HR Pulse - Fall 2008 - (Page 47)

nitely coloring the patient experience. In 2004, employees commented that “Patients complain that nobody is happy here, that no one smiles.” Another employee recounted how, “A patient was glad to see me because I had a smile on my face. The patient asked if I could be her nurse all day. People are not happy campers and are taking it out on the patients.” Obviously, the morale at the organization was not optimal and improvement was needed. Harding recounted, “My No. 1 goal was to not have anyone say that nothing ever changes. The only way to not hear that is if you truly effect change based on the survey.” Through the hard work of staff and management, by 2007, the organization increased its percentage of engaged employees by 43 percent, and the overall survey results resulted in a database ranking in the 97th percentile! Employee pride continues to grow as employees in feedback now say “I get constant positive feedback regarding the dedication, caring, and friendly nature of this hospital; it is not impersonal like the larger hospitals.” Effect on Patient Outcomes Research indicates that the level of engagement signiﬁcantly impacts patient safety and safety-related loss. Furthermore, in accordance with the aforementioned linkage between engagement and patient care, health care facilities that maintain an engaging work environment experience improved patient outcomes. As CCH’s employee engagement scores increased over the years, the number of patient falls decreased by 81 percent, and medical errors decreased 32 percent. Linkage between Employee Engagement and Retention In the year immediately after its ﬁrst survey through 2007, CCH decreased its turnover rate by nearly three full percentage points (from 13.1 percent to 10.2 percent) through its comprehensive retention strategy. The employee opinion/ engagement survey has been reﬂective of the turnover rate as the number of employees that recently considered resigning decreased 25 percent from the ﬁrst survey to the most recent. By administering exit surveys in conjunction with the employee engagement survey, CCH was able to link the engagement survey with exit data to develop a true value driver. “There have been little things that have re-enforced what has been found in employee survey results. They have coincided a lot on the issues,” explains Ann Roundy, vice president of Employee Services. Roundy shares the turnover rate with CCH’s board so they are in alignment with the rest of the management team. At board of directors meetings, she takes the time to periodically spend 30 minutes covering the organizations updated ﬁgures on turn- CCH Patient Outcomes 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 95 86 67 65 Patient Falls Med Errors 26 21 11 4 2004 2005 2006 2007 CCH Turnover Range 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 11.9 13.08 10.15 Patient Falls 15.8 47 HR Pulse Fall 2008 over and recruitment costs, which serve to re-enforce why it is important to keep the beneﬁts and pay competitive. As a best practice, she shares the turnover information in conjunction with the scores for the employee engagement survey. How did CCH turn things around? The Role of CCH’s Staff An undeniable factor in the turnaround of CCH’s scores was the strong commitment of the staff. “The staff really stepped up; they are so responsible and engaged,” stated Roundy. “The staff is very hard working, dedicated, and really cares about CCH. They were not satisﬁed with scores any more than we were. I have to give a lot of credit to the staff.” Employees also realized that the executive management team was sincere and committed to asking employees’ opinions to make positive change. CCH had success in the measurable plans because they involved the employees in creation and implementation of action plans. “The action plans have to be measurable, and we get sign-off from the employees in the department,” explains Harding. “Communication throughout the survey process was instrumental in our success. In fact, communication is one of CCH’s core values developed by employees through a customer service task force. The survey >>

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Pulse - Fall 2008

HR Pulse - Fall 2008 Contents Pulse Points Executive Director’s Letter President’s Message HR Leader Profile: Irma Pye Sammy’s House: Making a Difference in Austin Working Mother Magazine’s 100 Best Companies Increasing CEO Engagement Pastoral Care Retaining Scarce, Critical Talent The Engagement Dilemma Diversity Considerations…More than AAP & EEO Quashing the Workplace Bullying Bug How to Become a Strong Human Resources Partner Citizen Lobbyists Descend Upon Capitol Hill Conference Highlights Schedule at a Glance Sponsors Exhibitors Advertisers’ Index

HR Pulse - Fall 2008

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