The Big Story: Employee engagement is ticking back up – Gallup
“Even as employees are more equipped to do their work, the relationship between employee and employer is less bound together by a common mission and purpose…. Gallup found meaningful feedback sessions involve recognition, discussion about collaboration, goals and priorities, and the employee’s strengths.”
How do we go from a 7 to a 9?
By James Cervantes
3-minute read
Some good news: Employees – especially on-site team members – are slowly feeling more connected to their organization.
More good news: It appears the battle for talent is cooling a degree. In healthcare, starting pay held steady – even ticked down a bit – this year from last. That may mean- your sharp new hire is less likely to bolt in six months for another fat signing bonus elsewhere.
And more: Nurses’ job satisfaction in 2023 matches that from 2022, according to our latest national survey.
This flattening from rapid swings is a sigh of relief for an industry that’s been fighting workforce challenges since well before it was an economy-wide problem.
You’ve earned a quick sigh of relief. Your hard work is paying off.
So, what do the latest numbers tell us about what’s coming next? Because we all know the work of recruiting and retention is an “always on” investment in culture building, workforce training, professional development and manager training. Despite it feeling like a zero-sum game, we know these are the right things to do.
On this Labor Day weekend, as you appreciate your employees, recognize that they want more – and deserve it. Your nurses and front-line staff are at the heart of your work and your mission as a provider organization.
Let’s focus on nurses here. Today, as the gold rush of travel nursing has slowed but both hospital finances and the healthcare workforce remain fragile, there is a huge opportunity to make adjustments that won’t break the bank.
We know this because they’ve just told us in our second annual National Nurse Survey. Refined engagement – rather than wholesale change – is what’s needed today. Here are a few themes:
- Two-thirds of nurses are satisfied with their job. This number is identical to last year – again, flat is the new “up.” It’s a good foundation, and with an average score of 7.0, there’s room to grow.
- Only about one in four nurses give onboarding at their current organization high marks. The average score here is a 6.5. Similarly, just over half of nurses who have been in their current job for less than two years, and just over 60 percent of those who have been around more than two years, agree that their organization is committed to helping new nurses succeed. Perceived support of more established nurses is even lower.
- About six in 10 nurses say their manager or team lead listens well, communicates well and is consistently visible and engaged. And just over half give their nurse manager an overall rating of 8-10. Not bad. But clearly, there’s room to grow in providing consistent, open conversation between managers and team members. After all, if trust is the currency of a successful team, clear communication is the mine from which trust is extracted.
What does this all mean in practice? Consider these three brief thoughts to help you and your team advance the ongoing good work of strengthening your culture and bumping those sevens to eights, nines… and beyond:
- Create space to decompress and be human. By that, we mean space and resources for teams to strengthen their peer-peer and peer-manager relationships, outside the pressure of daily patient care. New nurses in particular, are so often thrown right into the work because, well, caregivers are needed ASAP on the floor. It’s a tough situation, but any opportunity to remove a bit of that pressure, even if only briefly, and to give them the opportunity to connect with their leaders and peers will go a long way.
- Rethink performance review conversations. Nurses told us they want more two-way conversations about feedback. Create systems to enable more frequent, timely feedback and opportunities for nurses to ask questions. Train managers and leaders to structure those meetings as conversations, not status updates or lectures. Create the expectation that these conversations will include dialogue about growth and professional development, not just the good, bad and ugly of the nurse’s day-to-day work.
- Provide more communications training for nurse managers. Give them time, resources and encouragement to be more present with their team. Importantly, train them to invest in and engage with young nurses early on – and to make those relationship-building expectations of their jobs as managers. Encourage those relationships from Day One for new nurses. And, equally important, continue to cultivate established nurses. Those regular check-ins with and clear communication from managers will help older nurses remain connected with the organization and their role in it.
Contributors: Emme Baxter, David Shifrin and David Jarrard
Image Credit: Shannon Threadgill
