It’s up to managers to clear the way for employees so they can do their job: caring for patients.
In these days of disturbingly high turnover, many health care organizations devote substantial resources to employee recruitment. In the short run, it’s a must, but it’s often conducted at the expense of retention–like running water into the sink with the drain open.
High turnover is incredibly costly, stressful, and devastating to service quality. Vacancies cause jagged, inconsistent service. What to do? Get serious about making your organization a great place to work for the people you already have and the new people you’re about to get.
“The antidote to exhaustion is not rest. It is wholeheartedness.”– David Whyte, poet
It is a shame for uninspiring, soul-crushing work environments to cause previously dedicated employees to jump ship, looking for more satisfying work. At the same time, most people have at least occasionally experienced precious moments of feeling fully engaged at work, when high performance and high fulfillment come together.
How can we, as leaders and change agents help create a work environment and conditions which enable such moments to occur? How can we nurture and encourage employees’ natural motivation to provide caring? How can we inspire and engage our teams to bring their souls to their work?
Watch Wendy Leebov, Ed.D. Founder and Partner of Language of Caring, explain how healthcare leaders can strengthen accountability and become role models for excellence by eliminating double standards. Wendy’s motto for leaders: “If it is to be, it’s up to me.”
Can employees be satisfied with their jobs, yet disengaged? Can disaffected employees be satisfied? There’s a continuum between dissatisfaction and engagement, with disaffection as the lowest level, moving up through satisfaction and motivation to the highest level: engagement. Engagement brings numerous tangible positive outcomes for the employees themselves, for patients and for the organization as a whole. In this resource, Dorothy Sisneros, Partner & SVP, Client Services, offer practical tips and tools to help healthcare leaders guide their employees to greater levels of satisfaction and engagement and satisfaction.
