A health system is a delicate ecosystem. One that depends on the relationship between the patient and the caretaker. This is why keeping your staff satisfied is crucial for patient engagement.
Imagine a hospital where the nurses are joyful and the doctors are motivated. Now, picture one, where the staff barely cracks a smile. Which option do you think patients would choose?
Staff engagement plays a critical role in the patient experience. After all, employees are the heartbeat of any organization.
In this post, we'll examine the importance of staff engagement and its impact on patients.
Staff Engagement and Why It's Important
Staff engagement isn't just about keeping your employees happy. It's about creating a ripple effect that improves your organization as a whole. Success from staff engagement takes many forms:
- Cut Costs: Replacing a physician could cost between $500,000 to $1,000,000 dollars. Staff retention is the leading benefit of employee engagement, as it keeps staff employed and costs down.
- Improved Patient Experience: Healthcare workers say that when they are disengaged, they provide quality care only 23% of the time. Engaged employees leads to better patient outcomes and lower readmission rates. A happy employee results in a happy patient.
- Patient Safety: With the regulatory environment changing regularly, adhering to protocols is vital for patient safety. But without an engaged staff, patient safety decreases around 15%.
- A Better Reputation: A health system known for its dedicated staff often has a positive reputation within the community. This reputation can improve an organization's bottomline.
Impact of Staff Engagement on the Patient Experience
Staff engagement results in better experiences for everyone in a hospital setting. But none as much as the patient. Healthcare facilities that improve employee engagement find a correlation to patient satisfaction. Engaged employees often result in:
- Patient Loyalty and Retention: Losing a patient costs roughly $200,000 over their lifetime. A smile and a friendly demeanor don't cost anything. Employees who interact with patients with genuine care and effort boost loyalty. The more a patient feels valued, the more likely they'll return to your facility.
- Patient Satisfaction: Ninety percent of patients say they don't feel obligated to stay with their provider, so keeping them satisfied is vital. But you can't reach patient satisfaction without staff satisfaction. A happy employee can deliver quality care with a personalized touch. This can improve patient satisfaction by meeting all of their needs.
- Quality of Care: When hospital staff are engaged, they feel valued and motivated, which leads to better teamwork and communication. With everyone working together efficiently, patient needs are met promptly. Happier staff means a more positive atmosphere, which impacts the quality of care and ensures patients receive the attention they deserve.
Keeping your staff engaged and satisfied is a complicated feat. But it's not impossible. There are various strategies for improving staff engagement.
A mobile app is an excellent way to ease the burden on your staff by putting everything they need on the device they use every day—their smartphones.