- driven approach, you're often relying on word of CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED / FRAUD & ABUSE / CRISIS / M&A / CERTIFICATE OF NEED Strategic Healthcare Communications jarrardinc.com The Google Approach: How Hospitals Can Create Cultures That Drive Employee En- gagement, Satisfaction (continued from cover)

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