Becker's Hospital Review

76 Quint Studer staff development. Unfortunately, when time and resources are scarce, mentoring can fall by the wayside. It shouldn't — research shows employees who are paired with a mentor are twice as likely to remain in their job as those who aren't. I always urge organizations to make mentor- ship a priority. It engages both the older, more seasoned employees (who feels valued) and the newer employees (who appreciate the wisdom they're gaining.) Ask for input. It's impossible to engage anyone by simply imposing your will on them. Employees need to feel free to offer up their bright ideas and suggestions for improvement. And this isn't a ploy to make people feel important — the people who do the work often have the best solutions. This makes sense, as they live with the problems day in and day out and have often figured out creative ways to work around them. And it's not just employees who want to give in- put. Physicians want it, too. When we at Studer Group developed our Provider Feedback System — a system that helps organizations provide data to physicians to get them aligned and motivated — we saw right away that physicians needed to help select the metrics that make up their goals. Seeking and acting on physicians' input makes them true partners. Always ask for input from employees, physicians and leaders. Don't assume people will give it un- solicited. You will be amazed at the brilliant ideas and insights you'll hear. Say thank you. (And put it in writing.) Thank- you notes are powerful. Over the years Studer Group has really emphasized this simple yet amazingly im- pactful tool to organizations seeking to engage peo- ple. I've seen grown men cry over thank-you notes. I've seen people keep notes for decades. I've heard them read out loud at funerals. It's better not to just randomly write notes when you happen to think about it. Instead, hardwire them into your operations, so leaders write a set number of notes each week. Make sure they point out something specific the staff member or physi- cian does well. Handwrite them and send them to the person's home if you want maximum impact. A heartfelt "thank you" really moves people. And it has another benefit — it encourages them to re- peat the behavior that earned the "thank you" in the first place. Conclusion Being a great healthcare organization, like the 100 hospitals profiled in these pages, doesn't hap- pen by accident. Neither does engagement. An engaged culture happens by design — the result of an organization that recognizes its advantages and makes a commitment to taking the steps to make it happen. I hope you'll work toward becoming that kind of organization. It's the greatest gift you can give your employees, physicians and the patients they serve. n 1. Halbesleben JRB, Savage GT, Wakefield DS, Wakefield BJ. Rework and workarounds in nurse medication administra- tion process: implications for work processes and patient safety. Health Care Manage R. 2010; 35(2): 124-33. Quint Studer is the founder of Studer Group, a recip- ient of the 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. He is a regular contributor to Becker's Hos- pital Review, which recently identified him as "one of the 40 smartest people in healthcare." Inc. magazine named Quint its Master of Business, making him the only healthcare leader to have ever won this award. Twice Modern Healthcare has chosen him as one of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare. He is the author of numerous books. There are currently 700,000 copies of his BusinessWeek bestseller, "Hard- wiring Excellence," in circulation. His most recent book, "A Culture of High Performance: Achieving Higher Quality at a Lower Cost," helps healthcare leaders lay the foundation they need to thrive in a disruptive external environment. To learn more, visit www.studergroup.com. Accretive Health is proud to sponsor the Becker's Hospital Review Annual Meeting 401 N. Michigan Ave. Suite 2700, Chicago, IL 60611 • 312-324-7820 www.accretivehealth.com Our mission is to partner with healthcare communities to serve as a catalyst for a healthier future for all.

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