Healthier work environment, happier workforce:
How education opportunities can boost engagement and job satisfaction talent
Baptist Health is partnering with Strategic Education, Inc. to make education and professional development a key part of a healthy workplace strategy – and make a difference in recruitment, engagement and retention.
Today’s health care organizations face systemic challenges for employee morale, job satisfaction and retention – all of which can impact patient care. Staffing issues have pushed some organizations almost to the breaking point. Companies are being affected by a “training treadmill,” where an increased focus on hiring and training for positions vacated due to turnover reduces the amount of time and energy available for focusing on productivity.
In spite of employers’ best efforts, employees across organizations continue to express decreased job satisfaction and increased intent to leave the workforce. But there may be an important way to turn the tide – building healthier workplace environments.
Raising and meeting the standards of a healthy work environment
“This is really the big question for nursing professionals and health care organizations right now,” says Adele Webb, PhD, executive dean of health care initiatives at Strategic Education, Inc. “How do we create work environments that support our providers, support recruitment and support retention?”
To address these critical questions, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) has proposed six essential standards for creating a healthy work environment. These include skilled communication, true collaboration, effective decision-making, appropriate staffing levels, meaningful recognition, and authentic nurse leadership.
Health care organizations have rallied around these standards and are doing what they can to ensure healthy, safe and thriving environments. But some organizations are going a step further, leveraging a powerful tool that can help make progress against the key areas identified by the AACN.
How? By implementing education and professional development solutions.
“Baptist Health goes all-in on healthy work environments”
Baptist Health, a Kentucky-based health system with nine hospitals and more than 23,000 employees, has made healthy work environments a major priority. To measure their progress, they developed a People and Culture Scorecard that tracks workplace satisfaction and engagement. By gathering employee input, Baptist Health found three key areas that impact nurse turnover: inclusion, recognition and collaboration. In other words, employees want an environment where they are valued, heard and involved.
