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Happier Hospital Employees, Healthier Patients
August 07, 2009
The health-care industry invests hundreds of billions of dollars each year in new technology and infrastructure to care for an increasingly aging population, but its most important investment should be in its people, according to a new white paper published by the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement.
The paper, "The Relationship between Employee Satisfaction and Hospital Patient Experiences," is based on research commissioned by the FORUM, and conducted by The University of Wisconsin and Northwestern University at a major New York City hospital.
"In the health-care industry, as in other service-related businesses, having engaged, empowered, loyal employees can lead to increased retention, lower costs, enhanced reputation, and a profitable business picture," says Forum President Michelle M. Smith, CPIM, CRP, vice president, business development, O.C. Tanner Company. "And now, we are finding that having satisfied employees leads to higher quality of patient care and overall better patient experiences."
Here are key findings from the study:
• Patients who have higher levels of satisfaction are most likely to recommend the hospital to others when they are treated by highly-satisfied employees. Word of mouth, more than any other source of marketing promotion, is a primary driver in patient care decisions.
• As the popularity of electronic testing and monitoring expands, health-care employees, more than ever, need to exercise "the personal touch" in caring for patients.
• In addition to what health care workers do, emphasis needs to be placed on how employees feel about what they do. Patient experiences will not be good if employees are not happy.
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