NURSE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP SERIES APRIL – MAY 2014

One Day Education and Networking Event:

The Low-Waste, High-Efficiency, Top-Quality OR

Presenter: Tony Gorski, MBA, BS

For more information and registration,

visit us online at aorn.org/NurseExec

Boosting Employee Engagement

Dr. Rita Fields

Copper Phoenix Consulting, LLC

Biography of Dr. Rita Fields

Dr. Fields has nearly two decades of experience in human resources management in information technology, research and education, consulting and healthcare. She is very active in the community, serving on five non-profit boards. She is also engaged in her profession through membership in professional societies.

Her career highlights include:• The developing and successfully implementing a $1 million comprehensive career center for

entry level employees. • Designing the human capital strategy for the pre-opening and operations of the award winning

Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital in West Bloomfield, MI.

Her formal education is as follows:Doctor of Management - Executive Leadership

Master of Arts – Human Resources Management

Bachelor of Arts – English

Bachelor of Arts – Psychology

AGENDA

Why is employee engagement important?

How does employee engagement impact patient outcomes?

What do employees expect from you in this area?

What are some things you can do to have an environment of

engagement in your department?

An example of an engagement best practice

Open Forum / Sharing / Questions

Why is Employee Engagement Important?

Evidence-Based Validation of Strong Nursing Leadership on Key Outcomes

• Staffing adequacy

• Employee Engagement & Employee Satisfaction

• Patient Safety Outcomes (e.g., reduced mortality

rates & readmissions)

OR Employee Perceptions of Their Leaders

• Employees feel that OR leadership is sometimes not concerned with

their personal lives when scheduling

• Employees feel that OR leadership sometimes mimic bad behavior of

abusive physicians and/or simply take their side without investigation

• “Too hands off”

• “Great technical skills but…”

How to Connect Employee Engagement to Enhanced Patient Outcomes

• Silos are your enemy!

• Change is necessary and beneficial! EMBRACE it!

• Extend your vision!

• EVERYONE should feel responsible for positive outcomes and feel engaged!

How to Prioritize Employee Engagement in Your Department

• Create an environment where employees are able to “thrive”!

• Recognition is one of the best ways to reward an employee!

• Be loyal to your employees.

How To Engage Employees

• Employees expect transparency from leadership [2].

• Employees expect to be able to trust their leaders [7].

• Employees expect you to care about them as people [1,2,4,5,8].

References[1] Heather, L. K., & Leiter, M. P. (2006). The impact of nursing work environments on patient safety outcomes: The mediating role of burnout on engagement. Journal of Nursing Administration, 36(5), 259-267.

[2] Spiegelman, P. (2012, June 8). Examining the crossroads of culture, engagement and patient satisfaction [Letter written June 08, 2012]. Retrieved from

[3] Larson, J. (2012, February 21). The connection between employee satisfaction and patient satisfaction.

[4] Peltier, J., Dahl, A., & Mulhern, F. (2009, April). The relationship between employee satisfaction and hospital patient experiences

References[5] Engagement unlocks patient satisfaction potential. (2003, June 17).

[6] Spreitzer, G., & Porath, C. (2012). Creating sustainable performance. Harvard Business Review.

[7] Pund, L. E., & Sklar, P. (2012). Linking quality assurance to human resources: Improving patient satisfaction by improving employee satisfaction [Scholarly project].

[8] Harris Interactive. (2011, March). Stress in the workplace

THANK YOU!

Dr. Rita Fields

Copper Phoenix Consulting, LLC

www.copperphoenixconsulting.com