Boosting Patient Satisfaction through Employee Engagement:

The Key to Success in Healthcare Organizations

Providing quality healthcare is essential to successful patient outcomes and satisfaction. While clinical care plays a major role, the perception of quality is often disconnected to clinical care.  Rather, patients are concerned with customer service, operating efficiency, and other details, like whether or not someone will answer when they call the office.  Therefore, healthcare organizations should consider implementing employee engagement programs such as incentive structures or training sessions in order to create the ideal patient experience. 

For over a decade, employee engagement has been critically important to HR professionals and forward-thinking leaders. As Gallup research confirms, rewarding accomplishments and fostering positive workplace relationships have led to an increase in employee engagement. Those who receive recognition of their performance or feedback tend to have a more positive experience than those who don't;

One of the primary reasons why engagement programs fail in the workplace is due to ineffective communication around employee engagement. Without buy-in from leadership, clear expectations set by managers, and comprehension among front-line personnel, organizations may think they have explored all they can focus on when it comes to leveraging engagement for improved performance--when in reality that is far from true. All successful engagement strategies involve the following types of support: enablement, energy, empowerment, and encouragement.

Enablement is about equipping people with the support and resources they need to do their jobs. Taking actionable steps to remove barriers opens up opportunities for better performance. It's common for us to think of energy as simply a personal quality; however, Tony Schwartz, the CEO of The Energy Project, maintains that organization should stop measuring effort in terms of hours worked and instead focus on managing energy more efficiently. By doing so, organizations can build a culture capable of building higher-performing teams.

Empowerment is a key factor when it comes to building and sustaining employee engagement. By giving authority and responsibility to workers, they become more accountable for their performance. Additionally, encouragement, whether in the form of simple words or gestures of appreciation, can help further motivate employees. Altogether, these four fundamental components create a positive work environment which research has proven leads to increased financial success. If you want your organization to reach optimal performance levels and foster high engagement rates among employees, each of these elements should be embraced!

Employee engagement often falls short of expectations due to the failure to consider the way workplace employee engagement programs are implemented. Mistakes such as using overly complicated metrics and low-bar "percent favorable" scores that do not produce tangible results, or misusing surveys to get feedback without further action are common. To ensure successful outcomes, it is essential to use an effective four-level model for employee engagement which incorporates development needs at each level: psychological fulfillment, alignment with goals, ability development, and growth opportunity.

It is also essential to use an effective four-level model for employee engagement which incorporates development needs at each level: psychological fulfillment, alignment with goals, ability development, and growth opportunity. This will ensure successful outcomes for employees, as well as the company as a whole.

At the first level, psychological fulfillment, employees need to feel like they are doing something that is fulfilling and satisfying. This can be achieved through providing challenging and interesting work, as well as ensuring that there is a good fit between an employee's skills and the needs of the job.

At the second level, alignment with goals, employees need to feel that their individual goals are in line with the goals of the company. This can be achieved through clear and effective communication about the company's mission, vision, and values, as well as regular feedback and recognition for work that supports those goals.

The third level, ability development, focuses on the skills and knowledge required to perform the job effectively. Training, mentoring, and coaching can all play a part in developing employees' abilities and helping them to improve.

It is important to note that there is no single solution to building strong connections with employees or creating a satisfactory work environment. It is essential to strive for a balance between employee morale and job efficiency, especially during a time when healthcare professionals are facing burnout, hiring, and retention issues amidst a global pandemic. Technological advancements, such as automation, can help ease the burden of repetitive tasks and provide assistance with workloads, thereby offering support to healthcare staff.

In conclusion, employee engagement is critical to achieving better performance, productivity, and patient satisfaction in healthcare organizations. To create a positive workplace environment, healthcare organizations must implement effective employee engagement programs, including enablement, energy, empowerment, and encouragement. By focusing on the four levels of employee engagement, companies can create an environment in which employees feel valued, satisfied, and motivated to perform at their best. Ultimately, this leads to improved performance, increased productivity, and better patient outcomes. Healthcare providers are looking to technology for help with their increasingly demanding workloads. In a labor market characterized by low availability of workers and inflated wages, automation is seen as a critical solution that can alleviate stress on existing staff. Centaur Billing stands out for its comprehensive automated suite of tools, which streamline patient intake, registration, documentation, and billing processes. Healthcare workers can now rely on a partner in their journey towards efficiency and productivity.

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Please note that the information in these materials is for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute legal or compliance advice, and you should not act or refrain from acting based on any information provided in these materials. Neither Centaur Billing nor any of its employees are your lawyers. If you have specific legal or compliance questions, please consult with your own legal counsel or compliance professional.