How to Increase Employee Engagement in Healthcare

In recent years, the healthcare industry has been plagued with high rates of employee burnout. As the number of dissatisfied and disengaged healthcare workers increases, more institutions are looking for ways to reduce burnout in healthcare. One of those ways is by improving employee engagement. 

Employee engagement is the lifeblood of any successful organization, but it’s absolutely critical in healthcare. After all, how a healthcare worker approaches their work directly impacts patient outcomes.

This article provide strategies and tips on how to increase employee engagement in healthcare — so our medical professionals and communities can thrive.

What is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is an employee’s emotional commitment to their organization and its goals. An engaged employee isn’t just working for a paycheck — they care about their work, are passionate about what they do, and are willing to go the extra mile.

But employee engagement is more than job satisfaction. It’s about being emotionally invested in your work and feeling connected to your company. When employees are engaged, they’re more productive, happier, and more likely to stick around.

Read More: “What HR Needs to Know About Job Satisfaction in Healthcare”

Why Employee Engagement Matters in Healthcare

In healthcare, employee engagement isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s essential. Engagement in healthcare leads to reduced medical errors, directly impacting their patients’ health. 

Beyond improved patient outcomes, there are many additional benefits to engaged healthcare workers. These benefits include:

• Patient Experience: Engaged employees are more likely to go above and beyond for their patients. They’re more attentive, empathetic, and proactive, which leads to higher patient satisfaction and better health outcomes. According to a study by Gallup, hospitals with higher nurse engagement had 15% lower patient mortality rates.
• Improved Efficiency: Engaged employees are more efficient and productive. They’re less likely to make mistakes and better at working together as a team. This is especially important in healthcare, where errors can be costly and even life-threatening.
• Lower Burnout Rates: Burnout is a major issue in healthcare, with many workers feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by the demands of their job. However, engaged employees are less likely to experience burnout because they find their work meaningful and feel supported by their organization.
• Enhanced Safety: In healthcare, workers encounter many high-stakes situations that require the proper following of procedures and attention to detail. When a healthcare worker is engaged, they are more likely to follow the precise procedures, leading to greater patient safety.
• Reduced Costs: Just as an engaged healthcare worker will improve patient outcomes and safety, so will they reduce unnecessary costs. From reduced legal costs to lower patient re-admittance, there are many ways an engaged employee can help their organization avoid needless spending.
• Reduced Employee Turnover: Recruiting a medical professional, particularly a physician, can be expensive.  According to the AMA, the cost of replacing a doctor ranges from $500,000 to $1 million per doctor. Finding ways to improve a healthcare employee’s engagement can help healthcare organizations avoid these costs. This is because when employees enjoy and are involved in their work, they will be less likely to leave, reducing the recruitment and training costs an organization spends on new employees.
• Improved Resilience: Working in healthcare is both emotionally and physically challenging. From long hours to frequently being placed in high-stakes situations, healthcare workers are often exposed to experiences that cause emotional turmoil and reduced work-life balance. Improving work engagement can help your employees remain resilient during the long and difficult days. 

Current Employee Engagement Levels in Healthcare

The sad truth is the current levels of healthcare employee engagement in healthcare aren’t exactly where they should be.

According to Gallup’s 2022 State of the Global Workplace report, only 23% of healthcare workers in the U.S. are fully engaged in their work. This means that most healthcare employees are either not engaged or actively disengaged. That’s a significant problem, considering engagement’s impact on patient care and overall organizational performance.

Another survey by Press Ganey found that only 31% of nurses feel engaged in their work, with many citing high stress levels, lack of support, and feeling undervalued as reasons for their disengagement. This is a concerning statistic, given that nurses comprise a significant portion of the healthcare workforce.

These numbers show a lot of room for improvement when it comes to engaging healthcare workers. 

