Using Organizational Culture to Better Serve Patients at the 100 Best in Healthcare
We know there are tangible business benefits to being a great place to work, like lower turnover, more stable growth and higher rates of return . But what about other performance indicators that matter to organizations? At Great Place to Work we work with many healthcare organizations--companies that do focus on profitability and growth, but who also hold patient satisfaction at the center of their business models.
A key tool used to measure patient satisfaction in American hospitals is the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS). This survey is the first national, standardized, publicly reported survey of patients' perspectives of hospital care, and helps hospitals better assess and understand their rates of patient satisfaction.
In addition to the business benefits seen by the 100 Best Companies to Work For, the 100 Best Hospitals see improvement in their HCAHPS scores. According to industry-specific research done by Great Place to Work, on average the 100 Best Hospitals experience HCAHPS scores that are 1.4 percentage points higher than their non-winning counterparts, and 1.7 percentage points higher than the national average. All of the hospitals on the 100 Best list in 2013 received service awards for patient care. Hospitals with great workplace cultures have happier employees that deliver better care to patients across the country.
Great Culture is All About Your People
One such hospital is Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA), a hospital network that serves the state of Georgia and has made the 100 Best list for nine consecutive years. CHOA President and CEO, Donna Hyland, will be a keynote speaker at the Great Place to Work Annual Conference in April. Donna will be speaking about the organization's employee strategy that was established in 2003. This people-centered focus helped them improve their culture and see business results. She will also address how their people strategy shifted and developed as the healthcare industry faced challenge and change. At the core of CHOA's strategy is a simple commitment to employees, and doing all they can to help employees focus on what they love: taking care of the kids who need them most.
CHOA focuses on quality care for kids and knows that to best serve their patients they also have to serve their people. Their website lists the organization's mission and values clearly. The mission, "To make kids better today, and healthier tomorrow," is clearly articulated and connected to their work, but it is the values that illustrate what makes CHOA a uniquely great place to work. The first value, listed before "Passionate About Kids", is "Care About People." CHOA recognizes that without receiving care and support from the organization, their employees would not be able to provide the same care and support to patients. This people-first mentality has solidified CHOA as a Best Company, and helped them to be one of the top pediatric hospitals in the country. If focusing on creating a great workplace culture at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta has helped them improve the lives and futures of thousands of children, what could it do for your organization?
Hear Donna Hyland’s keynote, and many others at our annual conference April 22-23rd in Dallas, TX. For more information and to register.
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