IMPROVING EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION: A WAY TO “ALWAYS” IMPROVE PATIENT SATISFACTION AND HCAHPS SCORES Laura L. Egan Widener University Nursing Leadership for Advance Practice

WHAT IS OUR MISSION???  A non-profit, charitable organization  Dedicated to maintaining and improving the health of all people in Central Pennsuylvania  Values of concern, professionalism, respect, charity, collaboration, satisfaction, accountability, and safety  Vision 2017

FROM VOLUME-BASED TO VALUE-BASED  The American Hospital Association and industry experts project this transition as the future of health care advances into the future  Recommendation: Hospitals should modify their core model for business and service delivery to meet this demand  The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) has significantly changed how healthcare is delivered  The survey itself and public reporting has become a focal point for all hospitals

The Patient Comes First…  Develop a culture where the patient always comes first  High scores and “always” remarks will follow  Success may be related to employee satisfaction  Hospitals must also create a culture of employee recognition

EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION A strong correlation exists between employee satisfaction and patient safety, quality of care, and satisfaction

SHOULD THIS BE IMPLEMENTED? RISKSBENEFITS  Possible financial burden to implement employee education training  Taking time away from other priorities  May not reach some employees  Improved employee morale  Improved employee compliance  Improved employee satisfaction  Increased patient safety  May result in higher patient satisfaction scores

WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION?  Raise Employee Engagement  Encourage Open Communication  Build Accountability  Encourage Enthusiasm

RAISE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT  Improve Compliance  Don’t overdo the technology; keep the employee-manager relationship intact  Manage Poor Performers

ENCOURAGE OPEN COMMUNICATION  Can bridge the gap between ‘you vs. me’ mentality  Ensures a reliable means of relaying information and feedback  Fosters an open, safe, and trusting work environment for both employee and supervisor

BUILD ACCOUNTABILITY “It is that each team member, clinical and non-clinical, must understand what their role is in creating an ideal experience for patients and should be provided with the appropriate tools and training to support their work” (HPOE)

ENCOURAGE ENTHUSIASM  Reward and celebrate positive patient outcomes  Encourage a positive outlook through motivation  Provide feedback

HOW SHOULD WE DO THIS???  Which change theory would be best suited for this type of change?  Lewin’s Three Phases of Change Theory  Views behavior as dynamic where driving forces facilitate change  Push employees in the desired direction

LEWIN’S THREE STEPS FOR CHANGE  UNFREEZE the status quo  MOVE to motivate and make changes  REFREEZE the changes to make them permanent

THE SCORE  HCAHPS Report are invaluable  What needs improvement?  Communication and Friendliness are very important to patients  Satisfied employees = Satisfied patients

REFERENCES American Hospital Association. (2011). Committee on Performance Improvement. J. Clough Chairperson. Hospitals and Care Systems of the Future. Chicago, IL: American Hospital Association. American Nurses Association & the American Organization of Nurse Executives. Principles for collaborative relationships between clinical nurses and managers. Retrieved from: Devadoss, A. & Bedard, C. Reasons to improve employee engagement. Retrieved from: Jacobson, D. (2013). 5 Ways to improve patient satisfaction through recognition. Blog from Kritsonis, A. (2005). Comparison of change theories. Journal of Scholarly Academic intellectual diversity, 8(1). Solomon, M. (2013). Healthcare patient satisfaction: Consulting your hospital’s HCAHPS customer service scores is just a start. Entrepreneurs. Retrieved from