In his keynote presentation on “Patients Come Second” Britt Berrett, PhD, FACHE, from the University of Texas-Dallas said, “As part of hiring, organizations also need to take note of and be able to weed out the whiners, losers and jerks.” Separately, another speaker emphasized Berrett’s point by saying every hire you make adds either positively to your culture or takes away from it.
Dr. Berrett then talked about leading change by changing how you lead. The key to this, he says, is to have a leadership strategy to take care of your employees first, and in return, they will take care of the patients.
When your employees feel supported and have the necessary resources available to address their stressors, they’ll come to work and be more productive, have lower rates of absenteeism and stay at the organization longer. In turn, retention rates increase, and the organization will save money while patient satisfaction and safety improves.
I’ve been attending ASHHRA for several years now, and this year I noticed many more staffing and executive search firms in the exhibit hall. Increasingly, the attendees of this conference are presented options to either strategically support their employees or look at further hiring to support their organizational goals.
I can’t help but think about how important all of this is with four million new employees coming into the healthcare industry over the next 10 years. With evolving populations and a struggle to onboard employees, this highlights the importance of having a well being strategy in place to help you, the organization and individuals thrive.
We offer a variety of solutions to support the well being of organizations and individuals, from proactive subscription solutions including our Employee Assistance Program and Physician Well Being Resources, to fee-for-service offerings such as consulting or training sessions (on a wide range of topics), or support services after a disruptive event. Contact us online if you are interested in learning more about our solutions.