Read More: “How to Improve Employee Engagement: 13 Proven Ways

Reasons Why Healthcare Workers are Disengaged

To improve employee engagement, we must understand why healthcare workers are disengaged. Here are some of the most common reasons:

• High Stress Levels: Healthcare is inherently stressful, with workers often dealing with life-and-death situations, long hours, and demanding workloads. The constant pressure can lead to burnout and disengagement.
• Lack of Support: Many healthcare workers feel that they don’t have the support they need to do their jobs effectively. This could be due to a lack of resources, inadequate staffing, or insufficient training. When employees don’t feel supported, it’s hard for them to stay engaged.
• Feeling Undervalued: Healthcare workers often feel undervalued, both by their employers and by society at large. This is especially true for roles like nursing, where workers may feel like they do not get the recognition or respect they deserve.
• Poor Work-Life Balance: The demanding nature of healthcare work can make it difficult for employees to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Long hours, night shifts, and unpredictable schedules can all contribute to disengagement.
• Administrative Barriers: Healthcare workers are often bogged down by administrative tasks and red tape, making it difficult to focus on patient care and prevent them from providing the best care options to their patients. These barriers can lead to frustration and disengagement.

Why It’s Important to Address Employee Disengagement

Spotting signs of employee disengagement early allows you to intervene before the situation worsens. Disengaged employees can negatively impact patient care, lower team morale, and influence others to disengage. By addressing the root causes of disengagement, you can help re-engage employees and restore their enthusiasm for their work.

Ideas for Improving Employee Engagement in Healthcare

Once you’ve identified the unique reasons why members of your healthcare organization are not engaged, it is time to create solutions. To help you improve employee engagement in healthcare, we’ve compiled a list of strategies and solutions to re-engage your workforce.

1. Foster a Positive Work Environment

Because healthcare can be stressful, it is vital that employees feel respected and encouraged. Creating a positive work environment is essential for healthcare employee engagement. This means promoting a culture of respect, collaboration, and support. Find ways to encourage staff members of all levels to treat their coworkers kindly, discouraging belittling or rude communication.

2. Provide Adequate Support and Resources

Healthcare workers need the right tools and resources to do their jobs effectively. This includes everything from adequate staffing levels to access to technology that can streamline burdensome administrative tasks. When employees feel like their organization provides both proper tools to care for patients and tools to improve their daily work life, they will be happier and more engaged.

3. Promote Work-Life Balance

Helping healthcare workers maintain a healthy work-life balance is key to preventing burnout and disengagement. While healthcare organizations often find themselves understaffed, be careful not to force staff into untenable work schedules. Not only will overworking an employee drive them to burnout sooner, but it is also detrimental to patient outcomes and safety. Therefore, leaders should adopt scheduling practices to give workers the time they need to sleep and recharge.

4. Recognize and Reward Employees

Recognition is a powerful motivator. Make sure to recognize and reward employees regularly for their hard work and contributions. This could be as simple as a thank-you note or as elaborate as an employee appreciation program. The important thing is to make sure that employees feel appreciated (often!).

5. Encourage Career Growth and Development

Providing opportunities for career growth and development can help keep employees engaged. Offer training and development programs, or allocate money for them to pursue their professional goals.

6. Reduce Administrative Burden

Healthcare professionals went into their careers to make a difference in patients’ lives. The vast amount of administrative tasks that come along with it can extinguish their passion. Reduce the time healthcare workers spend on administrative tasks by implementing more efficient systems and processes. Give healthcare workers what they want: less time at a computer and more time with patients.

7. Enhance Communication

Open and transparent communication is essential for engagement. Ensure that employees are informed about what’s going on in the organization. Give them a voice in decision-making processes. Regularly solicit feedback – and act on it!

8. Listen

Easy, right? One of the quickest paths to disengagement is when employees do not feel like their opinion or expertise matters. So when feedback is received, formally or informally, show that you are listening. Even when you can’t implement their ideas, show empathy and support for their struggles.

9. Support Mental Health and Well-being

Healthcare workers are often under immense stress, so supporting their mental health and well-being is crucial. Offer access to counseling services, stress management programs, and other resources to help employees cope with the job’s demands.

Also, provide ways for them to take care of themselves, from gym discounts to ensuring they have the time and means to eat during their shifts.

10. Create a Culture of Supportive Leadership

Leadership plays a critical role in employee engagement. Make sure to train leaders to engage and motivate their teams. Encourage leaders to be approachable, supportive, and communicative.

