Exclusive Article by Dawn Castell at EMRIndustry
Culture can mean different things to a health facility, but it refers to how things are done and people’s attitude towards how these things are done. Culture is the practices and values shared by everyone in an organization. According to a recent study, health facilities with adaptable culture outshine those without by a significant margin. However, culture in the healthcare sector isn’t just about business performance but also patient satisfaction.
A culture that doesn’t support the mission and vision of a healthcare facility can make the staff unhappy. Research claims that success comes from making workers happy and treating them with the respect they deserve. However, a hospital has to go beyond just waving a magic wand to cultivate its culture. Instead, it takes the willingness to change, cooperation across all departments, and time. Below are ways an organization can improve its values to promote a safe, productive, and healthy workplace.
Reward Excellence
After defining your core values, the next step should be to reward any worker who embodies those values to create a path for future generations to follow. Recognizing and praising workers for small achievements through emails and in meetings, can make a significant impact. Work in the healthcare sector can get overwhelming, and managers should make it a practice to recognize individual achievements with incentives such as paid time off (PTO) and compliment workers. However, it might be crucial to understand how human resource software works to track PTO lifecycle.
Define Your Values and Vision
Of course, leaders must first understand and define the values and vision of their organization before workers can contribute to its success. The mission of an organization includes its approach to success, core values, and the way it defines operational excellence and performance. However, the challenge lies in being able to use succinct statements and messages that every worker can understand to articulate these concepts.
Promote Transparency
One essential component of positive workplace culture and employee engagement is trust in the future of the company and its management. Of course, every worker wants to know the long term goals of their company, what drives it, and their role in achieving these goals. Transparency and communication throughout the organization are what determines the discretionary effort that high level of management fosters.
Clear and Effective Communication
Clear communication about the new initiatives, performance, and objectives of the company enables workers to perform at their optimal level. When workers have access to information and understand what is expected of them, they feel being instrumental in the success of a company. As a result, their sense of ownership will deepen, and their dedication and loyalty will develop.
Hire the Right Fit
Of course, every organization hopes to hire candidates with exceptional talent as well as the willingness to advocate for the culture of the company. Resumes often misguide recruiters and make them overlook signs that indicate the vision of a candidate that doesn’t align with their values. As such, recruiters should take time to filter for the attributes that are critical to the culture of the organization. Whether you want to hire self-driven, independent, or high-energy workers, take time to assess if their personality aligns with the culture of the organization.
Develop a Plan for Improvement
Of course, anything that is measurable is manageable. The staff needs to understand what parameters are used to measure their performance and success. Everyone involved including workers and the management needs to agree on deadlines for any change and understand what those changes are and how to cope up with them.
A thriving culture is instrumental in the success of any organization. Workers are the most valuable asset that an organization can have, and they’re likely to foster business growth and can do their best when they feel connected to the values and mission of the company. It is vital to remember that no company can buy or fake its culture. Instead, the management should keep checking its culture’s pulse and ensure their engagement strategies are fruitful.
