Communication is the biggest challenge in our medical group-Associate relationships. Due to our geography, it is difficult to personally connect with our Associates.
Each manager is responsible for submitting action plans to HR addressing at least two identified opportunities. HR meets quarterly with each manager and local excellence team member to monitor the status and effectiveness of their action items. Senior leadership reviews identified opportunities and implements programs to improve upon them.
We believe our recognition efforts have made a difference with our Associates. We implemented the Right Track Award in which Associates are nominated for going “above and beyond.” Associate Appreciation Month is held in April of each year with various activities. The monthly Associate newsletter lists the recent recipients of the Right Track Awards, as well as other significant events.
We have a Servant Leadership program in which members of senior leadership participate in the monthly staff meetings. Updates are provided on the organization’s goals, business development, and strategic plans. Associates are also given the opportunity to ask questions or voice concerns during these meetings.
The third initiative has been in community value. Our mission is “to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ” but survey results in the early 2000s indicated our Associates didn’t feel a connection to our mission. We began promoting more community involvement and offering Associates opportunities to volunteer during work hours.
Our CEO reviews all cards received from patients and sends thank-you cards and Right Track Awards to all Associates who receive positive comments. During New Associate Orientation, the contact information for all senior leaders is provided, and Associates are encouraged to contact them any time they have a concern.
Informal data indicates a large portion of our Associate recruitment comes from internal referrals. We recently began calculating our retention rate so we do not have a benchmark for comparison. However, we feel our retention rate is very high—currently standing at 92 percent.
We implemented a service guarantee program in 2004 and developed a Patient Advocacy Team (PAT) which consists of representatives from each of our practices. The PAT members are responsible for development of patient satisfaction initiatives, as well as communication and implementation. Our patient satisfaction results have consistently trended upwards due to PAT and senior leadership support.
Our overall Associate satisfaction has been between the 97th and 99th percentile since we began utilizing the Press Ganey survey three years ago. We feel the three initiatives described above have contributed to both the satisfaction and engagement of our Associates across multiple principles included in the survey.