11. Share Positive Patient Feedback

Healthcare professionals want to make a difference in their patients’ lives. Because of the complexity of what they do, they might often feel like they should be performing better. Therefore, it can be incredibly meaningful for healthcare workers to see the good things their patients say about them. So when they get positive feedback, share it!

12. Increase Peer Mentorship and Support

The human body is complex, and each one is unique. This means your employees are always learning and adapting to the specific needs of the patient in front of them. While this can make their job exciting, it can also increase the burden of their job. Providing avenues for healthcare workers to receive help from their peers without feeling embarrassed can greatly reduce stress.

13. Provide Autonomy

One powerful way to increase employee engagement in healthcare is by giving workers greater autonomy. Autonomy is the freedom to make decisions and control one’s work, and it’s a key factor in fostering engagement. When a healthcare professional has the autonomy to use their judgment and expertise, they feel more valued and invested in their roles.

14. Encourage Friendships

Building and nurturing strong interpersonal relationships in the workplace is another effective strategy for boosting employee engagement. When healthcare workers feel connected to their colleagues and supported by their teams, they are more likely to stay engaged and committed to their work.

15. Celebrate Employee Milestones

Get the team celebrating together, whether it’s a birthday, wedding, graduation, or goal achievement. Recognizing the important moments in a healthcare worker’s life can not only help them feel loved but also build camaraderie. So order a birthday cake or have the team sign a group work anniversary card and celebrate them.

How to Spot a Disengaged Employee

Recognizing the signs of disengagement can help prevent more severe issues down the line. In healthcare, where the quality of care and patient outcomes depend heavily on the engagement of the staff, it’s crucial to be aware of the subtle and not-so-subtle indicators that an employee may be disengaged.

Here are some key signs to watch for:

• Decline in Work Quality: One of the first signs of disengagement is a noticeable drop in the quality of work. For healthcare professionals, this might mean overlooking details, making errors, or not following protocols as rigorously as before. If a previously reliable employee starts making more mistakes or showing a lack of attention to detail, it could be a sign that they are disengaged.
• Reduced Productivity: Disengaged employees often show a decline in productivity. They might take longer to complete tasks, miss deadlines, or require more supervision than usual. In the healthcare industry, this can manifest as slower response times, longer patient wait times, or delays in completing administrative duties.
• Lack of Initiative: Engaged employees are proactive and often look for ways to improve processes or go the extra mile for their patients and colleagues. It could indicate disengagement if an employee stops taking initiative, avoids volunteering for tasks, or seems content to do the bare minimum.
• Withdrawal from Team Interactions: Disengaged employees may start to isolate themselves from their colleagues. They might avoid social interactions, stop participating in team meetings, or show a lack of enthusiasm for collaborative efforts. This withdrawal can be particularly problematic in healthcare, where teamwork is vital.
• Negative Attitude or Complaints: A noticeable shift in an employee’s attitude can signify disengagement. If someone who was once positive and cooperative becomes cynical, complains frequently, or shows visible frustration, it may indicate that they feel disconnected from their work.
• Poor Patient Feedback: How employees interact with patients is a key indicator of their engagement. Disengaged employees may become less empathetic, show impatience, or provide a lower standard of care. If patients start expressing dissatisfaction or concerns about their interactions with a particular employee, it’s worth investigating.
• Low Energy or Burnout: Disengaged employees often exhibit signs of low energy, fatigue, or burnout. They may seem exhausted, unenthusiastic, or overwhelmed by tasks that they used to handle with ease. Burnout is a serious issue in healthcare and can lead to more significant problems if not addressed.

Improve Employee Engagement in Healthcare with Kudoboard

In a field as challenging as healthcare, keeping employees engaged requires ongoing effort, thoughtful strategies, and the right tools.

One tool that can help you boost engagement is Kudoboard. Kudoboard offers a simple yet impactful way to recognize and celebrate your healthcare team’s hard work and achievements. Whether it’s a heartfelt thank-you for going above and beyond, celebrating a work anniversary, or acknowledging the everyday dedication of your staff, Kudoboard makes it easy to implement employee recognition in a way that resonates.

No matter what strategies you implement to help improve employee engagement in healthcare, your efforts will transform your workplace into a more welcoming, supportive, and successful workplace and encourage a healthier community.