Staff morale low? Before spending money, hear what employees want
July 1, 2002
Staff morale low? Before spending money, hear what employees want
5 top predictors of satisfaction listed for hospitals, ASCs
(Editor’s note: In the first part of a two-part series on raising staff morale, we offer you the latest research on what surgery center and hospital employees want. In next month’s issue, we give you seven suggestions from your peers.)
Want to make your employees happy? Surprisingly, it’s probably going to take something that is free, readily accessible, and easy to add: "Communication, communication, communication," says Mel Thompson, president and chief executive officer of Data Management & Research, a Franklin, TN-based research firm specializing in health care quality and satisfaction surveys. Thompson’s firm presented employee satisfaction data for surgery centers and hospitals at the recent annual meeting of the Federated Ambulatory Surgery Association (FASA).
The problem of low morale is widespread. In the 2001 Same-Day Surgery Reader Survey results, 13.6% of respondents ranked low morale in their department/facility as the No. 1 item with which they were dissatisfied in their jobs. It was the fourth highest specific reason mentioned, with the impact of cost-cutting, heavy workload, and staffing making up the top three.
Administrators often are good at making sure operations are efficient and quality care is being provided, but that mission isn’t always articulated to employees, Thompson maintains. "You can have the best technical abilities around, but it may not be communicated," he says.
Administrators should be the creators and champions of the facility’s mission, Thompson advises. "They can be great operators, but if they don’t do the other, employees don’t get a sense of belonging, of being a part of something that’s quality, and understanding their role in carrying out the cause," he says. "They just become an assembly-line worker, and people didn’t get into health care for that purpose." Without a "champion of the cause," recognition doesn’t matter, because people don’t know what they’re being recognized for, Thompson maintains.
Keep employees informed about how well the surgery center is performing, advises Marlene Brunswick, RN, director of nurses at Findlay (OH) Surgery Center. "I think people like to know what’s going on, good or bad," she says.
Findlay’s managers share whether the center has a record-breaking month and indicate where the volume increases and decreases have been. Brunswick also gives her staff a questionnaire once a year with questions about benefits they’d like added. "There’s no guarantee [it will be added], but they give feedback," she says.
Brunswick also conducts an annual educational needs assessment. "If there is something people want more information about, I try to get sales reps in, to present a new piece of equipment or machines, or whatever it might be, to keep them educationally informed," she says.
Thompson’s firm analyzed 750 responses to an employee satisfaction survey conducted in 43 ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). Here are the top five item predictors of employee satisfaction, in descending order of importance:
• Morale/yourself. "When people are thinking of morale, they’re thinking of things such as their sense of belonging, the work itself, communication, and customer service — how well it’s being provided," Thompson says. "We want to be a part of an organization that really is providing quality of care, and my morale is affected by how we’re doing that."
El Camino Surgery Center in Mountain View, CA, has improved its employees "sense of belonging" with a staff appreciation week. Each work team has one day to provide a surprise for the staff. Previous surprises have included fondue, a cowboy-themed barbecue, and a make-your-own-sundae party.
"Instead of always focusing on what’s management going to do,’ it gets employees and teams involved," says Julie Butner, executive director. At the FASA meeting’s session on employee satisfaction, Butner heard frustrated participants asking, "What can I do for morale?" Her response: "I’ve learned to go to the staff and ask, What’s the problem? What can we do?’ Get them involved in solutions and creating fun," she suggests. Physicians who work at the center have noted the high morale among staff, Butner says. "It’s a great satisfier for me," she says.
• Overall service. This item is the perception of overall quality that the entire surgery center provides, Thompson says. For example, if you have a physician who is one of only a few performing a particular procedure in the country, tell your entire staff so they can share in the pride, he suggests. "Even if you’re not working on it, you’re a part of it by being there," Thompson adds.
• Value of my work to the surgery center. This includes how well it’s communicated that an individual employee is playing an important role, Thompson says. "For example, is it communicated that you know your role and how it fits into the scheme of providing overall quality?" he asks.
During Nurses’ Week, managers at Northern Ohio Surgical Center in Sandusky encourage the business office to observe surgery, says Lauralee S. Krabill, RN, CNOR, MBA, administrator. "I think it improves teamwork," Krabill says. "The business staff have an idea, when they send out a bill, what the patients experience."
Some things are more important than gifts, emphasizes Sue Nowell, RN, nursing manager at Bay Area Surgery Center in Corpus Christ, TX. "I really believe that with appreciation expressed by patients and the surgeon owners, the staff feel the work they do is appreciated," Nowell says. When patients make a positive comment about a particular staff member in the satisfaction survey, Nowell posts the comment for everyone to see. "The thank-yous are probably the No. 1 thing [helping staff satisfaction] and feeling that they can communicate with administrators and owners," she says.
For employees to feel their work is valued by the surgery center, it’s important to recognize all employees, not just individuals, Thompson says.
Findlay Surgery Center provides $50 gift certificates for a restaurant, gasoline, or groceries to everyone on staff when the center exceeds its previous high case volume per month, which is currently 408 cases, Brunswick says. It’s important to include temporary and PRN staff in such recognition, she says. "PRN staff are so valuable when you are busy," Brunswick says.
Also show appreciation for your physicians’ private scrubs and other staff who come with them to the surgery center, she advises. Her center hosts parties in December and in the spring, and includes those staff. "They’re free help to us," she points out. "We don’t have to pay for salaries, but they add a lot to our center. That helps our staffing."
• Pay for job. It is unusual for pay to show up as a predictor of employee satisfaction, Thompson says. "Usually pay only shows up on a location-by-location basis when other key drivers are really a problem," he says.
• Support of supervisor. The supervisor’s support is important because surgery centers are smaller than many other health care facilities, and employees’ perceptions regarding satisfaction and how they feel about their supervisors are interconnected, Thompson says. "The supervisor may be the communicator and everything else," he says.
What’s the most important thing for a supervisor to do? Krabill suggests: "To truly listen to [employees’] concerns, their issues. If it at all possible, make changes."
[Editor’s note: For more help, go to www.same-daysurgery.com. In our Forum, you can share solutions to staff morale or work ethic problems. You’ll need your subscriber number from your mailing label, which is your user name. Your password is sds (lowercase) plus your subscriber number.]
Sources
For more information on morale, contact:
• Marlene Brunswick, RN, Director of Nurses, Findlay Surgery Center, 1709 Medical Blvd., Findlay, OH 45840. Telephone: (419) 429-0409. E-mail: [email protected].
• Julie Butner, Executive Director, El Camino Surgery Center, 2480 Grant Road, Mountain View, CA 94040. Telephone: (650) 961-1200.
• Lauralee S. Krabill, RN, CNOR, MBA, Administrator, Northern Ohio Surgical Center, 2800 Hayes Ave., Building E, Sandusky, OH 44870. Tele-phone: (419) 627-8557. E-mail: [email protected].
• Sue Nowell, RN, Nursing Manager, Bay Area Surgery Center, 7101 S. Padre Island Drive, Corpus Christ, TX 78412. Telephone: (361) 985-3500. E-mail: [email protected].
• Robin Rose, Director of Client Services, Data Management & Research, 508 Autumn Springs Court, Franklin, TN 37067. Telephone: (615) 256-6440. Fax: (615) 256-7712. E-mail: [email protected].
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