Fierce Conversations Gives 4 Tips for Healthy Healthcare Culture

Business leaders in the healthcare industry are no stranger to workplace issues, and tackling these challenges in order to improve patient outcomes is more critical than ever. Fierce Conversations has worked with more than a hundred healthcare organizations to identify solutions to some of the bigger issues they face today. Stacey Engle, president of Fierce Conversations, discusses four tips below to ensure a healthy culture in healthcare practices.

Ensure Your Employees Feel SafeRaising Concerns

Eight out of 10 U.S. full-time employees say they keepconcerns to themselves at work because they’re afraid to speak up. In high-risksituations, where even the smallest detail could impact a patient’s care, theinability to raise concerns can be incredibly detrimental — it truly can meanlife or death. It’s critical to foster a culture of honesty and trust soemployees know they can voice their concerns openly. Ensuring a staff’s trainingprovides them with the tools to know what to talk about and how to talk aboutit makes all the difference in creating a safe culture.

Prioritize A Positive Company Culture

A recent BMJ Journal report found that positiveorganizational cultures are consistently associated with a wide range ofpatient outcomes such as reduced mortality rates, falls, hospital-acquiredinfections and increased patient satisfaction. To get there, company leadersmust prioritize their employees' well-being.

Use Training as a Way to Recruit and Retain Talent

Across all industries, employees want to work fororganizations in which they see a future. A big part of this includes theon-the-job training they receive — when an organization invests in itsemployees, they will be more committed to the organization. Providingopportunities to advance employees’ skills across all aspects of their workwill benefit everyone involved.

Provide the Tools To Communicate Effectively

Whether doctor to doctor, nurse to doctor, administrative toclinical staff, there is no shortage of communication chains within healthcare.Being able to get messages across, in real-time, is incredibly critical, and inmany cases must be immediate. When employees have the skills to effectivelycommunicate, everyone benefits.