Becker's Hospital Review

74 Quint Studer W hat does it mean to be a great hospital or healthcare system? There are as many ways to answer this question as there are patients, industry professionals and organizations with great stories to tell. (This special May issue of Becker's Hospital Review shares many of them.) But if asked to sum up what makes a hospital great I would do it in a single word: engagement. When employees and physicians are engaged and aligned with mission, patients thrive. This truth can be seen in the metrics we use to grade organizational performance: clinical outcomes, HCAHPS results, safety results and so forth. There's plenty of evidence showing that when en- gagement improves, performance follows. For example, a study from The University of Ala- bama at Birmingham School of Business shows a connection between engagement and safety. It suggests that employees with low engagement are more likely to work around safety protocols, while highly engaged employees are not. 1 The good news is there's plenty your organization can do to engage employees. The best news is that most of these efforts won't cost you a penny. You'll just need some deliberate, focused effort from leaders. Here are a few examples: Make sure the "fit" is right from the begin- ning. It's important to hire the right people for your culture. Studer Group recommends that a team of high performing employees give a candi- date their stamp of approval before you hire. Peer interviewing at the beginning of the selection process can prevent a lot of pain later on. Hardwire leader rounding for outcomes. This may be the single most critical thing you can do to engage employees. When practiced daily, it improves staff satisfaction and decreases turn- over. It also improves patients' perception of the quality of their care. Here's how it works: Leaders consistently ask staff specific one-on-one questions and act on the an- swers. The questions are really simple: • What's working well today? • Is there anyone I should recognize for doing great work? • Are there any systems or processes that need improvement today? • Do you have the tools, equipment and infor- mation you need to do your job today? • Is there anything I can help you with right now? This tactic packs a lot of punch — it's a "founda- tional" strategy that every organization needs to start with when seeking to improve engagement. Respect people enough to tell them the truth. Uncertainty creates anxiety and muddled thinking. Transparency and clarity alleviate our worries and sharpen our focus. They also create a needed sense of urgency to help us meet the big challenges we face. John P. Kotter, the author of "A Sense of Urgency," says the biggest mistake we make when trying to drive change is not creating a high enough sense of urgency. I agree. I find when leaders are trans- parent about challenges their organization faces, it pushes employees out of their complacency and compels them to act. This is also why evaluations based on objective performance metrics work so well —knowing what "success" looks like is extremely motivating. You can't hold people accountable until you tell them the truth about how they're doing. This isn't always fun to hear, but it's always beneficial. Most people really want to know the truth, even if it's "bad news." Stop letting low performance slide. Em- ployees notice when coworkers are slacking off or performing poorly in other ways. When leaders let bad behavior slide, it harms morale and de- motivates the rest of the team. The fact is, good employees will "disengage" when low-performing coworkers aren't addressed. Low performers drag everyone else down to their level. And many high performers will simply leave. The other problem is that leaders spend far too much time and energy dealing with issues cre- ated by the 8 percent of employees who are low performers. There is little left for the 92 percent of high and middle performers who deserve far more attention than they get. Leaders can correct this imbalance by holding highmiddlelow® conversations with all employees. The idea is to recognize and re-recruit high per- formers; reassure, re-recruit and develop middle performers, and move low performers either up or out. Not only do low performers finally get dealt with (often after years of incompetence or laziness or both), the entire organization improves. don't underestimate the power of a front-line supervisor. In 2008, Studer Group conducted a study on Work/Life Blend Among Women in the Healthcare Industry. Among other findings, it showed that the number one factor determining employee satisfaction is the super- visor relationship. In other words, most people don't quit their job; they quit their boss. This is why it's critical to make sure supervisors are well trained, not just in fundamental leadership skills, but also in engagement issues. All good things flow from this pivotal relationship. don't be "all business." Make personal con- nections when you can. People want to know leaders care. And the way we show people we care is by letting them know we see them as a person, not just an employee. Ask about their family of- ten. Know their hobbies and interests. Send birth- day cards to their kids. It's really easy (effortless, in fact) to take a few second to make a personal connection with employees — and it's one of the most impactful ways to create the positive super- visor/employee relationship I mentioned earlier. Broach the subject of growth and per- sonal development. Leaders might assume their staff members will come to them and say, "You know, I was thinking about becoming a team leader. How can I get on the management track?" or "I'd like to get certified as a Registered Nurse Anesthetist." But this doesn't always hap- pen. Sometimes even employees who have lots of potential don't see it in themselves — they may feel they're not good enough, not smart enough, too busy or whatever else. That's why it's up to leaders to bring up the sub- ject of development. Don't wait for them to ask about it. Push a little. You might do it while you're rounding on staff or you might invite them to lunch. Being proactive in this way shows that you see employees have a lot to contribute and that you care about their future. Encourage mentorship. Mentoring has al- ways been a big part of healthcare. Even when we don't call it by that name, it is the foundation of 10 Free (Or very Inexpensive) Ways To Engage Staff By Quint Studer

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