You know that feeling when your team is on fire? Everyone is working well together, projects are getting done, and the team is gelling. Think “Top Gun: Maverick” football game scene. 

Now, think about the opposite feeling. Things are disjointed, the team isn’t working together, and morale is low. Think of the low point for any team in a sports film. 

Healthcare leaders in any department have likely felt the extremes of both scenarios over the past few years, especially the latter. Even in 2022, 80% of healthcare leaders are saying burnout in the industry continued to increase (Medical Group Management Association). Burnout can lead to lack of engagement with your team and can increase turnover. It’s crucial for healthcare leaders today to take steps toward creating an engaged team. Engaged employees are committed to their work, connected with their organization’s mission and perform their job with enthusiasm, which in turn positively affects patient experience and health outcomes. 

Keep reading to discover five ways you can begin increasing your healthcare team’s engagement.

Invest in learning and development programs

According to Lorman, 76% of workers say a company is more appealing when it offers learning and development opportunities to employees. Even more, 87% of millennials believe learning and development programs are important. 

Are you offering your employees the ability to grow their skills? If the answer is no or you’re unsure, talk to your team and ask about potential development and learning opportunities they might be interested in and begin offering them. Offering educational opportunities shows your team you value and care about their careers and growth. This can also create new care offerings through education and industry knowledge and can increase positive health outcomes for your most valuable customer: patients. 

Even if you already have a learning and development program in place, gauging the sentiment toward that program can offer insight into your team’s engagement levels.

Increase internal communication

In the healthcare field, the information and data managed is never-ending and ever-important. No one knows that better than system admin teams, especially those dealing with EMRs and ECMs. This constant flow of information can potentially lead to important internal messages falling through the cracks and can have a negative impact on team engagement and patient care. Ensuring your team has access to all available information is crucial. Here are a few ideas to ensure consistent communication that builds confidence and encourages knowledge-sharing:

• • • Create a weekly update
    • Host a bi-weekly team meeting
    • Offer an open Q&A opportunity via email or during meetings

Ensure recognition for team members

Belonging is an important need for any human being. Recognition of efforts helps increase and show the value of a team member to their peers and leaders while also offering a public appreciation of an employee’s contribution toward your healthcare organization’s goals. 

According to Gallup, when employee recognition is done correctly, employees are less likely to leave, more productive, more engaged and feel more satisfaction at work. 

Devote time to team-building activities

Yes, I know this sounds cheesy however, knowing your team better can help you create and invest in employee engagement opportunities that are better-tailored to your team as a whole. Knowing what your team members value in a workplace, at home or via professional relationships is a crucial step in knowing and understanding your team. 

When your team has knowledge of how each other operates, collaboration, communication and conflict resolution become easier, and you are continuing to create building blocks toward a harmonious, productive team. Check out DataBank’s latest core values activity to get started on team-building with your employees. 

Reassess your hiring practices

It’s no secret that staffing in healthcare continues to be a burden for many teams. There aren’t enough candidates and those that do apply may not have the skills needed for the position, leaving already understaffed teams struggling with aforementioned stress and burnout. As positions continue to remain open, it’s worth reassessing your hiring practices to ensure you are reaching the right potential employees or finding alternatives as needed for certain positions. 

Hiring the right person for the job or picking the correct alternative for your team can also be crucial in employee engagement over time. According to Gallup, the onboarding process for any staff member is crucial. Exceptional onboarding processes can lead to an employee being 2.3 times more likely to say a position is better than expected. When employees are engaged, the work being done is better quality, teams are more productive and the patient experience is elevated.

DataBank helps healthcare IT teams with staffing by providing Admin, an offering to support your health information system admin team or employees by taking over daily maintenance of their OnBase system. With DataBank’s Admin offering, your system administration team is bolstered with an additional team member not only already completely trained in all things OnBase, but also a knowledgeable and well-connected member to bounce ideas off and gain additional insight into innovation and efficiencies. Building your team with Admin also boosts your team’s expertise. 

Team engagement in healthcare, when done right, can create an environment of increased productivity, reduced negligence and less absenteeism. According to Harvard Business Review, organizations with highly engaged teams have a 5% higher financial margin over other companies. Take these first few steps to get started toward your highly engaged team.