There have been many studies conducted in a variety of industries linking job satisfaction and customer satisfaction, and all seem to point in one direction: there is a distinct correlation that when happy employees provide services to the public, customer satisfaction prevails.
In an extensive study performed in a major New York City Hospital in 2006, an Employee Engagement Advisory Committee was created to gather feedback from all areas of the hospitals workforce. These areas included administrative and non-clinical staff, service personnel, nurses and physicians and all were asked their own evaluations of employee loyalty and retention. This feedback enabled the committee to identify the hospitals strongest and weakest areas in job satisfaction which lead them to a better understanding of how to motivate involvement and effort.
Another important topic undertaken by the advisory committee was on Employee Engagement.
After many forums and hundreds of comments were gathered, it became concisely clear that engaged employees at their hospital make personal commitments to their jobs and take pride and in their entire organization and the care of their patients.
Just as patient care is adversely affected when poor morale and job satisfaction are inherent, particularly in the nursing industry, that level of care is positively impacted when nurses are given more decision making power and have a strategic role in the care of their patients. Follow-up patient surveys have proven that nurses who are encouraged to take a more active role in their jobs, have higher levels of patient safety and fewer medical errors recorded.
The most commonly used methods in the Health Care
Industry promoting employee engagement and retention are:
– Management accessibility and leadership styles
– Organizational communication
– Recognition programs
– Company reputation
– Empowerment in decision making
– Access to training, resources and opportunity
Hospital Administrators who incorporate policies of employee well being and engagement while on the job, report that they are encouraged and satisfied when they see the reductions in recruitment and retention costs, a dramatic reduction in absenteeism, along with lower patient costs.
