Staff morale low? Money’s not necessarily the answer
July 1, 2002 4 minutes read
Staff morale low? Money’s not necessarily the answer
Top predictors of satisfaction listed
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.
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 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 understand 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.
Thompson’s firm analyzed 750 responses to an employee satisfaction survey. Here were the top predictors of employee satisfaction, in descending order of importance:
Sense of belonging proves important
• 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 really want to be a part of an organization that is really providing quality of care, and my morale is affected by how we’re doing that."
• Morale/others. It isn’t clear why the morale of others showed up in the survey results, says Thompson.
"The assumption is that in a large setting, your morale may not have as much effect on you as what you see happening to everyone," Thompson says. "Size may be the difference."
• Overall service. This item reflects the perception of overall quality that the entire center provides, Thompson says. The intent is for there to be a general perception by the staff of quality overall service, he explains. For example, if you have a technician 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 says.
• Sense of belonging. "In a hospital, you could get lost in the mix," Thompson says. Communication is a key part of this factor, he says. "I need to know that what I do is truly contributing to this organization and the quality of care I provide," Thompson says. To feel that, employees need recognition, he adds.
Tell employees their role is important
• Value of the work. This item 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.
• The work itself. This item relates to the particular duties of the staff person, Thompson says. It is different from the "value of my work." The "value" predictor is related to staff members considering themselves important to the organization, Thompson explains.
• Communication. At the hospital level, it’s not just communication by the supervisor that matters, but communication by the high administration level, Thompson says. When patients provide a positive comment about a particular staff member in the satisfaction survey, the comment can be posted for everyone to see. For an employee to feel their work is valued, it’s important to recognize all employees, not just individuals, Thompson says.
• Pay for job. It is unusual for pay to show up as an 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. This factor is important because 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 the most important thing for a supervisor to do? To truly listen to their concerns, their issues. If it all possible, make changes.
Need More Information?
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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