Although there’s an upswing in the healthcare staffing industry, the 2019 National Healthcare Retention & RN Staffing Report says that the overall healthcare and RN turnover rates continue to rise. Additionally, 48 percent of hospitals surveyed want to depend less on supplemental staffing and increase employee retention. One way to achieve this goal is through staff engagement.

Building a Culture of Engagement

Commitment to high-quality, patient-centric service begins with establishing a culture of engagement for your entire medical and administrative staff. It starts with a visible and available management team who foster interpersonal and organizational trust. Effective management takes time to build relationships. They focus on the heart and the needs of their staff, listening to concerns, ideas, and various perspectives. Clear goals and expectations and transparent communication rule the day. When your healthcare staff believes that management cares about them as a whole person – not just an employee – they are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Best of all, they are much more likely to stay.

Consider these tips for fostering engagement.

Nursing Staff and Technicians

• Treat all employees with respect. Maintain an open-door policy, listening to feedback, and responding appropriately.
• Provide state-of-the-art tools and current resources to help staff provide patients with quality care.
• Recognize their work and express your appreciation, verbally, in written notes, and with tangible rewards.
• Encourage your staff in the battle against fatigue and burnout. Ensure nurses take lunch and dinner breaks. Consider making vacations mandatory.
• Maintain an easily-accessible support system.
• Offer scheduling flexibility that supports a proper work-life balance.
• Support coaching/mentoring programs.

Physicians

• Create a shared purpose.
• Establish an open and comprehensive channel of the communication model.
• Set up expectations, guidelines, and benchmarks to routinely monitor progress.
• Evaluate the level of engagement physicians have with patients and staff. Often one patient less/hour improves the quality of care, as well as staff relationships, and ultimately has a positive rather than a negative effect on the bottom line.
• Provide resources and training.
• Discourage autonomy and foster teamwork.
• Include physicians into administrative processes.
• As with all staff, express your appreciation.

Engaging with your healthcare staff involves intentional, ongoing processes to inspire innovation, performance, commitment, and excellence. It also requires a stable hiring process. Springborn Staffing specializes in best-match talent. From temp staffing to direct hire, we have access to a broad base of healthcare talent. We specialize in finding mutually beneficial connections between our candidates/associates and our clients. Trust Maine’s leading staffing provider – that’s us – and contact us today. We’ll make a difference. We do more than promise excellence. We stand behind our employees’ performance – 100% guaranteed. Contact us today.