How do you deal with a disengaged staff? Employees in most industries can technically accomplish tasks without being committed to their company, but in healthcare, disengaged employees make providing quality care almost impossible. While encouraging healthcare staff, employees can seriously struggle. Clinicians regularly face unhappy patients, physically demanding tasks, and long work hours. They need regular recognition and leadership support to stay enthusiastic and inspired.
In this article, we’ll take a look at five ways consistent employee recognition benefits the healthcare industry:
Engage Employees
Healthcare is a demanding, fast-paced, and sometimes thankless position. Clinicians are often required to work long shifts, unusual hours, and are constantly handling highly stressful situations. Even the most dedicated employees are ready to call it quits from time-to-time. During periods of frustration and fatigue, employees need to know that they make a difference. When healthcare leaders regularly reach out to staff and recognize their success, employees can see past present obstacles and remember how important their work really is. Honest leadership appreciation is essential in creating truly engaged and effective healthcare employees.
Reduce Turnover Rates
Healthcare clinicians are always in demand and employees will likely be tempted often by new job offers or opportunities. Without a real reason to stay, high turnover is almost inevitable. Authentically recognizing and acknowledging employees makes an incredible difference. In fact, for most staff members, a healthy work environment is more important than a higher salary. Simple efforts like celebrating birthdays can go a long way in reducing turnover rates and establishing a positive work environment.
Create a Community
Recognition from supervisors is important, but clinicians also need friends within the workplace. When employees have a space to ask questions and offer insights, they naturally start encouraging healthcare staff and offering support. Having friends that understand your unique work environment and share similar experiences helps employees feel like they belong. This is especially important when clinicians are working at distant clinics or feel separated from other employees. As coworkers recognize peers and compliment success, clinicians will feel welcomed, inspired, and dedicated to the task at hand.
Enhance Medical Care
In healthcare, there is no room for errors. Mistakes can cost money, take up valuable time, or possibly even put lives in danger. But clinicians are only human, and mistakes do happen from time to time. While it’s impossible to prevent everything, healthcare mix-ups are much more likely to occur when employees feel unappreciated or micromanaged. In fact, a Gallup study revealed that a nurse’s engagement level is one of the most influential factors in patient mortality rates, recovery time, and re-admission rates. Sincere employee recognition not only increases overall clinician engagement but also instills employees with a sense of pride, helping them stay alert and avoid preventable accidents.
Encourage Empathy
Healthcare patients are often stressed, in pain, or otherwise upset, and usually need emotional support in addition to physical care. When employees know that supervisors are actually listening to their needs, it’s much easier to offer patients similar care. Appreciated and engaged employees have greater empathy, and help patients receive not only the best physical care, but also the most comfortable experience possible. Patients will feel a real difference when they know that clinicians genuinely want to help and are offering completely comprehensive care.
MangoApps
Healthcare employees need more than just assignments and instructions. They need appreciation and support. At MangoApps, we’re here to help make that happen. We provide healthcare organizations with the digital tools they need to engage staff, encourage employees, and create a healthy work environment. From personal greetings and location groups to work milestones and employee badges, we make it easy for care clinicians to receive recognition.
To learn more about how MangoApps helps healthcare organizations, contact us or schedule a personalized demo today.
