For those of us who are in the healthcare industry, we all know how crucial employees are in providing quality patient care. A committed employee is more likely to deliver high quality customer service, be innovative and perform his/her work efficiently. 

Detached employees may cause high turnover rates, low performance, and undesirable effects on patients. Make sure you provide them with what they need to perform and remain motivated in their healthcare work individually.

What Is Employee Engagement​

One of the traditions about the EE is that it is the degree of satisfaction that an employee has at the workplace, but it is not all about that. An employee who is happy doing what is expected of them at the workplace may be a satisfied but loyal worker. 

Job satisfaction is an element of engagement without a doubt, but a significant portion of workforce management entails making sure an engaged employee is likewise committed to the job and his or her employer, which is what fosters the stability needed for the enterprise to deliver on its strategic plan. 

The control of labour costs is a good example, where the use of employee engagement strategies can be effectively deployed. An engaged employee not only follows the requirements of their job description but goes further and looks for ways to enhance it for the benefit of the organization, colleagues, and patients. 

Five strategies to keep healthcare staff in harmony with the larger picture of your organization’s success:

1. Foster a Culture of Listening​

The worst thing that can be done to an employee is to make him or her feel that they are not valued and that their opinions will not be heard in the organization. According to the latest research, 25% of nurses said that they have been left out by their peers. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the need to ensure that healthcare leaders stand behind their providers and their staffs in order to alleviate worker exhaustion and burnout, which in turn threatens patient and provider safety and patient outcomes. 

Healthcare leaders can always listen to feedback from employees and staff when there is no clamour, but the true test of their leadership is during disaster, emergencies, and other related situations. 

While it is at these times that the healthcare leader may even have less time to spare due to the need to address business issues, it is at such times that they should be keen to listen to their clinicians and staff. 

If a healthcare worker makes recommendations to help the organization improve and their suggestions are ignored, they will get frustrated and demotivated and in time will stop making recommendations. 

2. Encouraging Recognition Across All Levels in the Workplace​

Another core component of employee engagement is peer-to-peer and manager-to-staff recognition. Similar to the culture of listening, the culture of recognition ensures that employees are given a constant reminder that they are an integral part of the team. 

Employees who are provided with opportunities to contribute opinion and ideas through formal or informal means that will make them visible to leaders and coworkers are likely to continue striving to do their best in their positions. 

There are several strategies that can be used in order to facilitate the process of peer-to-peer and manager-to-staff recognition. In other organizations, a more loosely organized structure might be more effective for the recognition between peers and managers and their staff. 

As we see, there is no good or bad approach when it comes to generating such worthwhile prospects. Healthcare has a lot of professionals who are professionals and who want to improve their knowledge and their careers. 

Ensuring that the employees are presented with opportunities in terms of training, mentorship, and leadership development will ensure that they are more committed to their work. They can also be useful for organizations in terms of the development of a pool of talent to fill future leadership roles.

3. Recall To Employees the Mission of Your Organization ​

It is important to note that an engaged employee means that the employee is not only committed to their work but to the organization too. In order to strengthen the loyalty, leaders of healthcare organizations should periodically help employees recall the mission of the organization. 

Particularly in the current pandemic, it has become a norm for the healthcare professionals and staff to only focus on their work and only see the patients and tasks that they have to handle. 

It will also be beneficial for your organization to use the mission to help employees understand that they are working for something far greater than themselves, thus improving the general employee experience. 

The staff and providers in the healthcare setting must have the perception that they are equipped to do their tasks efficiently. Inadequate resources contribute to frustration and fatigue, which in turn contribute to disengagement. 

To overcome the lack of adequate resources, organizations need to invest in equipment, technology, and training to ensure the employees have the tools needed to deliver exceptional patient care. 

4. Arrange Learning and Professional Development ​

Healthcare leadership is one of the most important factors that influence workforce engagement. It has been found that when leaders are transparent, accessible, and supportive, it can greatly impact the emotions of health care workers regarding their occupation and employer. 

The leadership style that encourages communication, respect for the employee and the recognition of their efforts can improve the work environment and increase the level of engagement. 

It is common for most healthcare providers to have a specific scope of practice since they require licenses to practice in healthcare settings, which can limit their clinical career advancement. 

If your healthcare organization does not allow or support APPs who are medical staff members to sit on committees, you may be losing out on valuable insight to enhance patient safety and quality from RNs, PAs, and others. 

Enhancements in patient care, for instance, call for superb interprofessional cooperation and interaction. Measures such as offering options like multidisciplinary collaboration is likely to help make staff feel appreciated in the organization and therefore increase their commitment as employees. 

5. Promote Support from Peers and Role Models

No matter how many policies you, as a healthcare leader, design and put into practice in order to increase employee engagement, the truth is that such engagement is mostly influenced by what occurs in the workplace on a daily basis. 

People may appreciate your authority and might feel comfortable dealing with you, but if this does not translate to the working environment, they cannot remain interested for long. 

When an employee has a positive perception concerning his or her colleagues and supervisors, it becomes easier for the employee to start having a liking for the company. Mentorship also has a significant part in making this feeling of unity possible. 

It makes employees feel more supported, as is obvious, but it also helps in staff training and in their acquisition of new types of skills in their professional field. It is important for organizations to acknowledge and reward employees in order to ensure high levels of engagement. Healthcare professionals are busy people and their efforts should be rewarded. 

Rewards can be words of encouragement, gifts, monetary incentives, a raise, or a chance to contribute to a glamorous project. These rewards can help to ensure that healthcare professionals remain productive and effective in the future and inspire others to do the same. 

Despite the fact that the healthcare industry is among the most promising for workforce management, the process cannot be effective without the right tools. 

Conclusion

Enhancing employee commitment in healthcare is important for enhancing patient outcomes and for sustaining healthcare workforce. 

Leadership, resource provision, professional development, recognition and rewards, and positive organizational culture are some of the ways organizations can enhance employee involvement and have a more dedicated, loyal, and high-performing workforce.